This document provides guidance on writing a literary essay about the novel "Tsotsi" by Athol Fugard. It discusses analyzing the essay topic, following the instructions, conducting research by finding evidence and quotes from the novel, and structuring the essay with an introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion. The body should use the "state, quote, comment" technique to present one idea per paragraph. Overall, the summary emphasizes analyzing the prompt, supporting arguments with evidence from the text, and writing in a clear structured format.
riting About LiteratureGenerally, the essays you write in litera.docxdaniely50
riting About Literature
Generally, the essays you write in literature courses attempt to answer interesting questions about works of literature. These questions are interesting for at least two reasons: a) their answers are not obvious, and b) their answers (or at least the attempt to answer them) can enrich other readers’ understanding and experience of those works of literature. Often works of literature seem to be intentionally posing these questions to us; they require us to do some work to get them to work.
Readers have asked many different types of questions of works of literature, for example:
What did the author want to communicate in this work?
What does the work reveal about the author’s feelings, opinions, or psychology?
What does the work reveal about the society in which it was written?
What can we learn from this work about the issues or topics it deals with?
What motivates the characters in the work to behave as they do?
How are literary devices used in the work?
How does the work create emotional or intellectual experiences for its readers?
Is this work good or bad?
Is this work good or bad for its readers?
Some of these questions require information from outside the text itself; for example, to argue that a work reveals a writer’s psychological condition, it would be helpful to have some other evidence of that condition to corroborate your interpretation of the work of literature. Some of these questions ask about the world outside the work—about the author, his/her society, or our own society, for example—while others try to focus more on the features of the work itself.
Analyses which try to make statements about the work itself
is often called
formalist
criticism: it attends more to the structures and strategies employed in the work. Ultimately, such arguments generally do try to move beyond the work, to claim, for instance, that it is likely to create certain effects in its readers, or that readers will understand the writer’s intent more clearly if they pay attention to its formal characteristic.
In LIT 100, we are going to be paying attention primarily to these formal features of literary works. In fiction, some of these features include tone, point of view, setting, character, etc. We will be paying less attention to extra-textual features, such as the author’s biography or the historical contexts in which the literature was produced and/or read; these elements are not less important than formal features, but they naturally vary greatly from one work to another and often require in-depth study to truly appreciate. To understand how Shakespeare’s social situation in London in the 1590s might have been reflected in his plays would require a whole course in Elizabethan history. On the other hand, the formal features we will be studying in this course can be found in literature of all eras and genres, though they may often be used to different effect by different writers at different times. Almost all fict.
riting About LiteratureGenerally, the essays you write in litera.docxdaniely50
riting About Literature
Generally, the essays you write in literature courses attempt to answer interesting questions about works of literature. These questions are interesting for at least two reasons: a) their answers are not obvious, and b) their answers (or at least the attempt to answer them) can enrich other readers’ understanding and experience of those works of literature. Often works of literature seem to be intentionally posing these questions to us; they require us to do some work to get them to work.
Readers have asked many different types of questions of works of literature, for example:
What did the author want to communicate in this work?
What does the work reveal about the author’s feelings, opinions, or psychology?
What does the work reveal about the society in which it was written?
What can we learn from this work about the issues or topics it deals with?
What motivates the characters in the work to behave as they do?
How are literary devices used in the work?
How does the work create emotional or intellectual experiences for its readers?
Is this work good or bad?
Is this work good or bad for its readers?
Some of these questions require information from outside the text itself; for example, to argue that a work reveals a writer’s psychological condition, it would be helpful to have some other evidence of that condition to corroborate your interpretation of the work of literature. Some of these questions ask about the world outside the work—about the author, his/her society, or our own society, for example—while others try to focus more on the features of the work itself.
Analyses which try to make statements about the work itself
is often called
formalist
criticism: it attends more to the structures and strategies employed in the work. Ultimately, such arguments generally do try to move beyond the work, to claim, for instance, that it is likely to create certain effects in its readers, or that readers will understand the writer’s intent more clearly if they pay attention to its formal characteristic.
In LIT 100, we are going to be paying attention primarily to these formal features of literary works. In fiction, some of these features include tone, point of view, setting, character, etc. We will be paying less attention to extra-textual features, such as the author’s biography or the historical contexts in which the literature was produced and/or read; these elements are not less important than formal features, but they naturally vary greatly from one work to another and often require in-depth study to truly appreciate. To understand how Shakespeare’s social situation in London in the 1590s might have been reflected in his plays would require a whole course in Elizabethan history. On the other hand, the formal features we will be studying in this course can be found in literature of all eras and genres, though they may often be used to different effect by different writers at different times. Almost all fict.
riting About LiteratureGenerally, the essays you write in lite.docxjoellemurphey
riting About Literature
Generally, the essays you write in literature courses attempt to answer interesting questions about works of literature. These questions are interesting for at least two reasons: a) their answers are not obvious, and b) their answers (or at least the attempt to answer them) can enrich other readers’ understanding and experience of those works of literature. Often works of literature seem to be intentionally posing these questions to us; they require us to do some work to get them to work.
Readers have asked many different types of questions of works of literature, for example:
· What did the author want to communicate in this work?
· What does the work reveal about the author’s feelings, opinions, or psychology?
· What does the work reveal about the society in which it was written?
· What can we learn from this work about the issues or topics it deals with?
· What motivates the characters in the work to behave as they do?
· How are literary devices used in the work?
· How does the work create emotional or intellectual experiences for its readers?
· Is this work good or bad?
· Is this work good or bad for its readers?
Some of these questions require information from outside the text itself; for example, to argue that a work reveals a writer’s psychological condition, it would be helpful to have some other evidence of that condition to corroborate your interpretation of the work of literature. Some of these questions ask about the world outside the work—about the author, his/her society, or our own society, for example—while others try to focus more on the features of the work itself. Analyses which try to make statements about the work itself is often calledformalist criticism: it attends more to the structures and strategies employed in the work. Ultimately, such arguments generally do try to move beyond the work, to claim, for instance, that it is likely to create certain effects in its readers, or that readers will understand the writer’s intent more clearly if they pay attention to its formal characteristic.
In LIT 100, we are going to be paying attention primarily to these formal features of literary works. In fiction, some of these features include tone, point of view, setting, character, etc. We will be paying less attention to extra-textual features, such as the author’s biography or the historical contexts in which the literature was produced and/or read; these elements are not less important than formal features, but they naturally vary greatly from one work to another and often require in-depth study to truly appreciate. To understand how Shakespeare’s social situation in London in the 1590s might have been reflected in his plays would require a whole course in Elizabethan history. On the other hand, the formal features we will be studying in this course can be found in literature of all eras and genres, though they may often be used to different effect by different writers at different times. A ...
A compilation run through of basic literary analysis techniques intended for use with freshman composition students. Sources include the Bedford Guide for College Writers (Lottery examples).
Literary AnalysisWhat distinguishes literature from other forms o.docxSHIVA101531
Literary Analysis
“What distinguishes literature from other forms of knowledge is that it cannot be understood unless we understand what it means to be human.” (J. Bronowski)
There are many ways to interpret, analyze, and evaluate literature. Perhaps you’ve already been asked to make an observation or take a position about a work of literature (whether a poem, short story, novel, play, or film) and examine such elements as plot, characters, theme, setting, conflict, structure, point of view, imagery, or symbolism. When you are asked by a teacher to write an interpretation, a critique, or a literary analysis, you are being asked to figure out what is going on in a work of literature. Much more complicated than merely summarizing a piece or writing a personal reaction to it, literary analysis requires that you read between the lines of a text and discover something meaningful there. Why does a specific image recur throughout a poem? How does a novel relate to a social issue facing the author at the time it was written? Do you recognize a pattern or perceive a problem with a character’s behavior in a play? How is the role of women significant in a movie? Answers to all of these questions can be determined only through critical thinking and the synthesis of your ideas.
· An interpretation—explains a text’s overall meaning or significance, explaining your reasoning for this interpretation with supporting evidence from the text.
· A critique—also called a critical response or a review, it provides your personal judgment about a text, supported by reasons and references to the work of art and often secondary sources.· A formal analysis—different from a critique in that examines a work of art by breaking it down into various elements to discover how the parts interrelate to create meaning of effect.
· A cultural analysis—examines a work of art by relating it to the historical, social, cultural, or political situations in which it was written to show how the author was influenced by personal experiences, events, prevailing attitudes, or contemporary values.
How can I persuade readers that my view or interpretation is reasonable?
First, be sure that your view or interpretation asserts a debatable claim.
For instance, if you were to say that “Antigone is a play about a young woman who questions authority,” you wouldn’t be saying much beyond a summary. But if you said that, “Antigone’s punishment is well-deserved because she violates the laws of the king,” that is debatable. Another student could just as easily argue that Antigone’s punishment is not well-deserved and that she should be commended for respecting the higher laws of the gods over the laws of the king.
Because you are essentially arguing that your perspective is a valid one, you have to support it effectively with reasons, evidence from the piece (direct references to specific quotations, lines, passages, scenes, etc.), and—if required—secondary sources (articles and bo ...
Information on:
Sentence structure & types
Phrases & Clauses
Direct & Indirect Speech
Concord & Register
Ambiguity
Punctuation marks
Parts of Speech
Synonyms & Antonyms
Malapropism
Comma Splice Error
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2. EXAMPLE OF A LITERARY ESSAY TOPIC:
Tsotsi’s decisions are justified by his environment.
Discuss the truth of this statement in an essay of 300 - 350 words.
(2 - 2½ pages)
OR
The theme of Apartheid plays a significant role in Tsotsi.
Discuss the validity of the above statement in an essay of 300 – 350
words.
(2 – 2 ½ pages)
3. PRACTICE LITERARY ESSAY TOPICS:
Tsotsi’s decisions are justified by his environment.
Discuss the truth of this statement in an essay of 250 - 350 words.
(1 - 2 pages)
AND
The theme of Apartheid plays a significant role in Tsotsi.
Discuss the validity of the above statement in an essay of 250 – 350
words.
(1 – 2 pages)
4. STEP ONE:
ANALYSIS OF THE TOPIC:
• The topic usually has 2 or more components:
1. THE STATEMENT/QUESTION:
Tsotsi’s decisions are justified by his environment.
OR
The theme of Apartheid plays a significant role in
Tsotsi.
5. HOW DO YOU HANDLE THE
STATEMENT/QUESTION?
The statement is the platform from which your essay
begins.
You will need to PROVIDE EVIDENCE from the novel
to either support, reject or equally evaluate the
statement.
You need to read the rest of the question in order to
understand how to plan/focus your research…
6. STEP ONE:
ANALYSIS OF THE TOPIC (PART 2)
• The ‘instruction’ tells you how to approach your essay.
• 2. INSTRUCTION:
Discuss the truth of this statement in an essay of 300 - 350 words.
(2 - 2½ pages)
Or
Discuss the validity of the above statement in an essay of 300 – 350 words.
(2 – 2 ½ pages)
7. HOW DO YOU FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTION?
• This instruction relates directly to the manner in which you structure
your research.
i.e. Discuss the truth of this statement.
• Your essay will not need to ‘take a side’ – this instruction requires you to consider all
options, before deciding whether or not the statement is true/false.
8. EXAMPLES OF OTHER INSTRUCTIONS:
Compare these two characters/scenes…….etc
▪ Your research will need to be focused on finding similar information
on both aspects in order to COMPARE.
• Contrast these two characters/scenes…….etc
• Your research will need to be focused on finding different
information on both aspects in order to CONTRAST.
• Examine the role a character plays in……
• Focus your research on the specific character AND how
they contributed to the events/outcome of the novel.
9. EXAMPLES OF OTHER INSTRUCTIONS:
• Discuss something specific e.g. a character
• Focus on the details related to the character and only the
character – be focused
• How do the female characters differ from….e.g.
modern day women
• Focus on the characters and collect information on them and
the other aspect of the question as well.
10. RESEARCH
You will be required to include evidence from the
relevant sections of the novel in your essay.
▪ Examples of evidence:
▪ Summaries of important sections
• e.g. Reference to events in which Tsotsi’s
environment is discussed.
▪ Quotes that link to the statement
• e.g. “Life had taught him no other.” –
Tsotsi (Chapter 1)
11. HOW TO QUOTE:
When quoting, always remember that the quote should
“fit” into the sentence in a flowing manner.
e.g. It is clear that Tsotsi is a product of his environment. As he
says in chapter 1, “life had taught him no other.”
12. STEP TWO:
STRUCTURE OF A LITERARY ESSAY
The basic format of all essays is the same:
▪ 1. Introduction – Usually 4-5 lines allowing the reader a glimpse of the
focus of and direction your essay has taken.
(The beginning of your literary journey.)
▪ 2. Body – Divided into paragraphs, the body allows you to present relevant
information in a logical and organised manner.
(The different stops you make while on your trip.)
▪ 3. Conclusion – Usually 6-7 lines rounding off your discussion and
explaining what the evidence has revealed in relation to the topic.
(The final destination.)
13. HOW TO WRITE AN INTRODUCTION:
Mention the title, author and genre (if you know):
In Athol Fugard’s novel, Tsotsi…
A broad statement introducing the topic in a general way:
▪ e.g. Tsotsi lives during a very difficult time in South Africa’s history,
and thus, his environment certainly influences his decisions.
A quote that links to the statement: (If possible)
e.g. It is clear that Tsotsi is a product of his environment. As he says in
chapter 1, “life had taught him no other.”
A statement presenting the general direction of the paper in
one sentence – look to the ‘instruction’:
▪ e.g. While Tsotsi is capable of making his own decisions, his
environment plays a role in his character’s decisions.
14. HOW TO STRUCTURE THE BODY:
• Remember to use words that link each paragraph to
the next in a logical manner.
• Each paragraph must contain ONE idea ONLY.
• Try as far as possible to write each paragraph in the
order the events occurred in the novel.
• Determine how many paragraphs you need to devote
each to the statement and instruction.
15. PARAGRAPHS:
“THE STATE, QUOTE, COMMENT TECHNIQUE”
State: Make a statement relating to topic
▪ Tsotsi’s decisions are influenced by his unfamiliarity with his past.
Quote: Find a quote to support your statement.
▪ In Chapter 3, Tsotsi reflects on himself and we learn his perspective on
affirming life, which is that, “he achieved this through pain and fear, and
through death. He knew no other way.”
Comment: In your own words, write down your observation.
▪ Therefore, it is clear that Tsotsi’s past has had a significant influence over his
choices and actions.
16. CONCLUSION:
• It answers the "so what?" question, i.e. You have introduced the
essay, presented the evidence…so what?
• The conclusion ends your argument with a final decision – the
meaning of all that you have written in relation to the topic.
• You must link your conclusion to the information you have provided in
the body of your essay.
17. STRUCTURE OF THE CONCLUSION:
First sentence:
• Part 1 - Link to essay:
• Based on the evidence above…
• In light of the above discussion…
• As per the points mentioned in the essay above…
• Part 2 – concluding statement:
• … one may conclude that…
• … one can see that…
• … it is clear that…
Second sentence:
• Mention the points discussed in your essay
• Tsotsi’s past, the Apartheid system, the darkness within Tsotsi, the lack of memories etc
Third sentence:
• What does this show us – final statement/decision
18. IMPORTANT REMINDERS:
1. Do NOT use “I” statements
2. Your personal opinion is irrelevant
3. Do not judge the character’s actions or viewpoints
4. Use the text, and only the text, to support your statements.
5. Write in the present tense.
6. Structure your essay properly
7. DO NOT tell the story
