Literary Analysis

1. Literary Analysis English III Mr. Boesch

2. Literary Analysis • The study of literature is the study of life through the eyes of an artist. • It is an expository essay • analyze a short story’s literary elements (character, setting, point of view, conflict, irony, etc), which convey a theme.   • make an argument

3. DO NOT add your own judgment of the story OR agree or disagree.   • This kind of paper is not intended to be a persuasive or evaluative piece.   • Stick to the analysis.

4. Introduction Paragraph • Grabber • Name of the author, title of the short story • Literary genre • The theme and the elements the author uses to convey his/her point.   • Present elements in order of importance. • Thesis comes at the end of intro paragraph

5. Potential Grabbers • Interesting Fact • Thought-provoking quote • Short story quote • Quick summary lead • A big picture connection

6. Body Paragraphs • discuss the first literary element named in the introduction.   • show how that element relates to the story’s theme and provide specific references from the story: literary devices or quotations.   • conclude paragraph by showing the relationship between that element and the overall theme

7. Concluding Paragraph • BEGINS with a restatement of the author, title, and thesis (author's theme) • Concludes with a general statement that provides a sense of closure for the essay.   • Consider trying to relate the theme of the story to the world at large.  

8. Sample Intro Paragraph •        Many worry about the effects of extensive television viewing on both children and adults, fearing that it will cause a decline in intelligence in future generations.  Ray Bradbury shows a similar concern in his science fiction story “The Pedestrian.”  Indeed, using the literary elements of setting, character, and symbolism, Bradbury predicts that television will lead future generations to an inferior, unfulfilling existence.

9. Body Paragraph Setting plays a key part in conveying Bradbury’s theme to the reader.  Set in a not-so-distant 2053, one finds a world that is not more advanced and productive but is, instead, quiet and unfulfilling.  Set on a bleak November night, the late fall chill reflects the empty lives of all but the central character, Leonard Mead.  Other humans are conveyed as ghosts or phantoms locked away in dark, tomb-like homes where they gaze entranced at inane television programs, such as old westerns and old-fashioned comedy revues.  Despite a virtual disappearance of crime in the city, this culture is not appealing.  Even the criminals are lulled into passivity by the “boob tube”, and the government, represented by a lone, mechanized police car, enforces this conformity.  In Bradbury’s future world, it is the television that has the power, and its kingdom is a world of half-dead humans sleepwalking through their lives.

10. Body Paragraph Placed in this world is Bradbury’s central character Leonard Mead.  The only character without a “viewing screen,” Mead is also the only one who actively engages in life, as symbolized by his nightly walk.  He walks, observes nature, feels the cold chill of the night throughout his body, and engages in imaginative thinking.  Contrasted with the television-viewing phantoms in darkened houses, Mead is alone,  “Or as good as alone” (69).  Mead’s former career as a writer is virtually dead since in this society, nobody reads, preferring to stare at the television instead.  His home, as his personality, is alive with light.  The reader mourns Mead’s dilemma when he is taken by the police to a psychiatric unit due to his lack of conformity.  Bradbury’s characterization of Leonard Mead and the contrast with the others points the blame at one source: television.

11. Body Paragraph Television is one of several symbols used by Bradbury to convey his theme to the reader.  It is used as an addictive drug, lulling people into passive acceptance of conformity and uselessness. As he passes the homes of people described as "gray phantoms", Mead asks, “Where are the cowboys rushing, and do I see the United States Cavalry over the next hill to the rescue?"  (Bradbury 95).  The use of televisions (or viewing screens) is reinforced by another symbol, the automated police car that coldly accosts Leonard Mead and after threatening to shoot him because he is not home watching television;  the car whisks him away to the “Psychiatric Center for Research on Regressive Tendencies” (96) as he passes lifeless homes in which "Ill-lit by the television light. . .people sat like the dead, the gray or multicolored lights touching their faces, but never really touching them" (98). Bradbury warns that excessive television will strip humans of their humanity, leading to tomb-like existences.  

12. Concluding Paragraph Bradbury’s use of setting, character, and symbolism in his science fiction story “The Pedestrian” show his concern that television will harm future generations, making them unthinking and unfulfilled.  As television began to grow as a popular medium, many people share Bradbury’s view.  It remains to be seen whether future programming will facilitate learning and growth in viewers or lead to a less productive, less-fulfilled existence that Bradbury foresees.

13. Fundamentals • Follow MLA format • Use transitions • Keep analysis in present tense/active voice • Block the paragraphs (not double-spaced) • 12 pt. Times New Roman • All essays subject to Turnitin.com

14. Fundamentals • Do not use first or second person (I or you) • Use high diction • Vary your sentence lengths • Vary the beginnings of your sentences • Do not summarize • Stick to your thesis point

15. Essay Length and Parameters • Three-four pages in length on a Word document. • 1 inch margins • No works cited page

16. Due Dates • Rough Draft: Nov. 18 (hard copy) • Final Draft: Nov. 22 (submitted online)

17. Works Cited • Juniper, Sandy. "Literary Analysis Sample and Guidelines." First Class. 11 Sept. 2006. Web. 03 Nov. 2011. <http://fc.pickerington.k12.oh.us/~sandy_juniper/FOV1-000151F9/S010C0463>.