Literature- Essay
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Essay1Instruction.docxEssay 1: Assignment: Choose one short story or narrative essay we have read, and write a
2-3-page double-spaced essay (between 500-700 words) in which you analyze a
theme presented in that story. What is the theme and how does the author reveal
that theme (through literary devices such as characterization, symbols, setting,
point of view)?
Objective
Your objective in writing a literary analysis essay is to convince the person reading your
essay that you have supported the idea you are developing. Unlike reaction papers and
classroom discussion, essay writing must stick with great determination to the specific
point of development. This kind of writing demands tight organization and control.
Therefore, your essay must have a central idea (thesis), it must have several
paragraphs that grow systematically out of the central idea, and everything in it must be
directly related to the central idea and must contribute to the reader’s understanding of
that central idea. These three principles are listed again below:
1. Your essay must cover the theme you are writing about.
2. Your essay must have a central idea (stated in your thesis) that
governs its development.
3. Your essay must be organized so that every part contributes
something to the reader’s understanding of the central idea.
The Thesis Statement
The thesis statement tells your reader what to expect: it is a restricted, precisely worded
declarative sentence that states the purpose of your essay -- the point you are trying to
make. Without a carefully conceived thesis, an essay has no chance of success.
Typically, the thesis statement falls at the end of your introductory paragraph.
The Introduction
The introduction to your literary analysis essay must include background information
relevant to your thesis and necessary for the reader to understand the position you are
taking. In addition, you need to include the title of the work of literature and name of the
author. The following is a satisfactory introductory paragraph which includes an
appropriate thesis statement:
In Alberto Alvaro Rios‟s short story “The Secret Lion,” he presents a
twelve-year-old boy‟s view of growing up—everything changes. As the narrator informs
the reader, when the magician pulls a tablecloth out from under a pile of dishes, children
are amazed at the “stay-the-same part,” while adults focus only on the tablecloth itself
(42). Adults have the benefit of experience and know the trick will work as long as the
technique is correct. When people “grow up,” they gain this experience and knowledge
but lose their innocence and sense of wonder. In other words, the price paid for growing
up is a permanent sense of loss . This tradeoff is central to “The Secret Lion.” The key
symbols in the story reinforce its main theme: change is inevitable and always
accompanied by a sense of loss.
If we look carefully at the above thesis, we will see that the writer has presented his or
her thesis at the end of the introduction. The thesis includes the theme the student has
identified (change is inevitable and always accompanied by a sense of loss ), along with their
understanding of how the author develops that theme (through the use of key
symbols).
The Body of the Essay and the Importance of Topic Sentences
The term regularly used for the development of the central idea of a literary analysis
essay is the body. In this section you present the paragraphs (at least 3 paragraphs for
a 500-700 word essay) that support your thesis statement. Good literary analysis
essays contain an explanation of your ideas and evidence from the text that supports
those ideas. Textual evidence consists of summary, paraphrase, specific details, and
direct quotations.
Each paragraph should contain a topic sentence (usually the first sentence of the
paragraph) which states one of the topics associated with your thesis, combined with
some assertion about how the topic will support the central idea. The purpose of the
topic sentence is twofold:
1. To relate the details of the paragraph to your thesis statement.
2. To tie the details of the paragraph together.
The substance of each of your developmental paragraphs (the body of your essay) will
be the explanations, summaries, paraphrases, specific details, and direct quotations
you need to support and develop the more general statement you have made in your
topic sentence.
The following is the first developmental paragraph after an introductory paragraph in
which the author establishes his thesis as “The setting is the antagonist of the story
and plays a role that is as important as Sammy’s.” Notice how the author begins his
paragraph with a clear topic sentence (in bold print below), followed by explanations
and textual evidence:
Sammy's descriptions of the A & P present a setting that is ugly, monotonous, and rigidly
regulated. The chain store is a common fixture in modern society, so the reader can identify with
the uniformity Sammy describes. The fluorescent light is as blandly cool as the "checkerboard
green-and-cream rubber tile floor" (486). The "usual traffic in the store moves in one direction
(except for the swim suited girls, who move against it), and everything is neatly
organized and categorized in tidy aisles. The dehumanizing routine of this
environment is suggested by Sammy's offhand references to the typical shoppers
as "sheep, “house slaves," and "pigs” (486). These regular customers seem to
walk through the store in a stupor; as Sammy indicates, not even dynamite could
move them out of their routine (485).
The above body paragraph is a strong one because it is developed through the use of
quotations, summary, details, and explanation to support the topic sentence. Notice,
also, how it relates back to the thesis statement.
The Conclusion
Your literary analysis essay should have a concluding paragraph that gives your essay
a sense of completeness and lets your readers know that they have come to the end of
your paper. Your concluding paragraph might restate the thesis in different words,
summarize the main points you have made, or make a relevant comment about the
literary work you are analyzing, but from a different perspective. Do not introduce a new
topic in your conclusion.
The following is a conclusion a writer composed after writing an essay in which the
thesis was “A character analysis of the Duke reveals that through his internal
dialogue, his interpretation of earlier incidents, and his actions, his
traits—arrogance, jealousy, and greediness—emerge.” Notice how the writer
returns to that central idea:
If the Duke has any redeeming qualities, they fail to appear in the work.
Browning's emphasis on the Duke's traits of arrogance, jealousy, and materialism make
it apparent that anyone who might have known the Duke personally would have based
his opinion of him on these three personality "flaws." Ultimately, the reader’s opinion of
the Duke is not a favorable one, and it is clear that Browning intended that the reader
feel this way.
The Title of Your Essay
It is essential that you give your essay a title that is descriptive of the approach you are
taking in your paper. Just as you did in your introductory paragraph, try to get the
reader's attention. Using only the title of the literary work you are examining is
unsatisfactory. Titles must be centered.
The titles that follow are appropriate for the papers discussed above:
The A & P as a State of Mind
Theme in "The Secret Lion": The Struggle of Adolescence
When writing essays for English, it is expected that you use MLA documentation. There
are many online tools to help you understand MLA documentation, but since this paper
will only include one source to cite (the text you have chosen to analyze), I have
simplified what you will need to use in-text citations.
First, as stated above under “Introductions,” in your introduction, you should include the
title and author of the work you are analyzing. Once stated, it is not necessary for you to
repeat the title in your essay. However, you will need to use parenthetical citations when
discussing what it is she or he is doing in the text. Below are some examples for how
you might do that:
Examples:
• Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of
powerful feelings" (263).
• Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings"
(Wordsworth 263).
• Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
Both citations in the examples above, (263) and (Wordsworth 263), tell readers that the
information in the sentence can be located on page 263 of a work by an author named
Wordsworth. If readers want more information about this source, they can turn to the
Works Cited page, where, under the name of Wordsworth, they would find the following
information:
Wordsworth, William. Lyrical Ballads . Oxford UP, 1967.
Language/Grammar Usage
Finally, it should go without saying that a college essay must use grammatically correct,
Standard American English. This means that ideas must be presented in a way that
make sense, are grammatically correct, and punctuated properly. While this is not the
main focus when grading a literary analysis paper, it is important and will affect your
grade if numerous errors are made, or ideas are not stated in a clear or understandable
manner.
