{"id":3183,"date":"2015-12-14T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-15T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?post_type=essay-writing-blog&p=3183"},"modified":"2019-04-06T15:39:20","modified_gmt":"2019-04-06T22:39:20","slug":"8-components-smart-literary-analysis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/8-components-smart-literary-analysis\/","title":{"rendered":"8 Components of a Smart Literary Analysis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why does that word \u2013 analysis \u00ad<\/i><\/a>\u2013 strike fear into the hearts of so many college students, and just what the heck is a literary analysis<\/i>, anyway?<\/p>\n

Analysis is typically the last skill your brain learns, and most students don\u2019t encounter this term until college. But never fear \u2013 I\u2019m here to help you conquer your literary analysis essay in this blog post!<\/p>\n

A smart literary analysis focuses on how a book or story\u2019s plot, characters, settings, or themes are used by an author. Sometimes, you may want to explore how an author creates meaning through these elements; otherwise, you may want to criticize the author\u2019s methods and their work\u2019s message.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll focus on both approaches in my handy list below, so read on!<\/p>\n

Life After Book Reports<\/h2>\n

Before we dive right into analysis strategies, it\u2019s important to note that analysis is <\/b>not<\/i><\/b> a<\/b> summary<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve probably written book reports before, and you know that these are pretty simple because you basically retell a book\u2019s major events to prove you\u2019ve read it.<\/p>\n

But analysis requires more from you. Your professor can always read the book you\u2019re analyzing, so you don\u2019t have to recount the plot. Instead, your job in analyzing is to make a claim <\/i><\/b>or <\/b>thesis<\/i><\/b><\/a> about the text and to spend your essay supporting your ideas.<\/p>\n

Analysis and argument actually have a lot in common, and if you\u2019ve written argumentative essays, then you can probably write an analysis essay. I\u2019ll break down the process into two phases to help you get started.<\/p>\n

Phase One: Hunting and Gathering<\/h2>\n

In this phase, you should choose the work you want to analyze and then consider your approach. What are your initial ideas? What do you have to say about this book, and how do you plan to support your position? Brainstorm and outline<\/a> during this phase.<\/p>\n

You may be saying, \u201cwhere do I start?\u201d Glad you asked!<\/p>\n

Components of a Smart Literary Analysis #1: Know the Elements<\/h3>\n

When analyzing literature, you\u2019ll first want to consider the following elements from a different perspective than when you\u2019re just reading a book. True analysis means approaching your text like a detective. Plot, characters, and setting all leave clues to deeper meaning, and your job is to discover them.<\/p>\n

Plot<\/b><\/p>\n

Plot is the pattern of events that make up a story. In your literary analysis, you\u2019ll want to focus on whether or not these events are significant to your claim.<\/p>\n

Conflict<\/b><\/p>\n

Conflict is the struggle between two opposing forces, typically the protagonist and antagonist. Conflicts often follow this traditional form, but sometimes characters experience internal conflict. Or the conflict comes in the form of a natural or supernatural force. The main conflict in a story can often reflect an author\u2019s opinion about the world they live in or the issues of their day.<\/p>\n

Characters<\/b><\/p>\n

Characters are the people or \u201cplayers\u201d in a story. Characters are great for analysis because they are the ones causing and reacting to the events in a story. Their backgrounds, appearances, beliefs, actions, etc. can all be analyzed. You can often start with characters in an analysis because authors usually express opinions about race, culture, religion, gender, etc. through character representation, whether intentional or not.<\/p>\n

Setting<\/b><\/p>\n

Just like characters, setting can be easily analyzed. As an author may express certain opinions through their characters, what they have to say about places can also be provocative and revealing.<\/p>\n

Components of a Smart Literary Analysis #2: Focus on Literary Devices<\/h3>\n

You can analyze a book\u2019s themes by first brainstorming some ideas and thinking about the impression you get when reading it. Novels are full of symbols and allusions, and most authors have something to say about the world.<\/p>\n

Symbol<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

In analyzing The<\/i> Lord of the Rings<\/i>, you could discuss how Tolkien uses light and dark imagery as symbols of good and evil. \u201cGandalf the White\u201d is certainly a representation of good, while evil is implied by the \u201cBlack Gates of Mordor.\u201d You could continue by focusing on Tolkien\u2019s language used for good or evil characters and settings.<\/p>\n

Allegory<\/b><\/a> and<\/b> Metaphor<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

While these terms have different meanings, you can approach them with the same strategy in your analysis essay. If a novel uses allegory or metaphor, then its story represents some real-world event(s) or criticism thereof.<\/p>\n

A well-known Christian allegory is C.S. Lewis\u2019 The Chronicles of Narnia<\/i> series. You could write an analysis essay that argues how Aslan\u2019s journey represents Jesus\u2019s story in the Bible<\/i>. If you wanted to take this one step further, you could also explore whether or not Lewis\u2019 interpretations could be seen as accurate and why.<\/p>\n

Think about metaphor by analyzing how The Lord of the Rings\u2019 <\/i>plot is a metaphor for the events of World War II. You could also explore whether Tolkien opposes war or glorifies it, depending on how you interpret the novels.<\/p>\n

Components of a Smart Literary Analysis #3: Take a Critical Approach<\/h3>\n

If you\u2019re struggling to come up with your own ideas, then you can definitely fall back on critical approaches or \u201clenses\u201d through which you can view and analyze your topic. There are quite a few of these<\/a>, so I\u2019ll just focus on one here as an introduction.<\/p>\n

If writing about the first Hunger Games <\/i>novel by Suzanne Collins, for example, you might apply the feminist critical approach.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a big subject, so you have to start somewhere. The Purdue OWL suggests starting with a list of typical questions. Your answers will help you form your claims.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the questions on the OWL\u2019s feminist criticism page<\/a>:<\/p>\n