The Features of Good Literary Analysis: - Duffy Stirling's ...



The Features of Good Literary Analysis:ThesisAn argument you are making regarding your interpretation of the text.Usually this is the answer to your essay question.The thesis is introduced in the introduction, argued in the topic and linking sentences of the body sections, and restated in the conclusion.Essay Question: How does 12 Years a Slave use film techniques to explore the theme of resilience?Thesis: 12 Years a Slave highlights the necessity of resilience for survival through the use of these three techniques.IdentificationIdentify the features of the text which support your thesis.These features could be plot events, key scenes, characters, language features, film techniques, rhetorical devices, structural elements etc.Wide frames and long, unbroken shots are used to explore the consequences of fighting against authority.Explanation and provide EvidenceExplain how these features support the thesis. Provide evidence from the text to support your explanation. Both explanation and justification occur hand in hand.The explanation tells us the purpose of the features you have identified, and that purpose should be one which supports your thesis.The justification is usually specific examples from the text, such as quotations or descriptions of a scene.By focusing wide, with Solomon struggling in the noose off centre, the viewer can observe the slave community going about their everyday life in the background. Children play, women do laundry, and men go to work, juxtaposed against Solomon’s suffering as he tip tops in mud to keep his throat out of the noose. The camera holds for two minutes, forcing the viewer to not look away. This hold acts to highlight the ‘everyday nature’ of such horrific acts; emphasising how they have been normalised.Tips for Successful Analysis:Know your text. Understanding your text is the key to developing a strong analysis.Develop a thesis. Identify what you are trying to argue.Research and read. Find out about the ideas you are identifying. What other texts feature similar themes and how are they represented? If you are going to argue that a text explores ideas of ‘Individual vs Society’ then find out about this concept.Argue your thesis. Do not simply describe the plot. At no point should evidence be on its own without being linked to a thesis or feature.Quality of Analysis at Different Grade LevelsE LevelD LevelC LevelB LevelA LevelAnalysis includes:EvidenceIdentificationEvidenceThesisIdentificationEvidenceThesisIdentificationExplanationEvidenceThesis (Developed)IdentificationExplanationEvidenceWhat does this look like?Describing the plot or characters without mentioning techniques or a thesis.Describing the plot, characters or techniques without a thesis.A thesis is mentioned but underdeveloped, and aspects of plot, characters or techniques which are related are identified: but the links between the two aren’t clear.A thesis is mentioned, features are identified which support the thesis, there is some kind of explanation of how the features support the thesis, and there is some description of techniques, plot events and characters which are provided as evidence for the points being made.The thesis is well developed, argued cumulatively across the essay, and is well supported with identified features, explanations and evidence which is integrated fluently.Example thesis(None)(None)The story is about (theme).The film is about slavery.The story is about (theme) and these are the features which prove it.The film is about slavery by showing the horrors of slavery.The story has (this) to say about (theme) and these are the features which prove it.The film explores the horrors of slavery, by highlighting the ‘normalisation’ of everyday violence.Example analysisSolomon hangs from a noose for 2 minutes. The children play in the background.Solomon hangs from a noose. The children play in the background. The camera stays focused on him for 2 minutes.Solomon hangs from a noose. The children play in the background. The camera stays focused on him for 2 minutes.Solomon hangs from a noose. The children play in the background. The camera stays focused on him for 2 minutes. By doing this the viewer comes to understand how horrible slavery is.Solomon hangs from a noose. The children play in the background. The camera stays focused on him for 2 minutes. By doing this the viewer comes to understand how normalised violence has become for the slaves, therefore highlighting the horrific nature of slavery.Literary Analysis Paragraph StructureTSL & Thesis / Identify / Explain / EvidenceTopic Sentence(Thesis Statement & Identify feature which supports it)Supporting Sentences(Explain how this feature supports thesis, and give evidence from the texts to support your point)Linking Sentence(explain more directly how this feature supports Thesis statement)Example Paragraphs:THESISIDENTIFYEXPLAIN EVIDENCETopic Sentences and Linking Sentences are underlined.12 Years a Slave(THESIS: The film explores the nature of power & oppression in the antebellum slave world, and is demonstrated through the use of various film techniques).Cinematography and mise-en-scene are also used to emphasise the power struggle between slaves and slave owners. In the confrontation scene between Northrup and overseer Tibeats (Paul Dano) in which Northrup protests against Tibeat’s unreasonable instructions (pleading ‘I did as instructed’), the wide framing allows the audience to observe the movements of both actors. Tibeats stands above Northrup (on the floor of the building Northrup is constructing), suggesting his position of power. As Northrup protests against Tibeat’s hypocrisy, Tibeats moves off the platform, to stand on an even level with Northrup. The confrontation intensifies and Northrup does not withdraw, beating Tibeats down to the ground; in this change of position the power shifts from Tibeats to Northrup. Although the exchange is temporary (Tibeats leaves to only return with a lynch mob), Northrup is positioned as the superior. This, alongside Tibeat’s pleading and ‘weasely’ voice, highlights the fears of the slave owners: that the balance of power was always in flux and at any moment those being oppressed may rebel.Flowers for Algernon Compared to The SimpsonsOne element of Flowers for Algernon which the filmmakers of Homr have used to discuss the connection between happiness and intelligence is in the parallel relationships of Homer and Lisa, and Charlie and Miss Kinnian. In Flowers for Algernon, Charlie becomes closer to his teacher, Miss Kinnian, as his intelligence increases, as does Homer and his daughter Lisa. Homer and Lisa’s relationship becomes stronger: Lisa, who is already quite intelligent, revels in their new connections of love of music, film and literature. In contrast, Miss Kinnian mourns the loss of her innocent but kind friend, stating that … <insert quote here>. In both texts the characters discuss the impact of Homer and Charlie’s increased intelligence on their happiness. Miss Kinnian suggests ‘<insert quote here’>; similarly Lisa suggests to Homer that ‘as intelligence goes up, happiness often goes down.’ Most notably both Lisa and Miss Kinnian receive a letter which expresses Homer and Charlie’s sadness at losing their newfound connection. Saddened that Homer has elected to return to his former level of intelligence, Lisa is happy to receive a letter which ‘smart Homer’ wrote her: <insert quote here>. Similarly, aware of his forthcoming degradation, Charlie writes …. <insert quote here>. Through this feature, Homr suggests that despite the improved relationship with his daughter, Homer chooses happiness over intelligence.Essay Question: How does Homecoming appeal to the reader’s emotions?Thesis: It evokes a sense of despair.The depressing atmosphere of Homecoming appeals to the reader by evoking a sense of despair. As the soldiers’ bodies are returned from war, Dawe explores the undignified treatment of the corpses, zipped “in green plastic bags”. Irony in the title alludes to the fact that the soldiers are not returning to a celebration and are unidentifiable, “piled on the hulls of Grants”. Gaining an emotional distance through the use of a third person voice, the poem enables the reader to view the tragedy in its entirety. Repeating “home, home, home” accentuates the emotional ties of the soldiers, a technique indicative of the monotony of the experiences involved in warfare. Equally, “telegrams tremble like leaves from a wintering tree…the spider grief swings in his bitter geometry”, uses simile and metaphor to portray the coldness of death and spreading of grief throughout the community. The technique of symbolism applied in Homecoming evokes the pain of death through “dogs” and their haunting “howls”. They raise their “muzzles in mute salute” respectfully, in the silent homecoming. Demonstrating the diversity of the soldiers, the harsh “c” sound is maintained throughout “curly-heads, kinky-hairs, crew-cuts, balding non-coms” to portray the cruelty. Overall, Dawe persuades the reader to experience feelings of desolation and anguish.Thesis: Both Divergent and The Giver promote the idea that ‘being different is valuable and important.Point of Comparison: SETTINGTHESISIDENTIFYEXPLAINEVIDENCEText 1Text 2ConnectivesBoth novels are set within dystopian societies which are designed to restrict individuality and quash differences. In Divergent, all of society is divided into five ‘factions’, sorted by dominant personality traits. Young people undergo psycho-metric testing to determine their best suited ‘faction’ and those that do not fit into one of the five factions are eliminated. In contrast, The Giver’s community has taken it a step further and eliminated all differences, by removing all perception of colour, all emotions and all choices. When the protagonists are born with a ‘difference’, the members of each society work to suppress those differences through horrific means. In Divergent Tris is warned repeatedly to not reveal that she is ‘divergent’ and does not naturally fit into any of the factions. This warning becomes especially relevant as she discovers that divergents are actively hunted and killed. Similarly, in The Giver, Jonas discovers what happens to those – such as baby Gabriel – who do not fit into his society: they are ‘released’, a euphemism for execution. The horrific lengths to which these societies go to suppress difference act as a warning to the reader about the consequences of sameness – as well as motivation for the protagonists to rebel against their society. ................
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