Gloria & Audrey Harchar

It is the study evaluation and interpretation of a particular work.

1. Does this particular piece stand out?
2. If so, what makes it powerful? (elements of literature, six traits)

• Does it have a unique, or well-developed plot?
• Or are there uniquely described characters?
• Or has the author drawn you in by one of the six traits–i.e., through voice and word choice, or perhaps by an unusual organizational style?

1. What message can this story carry to the reader? Symbolism, allegory, moral, or theme?
2. What was the author’s intent?
3. What legacy will it leave?

You’ll be using tools that we’ve been studying all year for analyzing work.

• You may note sound devices in a poem and explain how they create theme or reinforce a theme.
• Explore character traits and relate them to author’s message.
• Compare and contrast characters within one work, or across distinct works.
• Explain how symbolism works to layout a theme.
• Relate plot and tone to the purpose of the text.

We’re going to take a closer look at literature. Literature Analysis is the study, evaluation and interpretation of literature.

• Increase understanding–generate ideas and draw conclusions.
• Provide feedback for an author–debate perspectives and share thoughts of techniques and different ways to write.
• Understand an individual or cultural perspective.

There are several approaches to literary analysis:

• Compare and contrast–characters, authors, symbolism, sound devices and whole works of literature.
• author’s perspective and life experiences.
• reader’s knowledge and life experiences.
• evaluating logic of a piece, especially in nonfiction.

What does Literacy Analysis look like?

• Newspaper reviews–you might read a commentary in the newspaper about a book and think, “Wow, I want to read that book.” That’s literary analysis which got you interested in reading a book.
• lectures
• book discussions
• book clubs–libraries, schools, churches
• Talking in the hallways, on the phone, on Facebook about books is literary analysis
• Essays, rebuttals arguing against what others say, etc., are all literary analysis.

Don’t be intimidated! You probably already do literary analysis, even informal discussion. So many ways to analyze a work. Each person has their own perspective! You do, too!! Do you lean toward a biographical approach where you want to learn the author’s background, or are you a New Critic, where your interpretation of the book is more important? Maybe you are some of both. Speak out! Lend your voice to analyze literature. You might find out something important about yourself!

Take the quiz after reading the previous post!

Have you ever been in a catch-22? That is, you’re darned if you do, darned if you don’t? The term came from a book written in 1961 by Joseph Heller called … you guessed it, Catch-22. (Wouldn’t that be something–to write a novel that becomes so popular that it ends up being a common expression?) This book is about some sort of logic irrationality. You’ve got these soldiers trapped in war, and one of them Orr, is insane–he’s absolutely crazy. Now–here’s the dilemma. Because Orr is crazy, he could technically be grounded. That is, he wouldn’t have to fly and fight. But the airforce has come up with a rule called Catch 22. If you are worried about your own safety, that is what sane people do. So if you’re worried about flying and dying, then you are sane and you must fly.  So Orr was trapped in this dilemma because he told his officers that he was insane and shouldn’t be flying, and since he said that the authorities said he had to fly!

Examples of catch-22’s:

• Homeless people need a job so they can afford a home and nice clothes. Yet, they need to be able to say they live at a physical address to put down on the application, and they need nice clothes to land the job. So you can say this is a Catch-22 situation since both problems cancel each other out and you don’t feel as if you can go forward.
• Consumer loan: You need a good credit history to get a loan. Yet, how can you build up a good credit history if nobody will give you a loan since you don’t have a history of taking out any loans?

Journal lesson: Read as you listen to The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry by clicking here. (Or you can just read it). In what way did the couple in Gift of the Magi end up in a catch 22? Also, apply your new knowledge to describe an experience of yours that could be called a catch 22.

At the end of  The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry says: Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

Here our author doesn’t hide that he has something deeper that he wants us to get. Remember, titles are clues. The Gift of the Magi alludes to the Bible story of the Wise Men who give gifts to baby Jesus. In this story, what gifts were given? We had the chain for the pocket watch and the combs for Della’s hair.

• What did they have to sacrifice for the gifts? They had to give up the very items they wanted to enhance. Jim had to sell the pocket watch for Della’s combs, and Della had to sell her hair for the chain to match Jim’s pocket watch.
• How were Jim and Della foolish? They had to give things away that would ruin the gift the other was giving to each other.
• How were they wise? That’s the question. Why does O.  Henry call them wise? We’re getting there.
• What is the climax of the story? That’s when everything comes to a head–the moment of the gift exchange.
• What is the resolution? They discover that their treasures have been given away and that their gifts can’t be used right now.

Honing in on Theme

We said that themes might be difficult to put into words. These are the possible themes that others have suggested for the story:

1. Love is more important than material things.
2. Love is selfless.
3. It’s the thought that counts.
4. It’s better to give than to receive.

Think about these four possibilities, think about the title and what the characters did. Think of how everything wound up at the end and tell me–in your opinion–what O. Henry really wanted us to understand at the end. Enjoy, and enjoy the gift of giving and receiving your own gifts in the future!

People have been asking me why I returned to teaching. Why not stay at home and write full time?

• It’s weird, but when I was teaching I was more productive in my writing. I find when I don’t have much time, I don’t squander time–time doesn’t get away from me like it did when I wrote full time. That said, teaching in a new school I find I’m having to revamp lesson plans. I’m also teaching a lot online. So I’m not as productive in my writing as I will be, once I get in more of a routine with this new teaching position.
• When I stayed at home writing full time, I had a difficult time saying no to people when they would ask me to do things, go places, and volunteer.
• I find when I teach I have a lot more writing ideas. I write with more emotions, more colorfully. I have more fodder for my stories.
• Since I’m writing a Young Adult series, I find it useful to surround myself with teenagers. I’m at the alternative school, and I’m finding all sorts of conflicts that the students have to deal with on a daily basis. I get to see first hand how they react, how they manage their lives.
• Teaching this year has given me all sorts of ideas for my writing. I might not get to write as much as I want to–at least, not yet. But the scenes are popping into my head and the story I’ve been wanting to write since last summer is finally taking shape. I’m beginning to write again, which is exciting to me!!

I’ve been reviewing James Scott Bell’s book called Plot and Structure. It’s really good and if you get the chance to get it, do so.

What is plot? Per learner.org, plot is a causal sequence of events in a story.

Look at the following: The boy died in a boating accident and the father died in a car crash. Is this plot?From this statement, can we say that the two deaths are related, other than the two people were father and son? Did one event cause the other? We don’t know–at least, not from this information.

But if I said: The boy died in a boating accident. When the father received the news on his cell phone, he lost control of the car and spun off a cliff. Now that is plot. An incident happened which caused a chain of related events.

So, what kind of a plotter are you? You might be one of those writers who likes to have the story all worked out in your mind before you write your novel. You preplan, plan, and revise the plan before writing. Maybe you have index cards all over your wall or you store you scenes in your computer.

Or, you could be a writer who doesn’t like to plan at all. You might like to plop down at your computer desk and just write, letting the story flow without planning, anxious to see what your wild writer’s mind will conjure up.

After studying hundreds of plots, Bell says he has developed a simple set of foundational principals he calls LOCK.

L=Lead

O=Objective

C=Confrontation

K=Knockout

The lead, or protagonist, must be interesting. She doesn’t have to be sympathetic, that is, likable–compelling. Enough so that the reader will want to keep reading to discover what happened to her.

Objective is the what. What does the protagonist, or lead, want?

Confrontation is what is keeping the lead from getting her goal.

Knockout is an analogy to the boxing ring. Everyone watches a boxing match because they are anticipating the big move, that punch that knocks out the opponent–that big climax where everything accumulates and comes to the tip of the summit. That string is getting tighter and tighter and you are anticipating that huge snap! where the string breaks.

Overall, this is a nice change to how I’ve been taught. Bell skims over the motivation–at least he does in his LOCK system. And the example of the obstacle was more external, rather than internal. But mostly it was pretty good.

Theme is the deeper meaning of a text, the insight about life which comes both from the author and the reader.

Themes are what may influence your life long after you’ve completed reading the story. The author is going to put some clues and information into the story, but the reader is going to bring their life experiences to the text. Together those things are going to lead to the insight about life.

Looking for theme?

It’s difficult to find theme, and, what’s more, have others agree with you. Too, it’s sometimes challenging to put it into words.

The title may be a clue. Authors are very picky about their titles (unless the editor influences the change of title). Anyhoo, titles may point you in the right direction for what the author wants the reader to get out of the text.

Watch how the characters change, or how they don’t change. This might be a clue to the theme.

Focus in on the most important events in the story.

Pay special attention to the resolution of the story. When it’s all said and done, what happens to everybody?

Style: How writers use language to express themselves.

The author might play with punctuation, put it in unusual spots to create an effect rather than follow the rules of grammar.

Sound patterns might hint at the theme.

plot twists, repeated symbols or themes, rhythm.

The author might use figurative language, such as similes, metaphor, hyperbole and personification to keep things interesting, keep the reader turning the pages.

Or they might rely on imagery, or different visuals that come up time and time again.

Style is the hardest thing to teach someone, but it’s the best tool an author has because it lets the author’s personality come to the surface.

It may help reflect a theme, mood or message.

It is that mysterious element that hooks you on an author. Style is what keeps you reading late into the night.

When you start writing your own stories, experiment with these elements to find your own sparkling, unique style!

Mood: The emotion or feeling the author creates with words.

• The author’s description of the setting is one was of creating mood.
• For example: Let’s take an ordinary scene of prairie country with some scattered trees, partly cloudy sky, a medium strength wind blowing. How can an author change the description of the setting to affect the mood?

• Rewrite #1: The plain was wild and unbroken but for a few mighty oaks that stood tall in the distance. The sun blazed copper in the sky, and the wind swirled the clouds into a creamy froth high above, and the tall grasses into an endless dance below.

• This rewrite has evoked, or brought out strong emotion. “Wild and unbroken” gives us the sense of an untamed land that is beautiful, but that could be dangerous. It gives us a sense of the unknown, unexplored. Stood tall, copper sun all gives us a feeling of freedom.

• Rewrite #2: The open space gaped hungrily as far as the eye could see. Sprawling trees were bent into weird demon-like shapes from the endless wind–the same wind that clutched at my body and howled angrily through the grasses of the plains.

• Look at all the bold phrases. This rewrite evokes a totally different mood–more dark and full of fear. So there are a lot of descriptive words that create a more sinister mood.

• Rewrite #3: The flatness of the land was a sigh of relief after the jagged mountains to the west. The tall lush grasses and ancient oaks scattered about were a testament to the richness of the soil. I looked up at the fluffy clouds in the deep blue sky, and the persistent wind nudged me forward. Home, it seemed to whisper. Home.

• Again, the author is describing the same place, but this writing creates a much different mood. Here the mood is welcoming, peaceful, calm. We get this feeling from word choices such as “sigh of relief” and “lush grasses,” “richness of the soil,” and “fluffy clouds.” The wind is persistent, not aggressive. Also, the wind is whispering, opposed to howling–which makes the mood more welcoming. Having the word home is peaceful too.

Just by tweaking language and paying attention to word choice we can change the mood of the piece.

Keys to Mood Through Setting

• Why would we want to do this, to reflect the mood through setting? You might want to reveal the mood of the protagonist through the setting, or serve as a foil. For instance, the protagonist might have just lost a loved one, but the sky is bright and clear–almost like contradicting his despairing, grieving mood. Maybe the sunny day makes him angry at God for being so callous to his grief.
• The setting may mirror conflict in the story. Like a hurricane might reflect an impending argument between a protagonist and secondary character.
• Foreshadow an event in the plot.

Pirates of the Caribbean

At the beginning, we see a ship on a foggy sea. The weather is foul. Then a boy appears on a piece of broken piece of wood. Then the wreckage appears out of the mist. What mood is the setting helping to create? It’s helping to create a feeling of dread.

Authors can do the same with words. Using the right words will invoke the feelings you want your audience to experience while reading your story.

Finding Nemo

Nemo lives in a world full of color. And that’s how the movie starts, with Nemo swimming happily in his aquarium. Then he has to leave and travel into a gray-green sea full of particles that makes it hard to see. How does that contrast in the setting make the audience feel? The mood becomes more threatening, more unknown.

Answer these questions after watching the movie. Then raise your hand and show me your score. I’ll substitute this grade for one of your e2020 quizzes.