After Reading Literary Analysis TEST-IT Chart



Post Reading: Literary Analysis ChartExpectation: All answers must be in sentence form (unless otherwise specified), and must contain *textual evidence where applicable.*Textual Evidence = Specific References to the Text/Direct Quotes with CommentaryCharacters Protagonist: Who is the main character?Is the main character dynamic or static? Use textual evidence to support your answer. Citations needed.List two adjectives to describe the main character with evidence from the text to support your choices. Citations needed.Point of View and ConflictPoint of View: Is the story told in 1st person POV or 3rd person POV (limited or omniscient)? If the story is told in 1st person POV, what information do we know about the narrator? Is he/she trustworthy? What biases does the narrator bring to the story? If the story is told in 3rd person POV, is it limited, omniscient, or objective? Use evidence from the story to support your answer. Conflict: List and label (internal or external/man vs __) the main conflicts that the protagonist struggles with in the story.Antagonist: Who/What is the main antagonist in this story? How does the antagonist help to create the conflict?Setting and FocusSetting: Support all answers with textual evidence that focuses on the setting.How does the setting affect/ shape the characters? Use textual evidence to support your answer. Citations needed.Focus: Is the story plot driven, character driven or both. Explain.Plot Based/Driven – The story is action based and moves along at a faster rate for the reader. Conflicts tend to include man vs. man, nature, society.Character Based/Driven – The story focuses more on one character and the way that character feels. The plot is slower, but the reader better understands the emotions and motivations of the character. Conflicts tend to include man vs. self, circumstance.Elements of FictionElements of Fiction: Identify and explain how one of the following literary techniques are used in the narrative and the effect is has on the characters, plot, and/or reader: symbolism, flashback, foreshadowing, situational irony, dramatic irony, narrative tone, and/or imagery.Social Issues and ThemeSocial Issues: How is the story relevant to today’s society? Identify a social issue or behavior in the story that we struggle with in today’s society? Use textual evidence to support your reasoning. Theme: List one theme from the story.Evidence: Explain how the selected theme is developed throughout the story using textual evidence.Universal Themes: Connect the theme from this story to another story that you have read. Support your connection with evidence from both stories.Remember: Use the present tense when writing about literature. Post Reading: Literary Analysis Chart (Exemplar)-27622511874400Title: “The Little Girl and the Wolf” Author: James Thurber, 1939One afternoon a big wolf waited in a dark forest for a little girl to come along carrying a basket of food to her grandmother. Finally, a little girl did come along and she was carrying a basket of food. "Are you carrying that basket to your grandmother?" asked the wolf. The little girl said yes, she was. So, the wolf asked her where her grandmother lived and the little girl told him and he disappeared into the wood. When the little girl opened the door of her grandmother's house she saw that there was somebody in bed with a nightcap and nightgown on. She had approached no nearer than twenty-five feet from the bed when she saw that it was not her grandmother but the wolf, for even in a nightcap a wolf does not look any more like your grandmother than the Metro-Goldwyn* lion looks like Calvin Coolidge.** So the little girl took an automatic out of her basket and shot the wolf dead. (Moral: It is not so easy to fool little girls nowadays as it used to be.) * Symbol for the MGM Lion ** 30th president of the United StatesCharactersProtagonist: The main character is the little girl.The protagonist is round. She is presented as a helpless little girl carrying a basket of food to her grandmother. Nothing in the story implies that she is a force to be reckoned with. When she pulls the automatic out of the basket, she changes from an innocent to a killer. There is not enough information in the story to determine if the little girl is static or dynamic.The little girl is kind (she takes food to her grandmother), na?ve (she gives personal information to a stranger), and brave (she confronts the wolf and carries a gun)Point of View /ConflictPoint of View: The story is told in 3rd person POV.3rd person objective: The reader is told by the narrator what the little girl and wolf do and say. At no time is the reader in a character’s head, although the narrator does speak directly to the reader in the second paragraph (2nd person POV).Conflict: External, man vs. man – The little girl struggles against the predatory nature and duplicity of the wolf. #thestruggleisreal #littlegirlsinadangerousworldThe main antagonist is the wolf. The wolf creates a problem for the little girl when he pretends to be her grandmother.Setting and FocusSetting: The dangers of the dark forest and the animals that lurk within is what drives the little girl to hide a gun in her basket. The little girl is forced to defend herself when she enters her grandmother’s house and sees the wolf in the bed.Plot or Character Driven: The story is plot driven, because we do not focus on the thoughts and emotions of the little girl or the wolf. Instead the story moves quickly from one scene to another which helps to create suspense and surprise the reader at the end. Elements of FictionImagery: The author uses visual imagery when he compares the Metro-Goldwyn lion to Calvin Coolidge. The image of the Metro-Goldwyn lion is of a fierce looking lion that is roaring. This image, that many are familiar with, in no way looks like a man regardless of who it is, much less Calvin Coolidge. By invoking the image of the lion and pointing out that it does not resemble a past president, the author emphasizes that there is no way the little girl could have confused the wolf with her grandmother. This detail, emphasized though the imagery, lessens the tension for the reader and provides a bit of comic relief. The reader is reminded of how ridiculous the situation is and, although surprised, is glad that the little girl kills the wolf because his attempt at disguise was rather pathetic. Situational irony is used when the little girl pulls a gun out of the basket to shoot the wolf. The reader is led to believe that the little girl is innocent, especially since she is so easily deceived by the wolf in the dark forest. The reader does not expect a little girl, who is constantly referred to as little, to be carrying a gun, much less to pull it out from a food basket. The unexpected twist at the end of the story, where the wolf becomes the victim, is what creates the situational irony and is what leaves the reader so bemused at the unexpected outcome.Social Issues and ThemeSocial Issues: Child Predators - There are people in today’s society, like the wolf, who try to take advantage of children who are alone and/or unsupervised. The story indirectly asks the question, are our children prepared with the metaphorical gun needed to protect themselves when in danger?Themes: People are not always as helpless as they might appear. Evidence: Throughout the story the reader is led to believe that the little girl is na?ve and gullible. However, it is quickly proven that the little girl is not as helpless as she appears. She is prepared for any situation on her journey as evidenced by the gun in her basket. Universal Themes: In To Kill a Mockingbird, Arthur “Boo” Radley never leaves his house because he is timid and scared of the people in town. Despite this, Arthur manages to fight and kill Bob Ewell when he attacks Jem and Scout in the woods on Halloween night. Just like the little girl, Boo Radley is capable of much more than the reader is led to believe. ................
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