Primer on Literary Analysis

1. Primer on Literary Analysis OCHS

2. I. Plot • A) The most important aspect of reading a book is understanding the plot. • B) The plot is all about what is happening….there are three things particularly to think about: • 1) What actions/info are taking place in the story? • 2) Who is/are taking the actions? • 3) How important are these actions?

3. I. Plot Engagement • Two men walked through town. They passed a little stream, where they stopped to fish, and then camped in the forest beyond. One man was an expert at throwing knives. The other man was a jerk. In the morning, the people from the town, seeing smoke, came to the camp. They found one man dead, with a knife in his chest. • 1) List the actions/info in the order that they happened…leave out any actions that are not important. • 2) Based on the information you have, what is the best guess as to what happened.

4. II. Characters • Characters are just as important as the plot. • A) Who are the people in the story? • B) What are they like? • C) What do they look like? • D) What has happened in their past? • E) What motivates them—what is their purpose?

5. II. Character Engagement • Pick a character that is well known to you (ex. Charlie Brown, Harry Potter, Bella, etc.) • Describe the 5 aspects of character: • Who they are? • What are they like (personality)? • Looks? • Past? • Motivation…purpose?

6. III. Themes, Motifs, Allegory • A) Authors write books for a reason—the themes of their stories tell you what is important to them. • B) An allegory—a symbolical narrative. • C) Motif—a recurring subject, theme, or idea.

7. III. Theme Engagement • It was just a part of life. They moved somewhere for 6 months, or even a year, and then move. They never stayed anywhere for more than two years. Friends, sports teams, schools and teachers; everything was temporary. All of it taught Mary to do everything quickly… • What is the theme of this passage? What connections can you make with the character? Do you know anyone like Mary?

8. IV. Language • A) An author’s use of language greatly impacts all the other aspects of their writing (i.e. plot, characters, and theme). • B) Delivery • Voice: the author’s/writing’s personality • Tone: how the author feels about their subject • Mood: how the writing is intended to make the reader feel.

9. IV. Language (cont.) • C) Literary Devices/Elements/Tools • 1) Look for how the author uses literary tools in their writing. • 2) Examples include: • a) figurative language • i) simile • ii) metaphor • iii) personification • iv) def: language used to make a point, but isn’t literally true. • b) irony • c) symbolism • d) foreshadowing

10. IV. Language Engagement • THE "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal — the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution. The scarlet stains upon the body and especially upon the face of the victim, were the pest ban which shut him out from the aid and from the sympathy of his fellow-men. And the whole seizure, progress and termination of the disease, were the incidents of half an hour. • Identify the voice, tone, and mood of this passage. • Are there any literary tools here? What is the affect on the reader?