Dr. Shrout's Class
How To Write A Literary Analysis PaperLessons for the intelligent 8th grader by Dr. ShroutSTEP ONE: Identifying your main argumentThis assignment is writing a literary analysis of The Diary of Anne Frank. For this paper, you will focus on one part or aspect of the play to analyze. Which part? That’s up to you.The FIRST STEP is to for you to select and write a nice, clear main idea / argument / claim / thesis statement. After you come up with this, it will help you organize and structure everything else about your essay. If you have a good thesis, everything else is much easier to do. (If, later when you are writing, you decide you want to change your thesis statement a little, that’s fine – but you might need to change the structure of your argument, too.)A good thesis statement:Is a complete sentenceIs something you could support with evidence from the playIs specific enough that it is meaningful (not something too “big”)But is big enough that it gives you enough to write a 5-paragraph essay about.Is interesting and thought-provoking.IMPORTANT TIP: A thesis should NOT start with “about the” or be a question.BAD THESIS: About immigration reform. WHY? Not a sentence, not specific, no detail.GOOD THESIS: President Obama should introduce immigration reform today, because it is a matter of justice and common sense.BAD THESIS: Ponyboy is annoying and nobody would like him in real life. WHY? hard to prove with evidence from the bookGOOD THESIS: Even though Ponyboy is the main character of The Outsiders, sometimes he behaves in frustrating ways. For a literary analysis essay, your thesis should be an interesting statement about the play that has to do with its literary structure or plot.To help you think of ideas for a main argument / thesis, I’ve listed different elements of literature that you could focus on and come up with interesting statements about. CHARACTERIs there a character who strikes you as complicated, unusual or noteworthy in any way? Is there a character who has some important meaning in terms of plot, theme, or conflict?Do two characters have a relationship that is interesting and important to the play overall?Does a character grow or change throughout the play in an interesting way?EXAMPLES of CHARACTER-BASED THESIS STATEMENTS:In House of the Scorpion, the character El Patron means different things to Matt throughout the book, but he is always important to him.In House of the Scorpion, Maria is a kind character, but she can also have a dark side.In The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins makes the characters of Gale and Peeta into opposite choices for Katniss. SETTINGIs the setting of the play important? How does it affect the characters?EXAMPLES of SETTING-BASED THESIS STATEMENTS:In House of the Scorpion, the change of setting from Opium to Atzlan is important for Matt’s character.In The Hunger Games, all of the major characters are affected by pressure from the Capitol.THEMEWhat are the big themes of the play? How are they shown in the story – through character, plot, setting, etc.?Examples of THEME-BASED THESIS STATEMENTS:In House of the Scorpion, one theme is that human beings should not be treated as animals, which is shown through symbols, plot and character.One theme of Lord of the Flies is that human beings are innately evil, which Golding shows through plot, characters and symbolism.TONE / MOOD:How does the author use tone/mood in the play? Examples of TONE/MOOD-BASED THESIS STATEMENTS:In House of the Scorpion, Farmer uses a change in tone to show us the difference between Matt’s early childhood and his later life.In The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe establishes mood through point-of-view and diction.SOCIAL/HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:How does the social/historical background of the play affect the story? How does the play show us about the social world it comes from? Examples of HISTORICAL-BASED THESIS STATEMENTS:House of the Scorpion makes a statement about immigration through its plot, characters and setting.Lord of the Flies is a good novel to learn about the 1950s because the story, characters and setting show a fear of nuclear war.You could write a thesis about other literary elements, too, but I have chosen areas I think make sense for the play. If you have another idea, you may propose it to me. ................
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