Analyzing Literature and Postcolonialism

1. Analyzing Literature and Postcolonialism

2. Analyzing Literature • “Because literary authors don’t tell us explicitly what the text means, it’s always going to be arguable—and your task in writing about a literary work is to argue for what you think it means”—They Say/I Say

3. Definition of Literary Analysis • In a literary analysis, “carefully examine and sometimes evaluate a work of literature or an aspect of a work of literature. As with any analysis, this requires you to break the subject down into its component parts. Examining the different elements of a piece of literature is not an end in itself but rather a process to help you better appreciate and understand the work of literature as a whole” (“How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay”).

4. Consider Basing a Literary Analysis around • Allegory • Character(s) • Diction • Figurative language • Imagery • Plot • Point of view • Setting • Symbolism

5. Allegory

6. Definition of Allegory • “Allegory is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. It can be employed in prose and poetry to tell a story with a purpose of teaching or explaining an idea or a principle. The objective of its use is to teach some kind of a moral lesson” (“Allegory”) Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”

7. Famous Allegory • One of the most famous allegories of all-time comes from Plato’s Republic, where the author tells a story through his well-known “Allegory of the Cave.” The allegory of the cave revolves around an idea also played with in the movie “The Matrix” that what we think of as reality is merely an illusion Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne in “The Matrix”

8. Allegory • Drawing on the novel you are reading, write down several of the main potential allegories that you may have found in the text From ”The Road” the movie (2009)

9. Diction

10. Definition of Diction • “Diction can be defined as style of speaking or writing, determined by the choice of words by a speaker or a writer. Diction, or choice of words, often separates good writing from bad writing. It depends on a number of factors. Firstly, the word has to be right and accurate. Secondly, words should be appropriate to the context in which they are used. Lastly, the choice of words should be such that the listener or reader understands easily” (“Diction”)

11. Types of Diction • Formal diction: the use of formal words that are used in formal situations like a presentation or press conference • Informal diction: the use of informal words that are frequently used when talking to friends, family, or via text message • Colloquial diction: the use of words which may be common to certain groups like contractors, doctors, surfers, or skaters • Slang diction: the use of newly coined or even impolite words or phrases

12. Formal Diction • From The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, “It seemed to me that a careful examination of the room and the lawn might possibly reveal some traces of this mysterious individual. You know my methods, Watson.”

13. Informal Diction • “Sometimes G-d gits familiar wid us womenfolks too and talks His inside business. He told me how surprised He was ‘bout y’all truning out so smart after Him makin’ yuh different” from Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching G-d

14. Diction Exercise • Skim through parts of the novel you are reading. What type of language does the author use? Can you find examples of formal, informal, colloquial, or slang diction?

15. Figurative Language

16. Types of Figurative Language • Metaphor • Simile • Hyperbole • Personification

17. Metaphors • A metaphor is “an analogy [or comparison that identifies] one object with another.” Metaphors usually use the word “is.” For example, in The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, Van Allsburg writes, “Her eyes are the blankness of a tall stone cliff worn away by a raging gray sea”

18. Examples of Metaphors • “’The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings” from Kate Chopin’s The Awakening (Chopin 111)

19. Examples of Metaphors in Music • The Doors’ “Light My Fire” (1967) • Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” (1983) • Metallica’s “Master of Puppets” (1984) • Jay-Z’s “Dirt off Your Shoulder” (2003) • Maroon 5’s “Animals” (2014) • Lady Gaga’s “Diamond Heart” (2016)

20. Building a Metaphor • 1. Metaphors are vivid and unlikely • 2. Think about an activity you enjoy. Compare it to something different, equating the two like “Water polo scrimmage is like ‘Captain America Civil War’”

21. Imagery

22. Definition of Imagery • “Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses. Take, for example, Scene V, Act I of “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare: • “O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!/It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night/Like a rich jewel”

23. Imagery • “The water was the color of clay and roily and they could hear it in the rips downstream. The sandbar below them was thickly grown with willow and carrizo cane and the bluffs on the far side were stained and cavepocked and traversed by a constant myriad of swallows. Beyond that the desert rolled as before” from Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses

24. Imagery • “The way down out of the mountains toward the western sea led them through green gorges thick with vines where paroquets and gaudy macaws leered and croaked. The trail followed a river and the river was up and muddy and there were many fords and they crossed and recrossed the river continually. Pale cascades hung down the sheer mountain wall above them” from Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian (205)

25. Setting Samuel L. Jackson in “Django Unchained”

26. Definition of Setting • “The setting of a piece of literature is the time and place in which the story takes place. The definition of setting can also include social statuses, weather, historical period, and details about immediate surroundings…The setting provides the backdrop to the story and helps create mood” (“Setting”) Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in “Shawshank Redemption”

27. Setting • Several famous stories are set on or around boats like Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851), Stephen Crane’s short story “The Open Boat” (1897), Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” (1952), and the movie “Jaws” (1975)

28. Setting • Make a list of the setting(s) in the novel you are reading

29. Symbolism • Symbolism: the deliberate emphasis of particular symbolic effects in a scene. For example, in the 2004 film “The Notebook,” the director shows the lovers reignite their passion in the rain, because water is a common symbol for rebirth.

30. Symbolism of Light • Light: the spiritual, the divine, intelligence, goodness, reality, transcendence, knowledge, purity, morality, energy and optimism (“Dictionary of Symbolism”) Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi from “Star Wars” (1977)

31. Symbolism of Darkness • Darth Vader from “Star Wars” (1977) (above) and Jay and Bob from “Jay and Bob Strike Back” (2001) (below) • Darkness: death, evil, destruction, captivity, spiritual darkness, bad judgment, misfortune, and ignorance (“Dictionary of Symbolism”)

32. Symbolism of Blue • Captain America and Iron Man from “The Avengers” (2012) (above) and two castings of Captain James T. Kirk and Captain Spock from Star Trek (bottom right), and Obi-Wan fighting Dark Vader (bottom left) • “Blue is the color most often associated with issues of the spirit and intellect…strong connections with…water; for this reason it can have feminine, cool, reflective qualities…loyalty, fidelity, constancy, and chastity” (“Dictionary of Symbolism”)

33. Symbolism of Green • Dualistic in meaning, green represents, “growth, renewal, and life,” but green also represents, “envy, evil, and trickery.” Green also symbolizes, “resurrection, permanence, and love” (“Dictionary of Symbolism”) “James Gatz” by CalDuff (above) and Master Yoda from Star Wars (below)

34. Symbolism of Red Brad Pitt in “Fight Club” and Robert Downey, Jr. as Iron Man pictured with Spiderman (above); “Star Wars” (below). Another multi-natured color, red is associated with, “love, passion, health, and sexual arousal,” but also with “war, anger, blood-lust, and vengeance” (“Dictionary of Symbolism”)

35. Symbolism of White “The Natural” (1984) (above), Daniel (Ruben Blades) from “Fear of the Walking Dead” (2015) (above), and Olaf from “Frozen” (2013) below) White symbolizes, “innocence…purification… life, holiness, love, redemption” (“Dictionary of Symbolism”)

36. Three Objectives of a Literary Analysis • Cover the topic you are writing about • Have a central idea (stated in your thesis) that governs the development of your essay • Organize the essay so that every part of the essay contributes to the reader’s understanding of the central idea

37. Analyzing Literature • “The answer lies in the evidence provided by the work: its images, dialogue, plot, historical references, tone, stylistic details, and so forth”—They Say/I Say

38. Postcolonialism • “It’s nae good blamin’ it oan the English for colonising us. Ah don’t hate the English. They’re just wankers. We are colonised by wankers. We can’t even pick a decent, vibrant, healthy culture to be colonised by. We’re ruled by effete arseholes”—Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh

39. Postcolonialism • In Always Running, Luis J. Rodriguez wrote, “It takes a scientific approach to uncover the source of exploitation, to unravel society’s delicate and intricate tapestry, stitched with the skin of our mothers, the bones of our ancestors, the blood of all who toil” (Rodriguez 184).

40. Postcolonialism • Postcolonialism addresses questions that arise in, “the aftermath of imperialism.” • “By 1914…Europe held a grand total of roughly 85 percent of the earth as colonies, protectorates, dependencies, dominions, and commonwealths” (Said 8).

41. Postcolonialism • “Every empire, however, tells itself and the world that it is unlike all other empires, that its mission is not to plunder and control but to educate and liberate,” the Los Angeles Times quoted Edward Said in 2003 Edward Said

42. The Enlightenment • The Enlightenment…was “a European intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries in which ideas concerning God, reason, nature, and humanity were synthesized into a worldview” according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

43. Postcolonialism • “The notion of ‘unmasking’ the Enlightenment became a powerful theme in postcolonial writing.” Edward Said

44. Postcolonial Retellings of “the Classics” • Original: William Shakespeare’s The Tempest (1611) • Retellings: Aime Cesaire’s A Tempest (1969) and George Lamming’s Water with Berries (1971) • Original: Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights (1847) • Retelling: Maryse Conde’s Windward Heights (1998)

45. Postcolonialism • “The English language is nobody’s special property. It is the property of the imagination”—Derek Walcott Author Derek Walcott

46. Seminal Works of Postcolonial Theory • The Wretched of the Earth(1961) and Black Skin, White Masks (1952) by Franz Fanon • Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison (1975) by Michel Foucault • Orientalism (1978) and Culture and Imperialism (1993) by Edward Said Michel Foucault

47. West Indian Literature • “The Caribbean endured a different kind of subjugation. It was a terror of the mind; a daily exercise in self-mutilation. This was the breeding ground for every uncertainty of self” (xxxix). A Caribbean Sugar Plantation

48. The Theme of Identity • Author Sherman Alexie states that “being colonized automatically makes you bipolar.”

49. The Theme of Identity • “This notion of the double, or divided, or fluid identity…is a characteristic of the postcolonial writer” (Barry 196).

50. Second Wave of Great West Indian Authors • Sam Selvon (1923-1994) • George Lamming (1927-present) • Derek Walcott (1930-2017) • Kamau Brathwaite (1930-present) • V.S. Naipaul (1932-present) • Jamaica Kincaid (1949-present) Jamaica Kincaid