Essay Instructions: Literary Analysis Instructions for the Literary Analysis Essay  (English 1302 Online) Literary Analysis In this essay you should combine your practice responding and analyzing short stories with support derived from research. So far, in the discussion boards, we have practiced primarily formal analysis.  Now I want you to practice "joining the conversation."  In this essay you will write a literary analysis that incorporates the ideas of others.  The trick is to accurately present ideas and interpretations gathered from your research while adding to the conversation by presenting your own ideas and analysis.     You will be evaluated, in part, on how well you use external sources.  I want to see that you can quote, paraphrase and summarize without plagiarizing.  Remember, any unique idea must be credited, even if you put it in your own words. Choose one of the approaches explained in the "Approaches to Literary Analysis" located at the bottom of this document. Each approach will require research, and that research should provide the context in which you present your own ideas and support your thesis.  Be sure to properly document your research.  Review the links in the "Writing about Literature" tab as these will help guide you. While I am asking you to conduct outside research, do not lose sight of the primary text to which you are responding---the story!  Your research should support your interpretations of the story. Be sure that your thesis is relevant to the story and that you quote generously from the story. Purpose:  critical analysis, writing from sources Length: 5 pages, approx 1500 words Documentation:  Minimum of 5 sources required.  Documented in MLA format. (Note: review the material in "finding and evaluating sources" to help you choose relevant and trustworthy sources.) Choose from the following short stories, all located in the folder located in this unit. A Perfect Day for a Bananafish The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber The Wall The Swimmer The Lesson At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers The Birthmark For Esme... with Love and Squalor Below are some examples.  I do not require you to choose one of these topics.  They are just here to give you an idea of the type of approaches that will work for this essay. 1.   Philosophical analysis: How do the stories by Jean Paul Sartre and Albert Camus reflect the philosophy of existentialism?   2.   Socio/cultural analysis:  What opinion about marriage and gender roles does Hemingway advance in "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber"?  3.  Historical analysis: What social dilemmas faced by African Americans in the 1960s might have inspired Toni Cade Bambara to write "The Lesson"? 4.  Biographical analysis:  What events in Salman Rushdie's life might have influenced the events in "At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers"? 5. Psychological analysis:  How is John Cheever's "The Swimmer" a metaphor for the psychology of addiction? Appr.

1. Essay Instructions: Literary Analysis
Instructions for the Literary Analysis Essay (English 1302
Online)
Literary Analysis
In this essay you should combine your practice responding and
analyzing short stories with support derived from research. So
far, in the discussion boards, we have practiced primarily
formal analysis. Now I want you to practice "joining the
conversation." In this essay you will write a literary analysis
that incorporates the ideas of others. The trick is to accurately
present ideas and interpretations gathered from your research
while adding to the conversation by presenting
your own
ideas and analysis.
You will be evaluated, in part, on how well you use external
sources. I want to see that you can quote, paraphrase and
summarize without plagiarizing. Remember, any unique idea
must be credited, even if you put it in your own words.
Choose one of the approaches explained in the "Approaches to
Literary Analysis" located at the bottom of this document. Each
approach will require research, and that research should provide
the context in which you present your own ideas and support
your thesis. Be sure to properly document your research.
Review the links in the "Writing about Literature" tab as these
will help guide you.
While I am asking you to conduct outside research, do not lose
sight of the primary text to which you are responding---the

2. story! Your research should support
your
interpretations of the story. Be sure that your thesis is relevant
to the story and that you quote generously from the story.
Purpose: critical analysis, writing from sources
Length: 5 pages, approx 1500 words
Documentation: Minimum of 5 sources required. Documented
in MLA format. (Note: review the material in "finding and
evaluating sources" to help you choose relevant and trustworthy
sources.)
Choose from the following short stories, all located in the
folder located in this unit.
A Perfect Day for a
Bananafish
The Short Happy Life of Francis
Macomber
The Wall
The Swimmer
The Lesson
At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers
The Birthmark

3. For Esme... with Love and Squalor
Below are some examples. I do not require you to choose one
of these topics. They are just here to give you an idea of the
type of approaches that will work for this essay.
1. Philosophical analysis: How do the stories by Jean Paul
Sartre and Albert Camus reflect the philosophy of
existentialism?
2. Socio/cultural analysis: What opinion about marriage and
gender roles does Hemingway advance in "The Short Happy
Life of Francis Macomber"?
3. Historical analysis: What social dilemmas faced by African
Americans in the 1960s might have inspired Toni Cade Bambara
to write "The Lesson"?
4. Biographical analysis: What events in Salman Rushdie's life
might have influenced the events in "At the Auction of the Ruby
Slippers"?
5. Psychological analysis: How is John Cheever's "The
Swimmer" a metaphor for the psychology of addiction?
Approaches to Literary analysis
Formal analysis
- This type of analysis focuses on the formal elements of the
work (language, symbolism, plot, character, setting) in an effort
to explain how the story functions. It is concerned with the
parts of the text and how those parts fit together to create
meaning. Outside information such as the author's background
and historical events are generally not referenced in formalist
criticism. A formal analysis conceives of the literary work as a

4. self-contained experience.
If you choose this approach you will need to research scholarly
interpretations of your selected story and include those as part
of the conversation.
Historical
analysis
- This type of analysis uses historical context to understand the
work. Many 20 th century stories can be best understood within
the framework of major events: Industrialization, The
Holocaust, WWII, The Great Depression, The Civil Rights
Movement, feminism, etc. A historical analysis will "base
interpretations on the interplay between the text and historical
contexts."
" a piece of literature is shaped by the time period in which it
was written and thus must be examined and interpreted in the
context of that time period. This theory attempts to tie the
characters, events and language in a piece of literature to events
from the time period in which it was written. "
If you choose this approach for your literary analysis, you
should be well aware of the major events of the time period.
Biographical analysis
- This type of analysis uses the author's life as a starting point
for interpreting the story. The belief is that it is necessary to
know about the author and the political, economical, and
sociological context of his times in order to truly understand his
works. How do the themes present in the story reflect the
concerns and experiences of the author? In this approach there
may be considerable overlap with historical analysis. That's ok-
they are not mutually exclusive.

5. Sociological analysis (cultural criticism)
- This type of analysis interprets the story in term of social
structures: class, race, gender, culture, nationality or
economics. Feminist criticism, postcolonial criticism, Marxist
criticism, etc. all fall into this category. It can also overlap with
historical analysis. For example, a Marxist criticism of
Catcher in the Rye
might claim that Holden's depression is derived from material
wealth and social inequality.
Philosophical
analysis:
This approach uses a philosophical framework from which to
approach the work. The belief is that the larger purpose of
literature is to teach morality and to probe philosophical issues.
Existentialism is a common philosophy that find roots in
literature, particularly in that of Sartre and Camus. Here are
some questions to ask if you are interested in this approach.
•
&νβσπ;
What religious or ethical beliefs does the text deal with
directly? Are any
religions or philosophies mentioned specifically in the text?
• &νβσπ;
What religious or ethical beliefs or philosophies does the author
seem to favor? How can you tell?
• &νβσπ;
What religious or ethical beliefs or philosophies does the author
seem to disfavor?

6. • &νβσπ;
What behaviors do the characters display that the author wants
us to think are "right"?
Psychological Analysis:
This approach uses theories of human behavior as a means of
analyzing the story. Psychological critics view works through
the lens of psychology. They look either at the psychological
motivations of the characters or of the authors themselves,
although the former is generally considered a more respectable
approach. Most frequently, psychological critics apply Freudian
psychology to works, but other approaches (such as a Jungian
approach) also exist.
•
&νβσπ;
Are there any specific psychologists or psychological theories
mentioned in the text? In what ways?
•
&νβσπ;
What theories of human behavior does the writer seem to
believe? How can you tell?
•
&νβσπ;
What theories of human behavior does the writer seem to
reject? How can you tell?

7. •
&νβσπ;
How do people'> s minds work in the text? How do people
think? How are their thoughts shown?
•
&νβσπ;
In what ways do the structure and organization of the text
indicate the writer'� s beliefs about the workings of the mind?