course material

1. Literary analysis of: A WILDERNESS STATION (Alice Munro)
Looking closely at Alice Munro’s short story, “A Wilderness Station Download A Wilderness
Station,” write an eight-page (minimum) literary critical essay developing an interpretation
of its theme (or a theme you see in it). This essay asks you to apply what you’ve learned
thus far in the course about how to read works of literature.Your essay should consider
what others say about Munro and her works (and/or this particular work).And, your essay
should address the following elements in its analysis:Type of Narration/Point of
ViewStyle/Tone/LanguageSettingPlotCharacterInterpretation and ThemeFor example, in “A
Jury of Her Peers,” you could address the overall feminist politics of the story, or you could
focus on how a particular character changes during the story, or you could write about how
the narrative structure adds meaning to the story. There is more than one approach you can
take.An “interpretation” is an individual response to the literary work or some aspect of it –
what you think it means. You can write about the whole story, but it is also okay to focus on
just some elements of the story that may seem to be particularly important to you.A “theme”
in this context is the meaning you see in the literary work, or in the aspect of the work you
want to focus on. The meaning you find in the text must be supported by the
text.ThesisYour thesis should be precise, should be the basis for an argument that would
matter to someone, and should lead directly to concrete questions for discussion and
development.It should advance a specific argument that can be supported by a close reading
of the text;It should not be too general or vague, should not state the obvious, and should
not directly evaluate the text (i.e., not say the text is “good” or “bad”)You will need to:come
up with a clear and specific thesis.identify the literary elements you are choosing to
examine closely.identify what you see as the key theme or themes in the work of literature –
remember a theme can be something you feel the author intended or perhaps is something
beyond their intent.analyze how the elements work to bring out the theme using specific
examples from the textYour thesis can be about: social issues revealed in or emphasized by
the text, plot devices and narrative moves that reveal meaning or authorial intent, symbolic
characters, etc.Contextualize your thesis by explaining why we (the readers) should care —
have a clear audience in mind.Think about how a theory (a critical lens) could help you
organize the essay.Do not make your thesis so broad that you end up resorting to
generalizations and vague overviews. Your essay should develop a clear and specific point
of view.