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Start brainstorming by feeding your brain: skim this chapter for several minutes or read this page. Skim the sample papers. Notice that the heart of a literary thesis is an argument with several supporting reasons why it is true. And the heart of a literary review is an evaluative conclusion using descriptions, interpretations, and evaluations to reach this conclusion.

When brainstorming your paper, here are some ways to start. If you wish, you may combine more than one:

To get started, try you need to consider whether or not you can choose what you want to read. If you can make this choice, then you should decide: Writing an analysis is much easier if we like what we've read, and writing a review is much easier if we don't like what we've read.

If your reading already was chosen for you by assignment, then you may want to write an analysis of review according to how you felt about the reading. (However, if your teacher has you practice a number of short analyses and reviews in rough draft form throughout a course, you may need to write whichever type of examination you are assigned each week.)

To write about your literary work well, you will need to read it at least two to three times. Once you have read your assignment and skimmed this chapter and its samples, you may start rough drafting. There are several ways to rough draft.

Next, express your thinking on paper. Choose one idea and explore it: write quickly and spontaneously. Avoid worrying about grammar, spelling, or punctuation. You may entirely avoid organization, or you may use the organizational parts suggested either earlier in this chapter's introductory "Process" page, or in the "Organize" section later in this chapter. You may write using regular prose sentences and paragraphs, creating one giant paragraph, or developing a traditional or cluster outline. Try to write one-fourth to one-half or more of the final required length of the paper.

Be sure that you have skimmed the sample papers before proceeding. The best method for brainstorming a first-draft examination of literature is to summarize some of the basic elements of the literary work you have read. Some of the major elements to summarize are as follows:

Pick out these three parts and explain how they relate--how the good people break through the obstacles or villain's bad deeds to reach a goal or solution. When summarizing the plot, don't just endlessly summarize each event in the literary work: try to summarize showing these three parts and the progress in moving through them to reach the end.

While describing the progress, you may want to take special note of conflicts--especially the overall or main conflict (the main problem between the hero/heroine and the villain/obstacles), and the climax (the peak emotional and factual event which turns a story toward its final ending). There also are minor climaxes, called "sub climaxes," along the way in many literary works.

CHARACTERS: There usually is one, sometimes two, main heroes or heroines around which the rest of the story revolves. If there are villains, usually there are, again, one or at most two main villains who are the source of the problems or obstances. You should name and describe these facts:

SETTING: The setting may be one place or a series of places that are connected to each other. Treat setting like another character and describe it, too:

VOICE and TONE: "Voice" means, simply, "Is the literary work 1st-person, 3rd-person, or 2nd-person?" and "Is its point of view limited or omniscient?" "Tone" means this: Imagine the voice in the story is the voice of someone you have just met or already know. How would you describe the tone of this person's voice: is it highly personal as if spoken by a friend, humorous in some way, silly, serious, snooty, tall tale-ish, dry, emotional, or what?

LANGUAGE: "Language" is the detailed use of words, phrases, and sentences--their choice, order, rhythms, rhymes, color, length, et al. The way language is used has a great affect on the overall tone.

SYMBOLS: Some of the objects, events, or people may possibly symbolize or represent other objects, events, or people. For example, a picture of a heart often represents love, and a picture of an angel or devil represents good or evil. Some symbols are purposely placed there by the authors of the literary works in which they appear. However, probably the greater number of symbols are those which readers like us perceive without the author ever intending them to be there. In addition, the same object or person might represent something different to several different readers. As a result, it is okay to propose symbols that may or may not be there: if these symbols occur to you when you are exploring ideas in a rough draft, then feel free to write them down.

THEME: The "theme" of a story is the basic issue of the literary work--what the story is about. There can be several themes and even sub themes in a literary work. Romeo and Juliet, for example, has as a main theme the tragedy of romantic love gone wrong, but also as main themes the tragedy of feuds between two families and even the meaning of honor. The author may or may not consciously intend a theme as he or she writes. One of the most interpreted novels in the U.S. is Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. He said about this that he just simply wanted to tell a story and had no particular meanings in mind. However, literary analysts find it rich with a variety of meanings. "Theme" is, again, simply a major issue or idea in a literary work.

Two other meanings that are similar to but different from "theme" area literary work's "purpose" and its "moral." A literary work's "purpose" is its comment on life that the author in most cases intended to make. The "moral" (as in "What's the moral of this story?" is the ethical or moral purpose that an author usually intended to make. Be careful to separate "purpose" and "moral"--many authors choose to make a comment on life that has nothing to do with morality or ethics: for example, part of Shakespeare's purpose in Romeo and Juliet may have been to make a comment on the meaning and existence of romantic love, neither condemning nor praising it. However, another purpose that Shakespeare clearly had in writing this play also was to morally condemn the fighting of two clans, which fighting leads to the untimely death of the clans' brightest blossoms, Romeo and Juliet. This is a moral of the story that is mentioned at the end of the play.

Start thinking critically about your paper by reading the chapter and the sample papers carefully. Then ask yourself, "How well can my rough draft meet the needs of this paper?" Some rough drafts may fit closely while others may require shifting of tone or parts. Still other rough drafts may need partial or complete rewriting.

Use a set of criteria--a series of judgments--to help you evaluate whether and how your rough draft meets the assignment needs. Here are some possible criteria to consider:

Rough drafts are helpful starters for your thinking. The next step, however, requires evaluation of what you need to do with your rough draft to make it work best for this writing assignment. Sometimes this evaluation is simple, but sometimes it can be more complex. If it is complex, using the criteria above can help break the evaluation down into easier steps.

The next step is to organize your paper. If you have done the brainstorming well, then organizing should not be difficult. The way in this case to move from your rough draft to a more organized draft simply is to develop your material more and organize it into the required categories.

Ask your teacher whether he or she expects underlined subtitles. If not, then be sure to provide a strong topic sentence at the beginning of each new subject section, one that names the type of element you are about to discuss and states in a general way what you will discuss. For example, you might have topic sentences similar to these (the key-word elements are underlined):

It is not traditional to use underlined subtitles in high school and college literary papers; however, if you were to look in professional literary journals, you would find that many modern literary scholars do use some kind of divisional dividers. If your teacher wants underlined subtitles for each section, it is likely he/she will accept the names of the elements themselves: e.g., Characters, Setting, etc. However, this does not absolve you from the use of good topic sentences: in this situation, use both subtitles and good topic sentences.

Your paper should have an Introduction and Conclusion. Write these last--once you already know what you're going to say.

The Introduction should contain a brief statement of the title of the work you are analyzing, your source for it (if it is in a larger work), and the author. You also should say something interesting--have some interesting details about the work--and/or provide a strong opening quotation (and describe why this quotation is particularly good). Use only one paragraph for your introduction. Your very first or very last sentence should be a statement of the type of paper--of your purpose: i.e., that you are simply "analyzing the elements" and nothing more. Otherwise, readers may think you are arguing a point or writing a review, neither of which is the case in this particular paper.

The Conclusion should be only one paragraph in length and should briefly restate the author or title, say a few interesting words, restate the fact that the paper is simply an analysis using the elements of literature, and then have perhaps your second most interesting quotation as a way of closing. You also may add some of your own interesting final thoughts or ideas in the beginning, middle, or end of this paragraph. The order in which you present these different parts of the conclusion really is up to you.

Next, you should proceed with your analysis using the elements of literature. Develop each element thoroughly:

The order shown here shows plot and theme near the end, in spite of the fact that people often like to start in natural conversation with these two elements. However, many teachers of literature have found that students can more easily offer a clear, efficient, and simple view of plot and theme if, first, they have had to describe some of the more obvious and clear details. In a sense, the order shown below represents a mental process that moves from smallest details to ever-broader abstractions. The idea in writing a literature analysis in this way is to start with what is very clear and obvious to everyone--the facts--and then to gradually, from those facts, build to a point where you can more clearly explain the abstract parts such as symbolism, the nature of the basic problem and solution, and the major probable theme or themes--the last several of which might be too vague or hard to tie down without first sorting out important details.

Be sure to find out from your teacher just how much development he/she wants in each element's description. In other words, should you describe just one or two most important characters, settings, symbols, etc., or all the major ones; write just a paragraph for each element, or several; provide simple descriptions or complex, developed ones? Most teachers expect some supporting quotations to show that your statements about the elements are based clearly on specific passages from the literary work you are analyzing.

Your teacher may also be interested in seeing you try a special kind of literary analysis that requires good critical thinking. This kind of paper is called an explicacion de texte or explication of text.

An explication of text is a particular type of literary analysis that usually starts with a poem, a very short story, or a very small section (perhaps as little as one page) of a long story or a novel. You analyze this short selection to find an overall pattern or purpose in it. Then, step by step, you guide your reader through an explication or explanation in great detail of how this pattern or purpose exists. This method often works better with poetry; however, you can choose 1/2 to two pages of a story or novel as well. If choosing a small part of a larger work, you should look for a significant turning point. (Often, but not always, such points come at the one-third and two-thirds points in stories and novels.) Whichever kind of work you choose, you then show the pattern or purpose as you argue a thesis in a literary analysis: you use the small details as proofs first, then the larger details.

If, for example, we were to explicate a selection from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Tale, we might choose the turning point when Mr. Scrooge watches with the Ghost of Christmas Present as Scrooge's relatives have fun at a Christmas party. Scrooge begins to lose his crusty attitude as he recalls how he used to dance and love like a normal human being. We might start our analysis by looking at the particular use of words--the rhythms, rhymes, symbols and descriptions--which occur at the beginning and the end of our page or two, showing how they change from words and symbols of Scrooge's crustiness to ones of emotional sensitivity. We might further describe how the characters around him change and how his own character changes. We might then relate this to how the plot and theme demonstrate at this turning point the change that Scrooge is going through, showing how the larger symbols demonstrate this change. Finally, we might make our point that a change of heart is implicit in almost every sentence, every image, that occurs in these one or two pages. In this way we would prove our thesis--that the very structure of the writing of these two pages demonstrates a change of heart in Scrooge.

Rewrite what you have done. Literary examinations contain many references to the literary works that they examine. These references are the proofs or examples of the points you make. You will need to know how to write these references smoothly and sensibly. In addition, as you rewrite, you should be sure that all your details are in the divisions where they best fit, and that you do not have anything in your divisions which does not fit there. In addition, be sure that you have strong topic sentences at the beginnings of your divisions.

If you do not know how to place quotations and paraphrases in your paper, check the chapter on using quotations and paraphrases in the end part of this book. In addition, there is a good description of how to use quotations and paraphrases at the end of the chapter on how to write an interpretive literary thesis.

Allow some time--preferably several days--before the paper is due to edit it very thoroughly. Editing means checking for the small but usually numerous errors of typing, punctuation, spelling, and grammatical usage. Go to a tutor, read your paper out loud, ask a friend whose editing skills are excellent to read it, and/or make a list of your major and minor editing problems and needs and then look for such problems them one at a time throughout your paper.

There are two keys to good editing: one is to NOT try to fix everything in one sentence or paragraph, everything in the next, and everything in the next: this is both tiring and inefficient. You will find editing less tiring and be more efficient if you take care of just one or two types of problems at a time throughout the whole paper. The second key is to edit your paper backwards: start with the last sentence and edit, then go to the second to the last sentence, then to the third to the last, etc. Editing in this order disrupts our conscious and unconscious thought processes about the contents of our paper. In other words, we cannot see the content, so our minds more easily focus on the mechanics. In this way, we can edit much better. Even seasoned, well-published teachers and professional writers use this method.

A literary analysis of a work of art is, in its simplest form, just an in-depth discussion of the elements found in that work. The best analyses are thoughtful explorations of literary works, explorations that engage readers and lead them to read the work itself or, if they already have read it, explorations that help them understand the work more thoroughly and logically in interesting ways.

Here is one sample paper written by a student. Though it represents an "A" level of work, remember that particular requirements given to you in your own class may differ slightly from what is shown here. Some types of papers in this textbook also have several different ways of being written.

(Note: Each author appearing here has given permission for the use of his/her work.)

Christine Hebl
Am Lit 1201/Sec 16
University of Minnesota
Literary Analysis Paper
14 February 2000

The appalling horrors regarding the punishment of slaves are exposed through the candid words of a white American in Letters from an American Farmer, specifically "Letter IX: Charleston Slave," by Michel-Guillaume Jean de Crevecoeur. Through the story, Crevecoeur graphically shows the atrocity of the slave’s punishment. He says, for example, "I shudder when I recollect that the birds had already picked out his eyes, his cheek bones were bare; his arms had been attacked in several places, and his body seemed covered with a multitude of wounds" (341). This paper analyzes the elements of Crevecouer's horrific account of coming face to face with the terrors of slavery. Specifically, the conventions of character, setting, voice, tone, language, symbol, argument, and theme are examined.

The two main characters in this essay are an unnamed African slave and Crevecoeur, the author. Crevecoeur gives a ghastly physical description of the appearance of the slave. He tells how the slave is hanging in a cage on a tree. While hanging in the cage, birds and bugs poke out his eyes, peck at his cheeks, and peel the skin from his arms, leaving a bloody, dripping mess. Crevecoeur describes the horrendous sight when he says, "No sooner were the birds flown, than swarms of insects covered the whole body of this unfortunate wretch, eager to feed on his mangled flesh . . ." (341). Crevecoeur also describes the slave’s coarse English as an "uncouth dialect." (341). The distorted body is in a terrifying condition, and although the slave cannot see, he can still talk and communicate with Crevecoeur.

Crevecoeur learns of the slave’s horrible pain and discomfort not only through the slave’s appearance, but also through his words. The slave’s personality is shown subtly, rather than directly, through the text. He begs for something to drink and explains that he wants to die. At this point in life, nothing is motivating the encased slave to survive.

In contrast to the physical description of the slave, Crevecoeur does not give much description of his own appearance; however, it becomes obvious that he is Caucasian. The slave says to him, "’Tanke you, white man . . .’" (341). The slave must infer the color of Crevecoeur’s skin, because he cannot see him, since the slave’s eyes are poked out. Crevecoeur’s language and accent must be that of a man who is white, thus giving the slave the information he needs to discern the color of the author.

Crevecoeur’s personality is mainly shown through his horror regarding the situation of the slave. However, he meanders through the woods before coming to the caged slave. He says, "I was leisurely travelling along, attentively examining some peculiar plants . . ." (340). At this point, before coming into contact with the slave, Crevecoeur is shown to be a mild-mannered gentleman

Furthermore, it is common for white men of this era to possess little compassion for slaves, which makes Crevecoeur an exception. Crevecoeur is motivated to help the slave, because Crevecoeur has the personality trait of compassion and sees the human qualities the caged African slave. Crevecoeur says, "Humanity herself would have recoiled with horror . . ." (341). Thus, he believes that anyone in this situation would have been aghast.

The setting of this story is quite complex. Technically, the setting is Charleston, South Carolina in the late 18^th century. The time and place are discerned through the title of the essay, "Letter IX: Charleston Slave" and from the dates given at the bottom of the document. More specifically, however, this story takes place in what Crevecoeur describes as "a small path, leading through a pleasant wood" (340). In spite of this, the sight of the caged slave soon disrupts the nice wooded area.

Crevecoeur vividly provides sensory details about the setting. First, through his sense of touch, Crevecoeur feels the warmth of the air when he states, "the day was perfectly calm and sultry" (340). Further proving evidence of the heat, the slave pleads for "some water to allay his thirst" (341). Secondly, through his sense of hearing, Crevecoeur notices the "rough voice, uttered . . . a few inarticulate monosyllables" (341) after which Crevecoeur describes the air as feeling "strongly agitated" (340). Moreover, through the sense of hearing, the slave senses Crevecoeur’s approach, without the assistance of eyes. Crevecoeur says, "The living Spectre . . . could still distinctly hear . . ." (341). The slave, therefore, knows of Crevecoeur’s approach. Lastly, through his sense of sight, Crevecoeur describes this area as lush and foliage-filled.

Crevecoeur values this setting as a pathway to avoid the heat of the day before coming across the slave. For the slave, rather, the area is his place of dying and death. But for both of them, the setting has a significant, negative meaning that will be ingrained in their lives forever.

If this setting had a personality, it would be a deceitful one: usually extremely beautiful and serene, except when evils (of slavery) make it frightfully ugly and utterly terrifying. The "personality" of this setting is a significant part of the story, as it assists in setting the tone, voice, and language.

The voice, tone, and language come together in this piece to present in graphic detail, the situation of Letter IX: Charleston Slave. Crevecoeur’s voice in this piece of literature is in first-person. His point of view is limited; he is not omniscient and only expounds on his own thoughts. This point is evident by the fact that Crevecoeur only describes the visual situations and sounds when describing the situation and point of view of the African slave. In contrast, Crevecoeur describes how he felt in the situations, when he says, "horrid to think and painful to repeat, I perceived a Negro, suspended in the cage and left there to expire!" (341). Just by his use of exclamation marks, Crevecoeur describes the anger and sadness he felt, and how he thinks the situation is sadly and chillingly absurd.

The tone of this essay is very serious, almost angry, and subtly persuasive. The seriousness is emotionally charged, therefore trying to convey some evil qualities of slavery. The tone is evident when Crevecoeur states his opinions sharply. He says, "I stood motionless, involuntarily contemplating the fate of the Negro in all its dismal latitude" (341). It is evident the tone is almost mournful for the slave.

The language is displayed by the author’s use of quotes in providing a detailed, horrific mental picture of the scenes. For example, when the slave asks for water, Crevecoeur finds a shell. He says, "I filled it with water, and with trembling hands I guided it to the quivering lips of the wretched sufferer" (341). Although passages like this are written very straight forward, without metaphors and similes and other descriptive writing techniques, a vivid mental picture is still formed by his way of thoroughly describing his feelings.

Another important aspect regarding the language of this piece of literature is the use of certain words, including "travelling" and "surprized." These words are not spelled in the modern American English way. Thus, it exudes the historical aspect of this essay.

The symbols in "Letter IX: Charleston Slave" are perceived by the reader, rather than purposely placed by Crevecoeur. One symbol can be found from the thirst of the slave. At one point, Crevecoeur explains how the slave pleads for something to drink. Crevecoeur says, "Urged by the irresistible power of thirst, he endeavoured to meet it as he instinctively guessed its approach by the noise it made in passing the bars" (341). The passage of the water through the bars from a white person’s hands to a black person’s hands could symbolize the chance for change in the treatment of slaves or could even symbolize brotherhood between the races.

Another possible symbol is the cage. The caged black slave could symbolize a slave’s place in society. The typical wealthy, white Americans of this time period treated these black men, women, and children as sub-humans totally under the control of white people. Furthermore, the bars of the cage could symbolize the laws and rules placed upon slaves to keep them from escaping the horrible life of a slave.

Yet another inferred symbol is found through the birds. The birds pecking away at the slave’s body might symbolize how the slave owners "pecked" away at the emotional and physical well being of slaves. Another symbol related to the birds is found through the slave’s blood. Crevecoeur says, "From the edges of the hollow sockets and from the lacerations with which he was disfigured, the blood slowly dropped, and tinged the ground beneath" (341). The blood of a slave seeping into the earth could symbolize the permanent damage and remembrance slavery left on Earth.

The argument in this non-fiction essay or story is quite subtle and perhaps inadvertent. Crevecoeur’s argument is that the punishment of slaves can be too brutal for the white man not only to experience themselves, but even too brutal for the white race to look at. Perhaps, Crevecoeur does not mean to display his opinion through this work, but it is evident. His subtle argument is evident at the very beginning of this piece. He says, "The following scene will I hope account for these melancholy reflections, and apologize for the gloomy thoughts with which I have filled this letter: my mind is, and always has been, oppressed since I became a witness to it" (340). Through this experience of witnessing the gruesome scene of a dying man in a cage, Crevecoeur is forever changed and rightfully so.

Even though Crevecoeur experienced what "Humanity herself" would have been horrified by and cares enough to document it, he is not necessarily a hero. He does not, for example, propose any change to the current laws. However, he sarcastically shows the redundant ignorance of the white people when he explains, that they "supported the doctrine of slavery with arguments generally made use of to justify the practice; with the repetition of which I shall not trouble you at present" (341). Perhaps he was not courageous enough to do something like propose new regulations for the benefit and well being of slaves, but he knew that his work could easily show what he believed to be the horrors of slavery for future generations.

There are two prominent themes throughout Crevecoeur’s memoir. One major theme is the horror Crevecoeur feels when coming across the African slave in a cage. Throughout this piece of literature, he displays this terrible sight: "my nerves were convulsed" (341). He tries, while fighting his terror and working against his social standing, to do as much for the slave’s benefit as possible. He says, "I sought, through trembling, to relieve him as well as I could" (341). After his efforts to help the slave were accomplished, the theme of regarding the horror of the caged slave is further explained. He says, "my mind is, and always has been, oppressed since I became to witness it" (340). Crevecoeur, therefore, explains how the trauma of this day will be forever embedded in his mind.

Another theme discussed towards the end of the literature is the role of white people and how they exhibit ignorance and dehumanization towards the slaves. After Crevecoeur leaves the slave and goes to dinner, the other white people are not as struck with the pain and terror as that of Crevecoeur, which he describes as a "dreadful scene of agonizing torture" (341), rather they explain the circumstances and reasoning behind the caging of a man. He says that they explain, "the reason for this slave being thus punished, was on account of his having killed the overseer of the plantation . . ." (341). Thus, they make it seem as if this brutal suffering is justifiable punishment for another human being. Perhaps the ignorance of these men would change if they were in the same situation as Crevecoeur and witnesses this viciousness first-hand.

Through this literary analysis of Letters from an American Farmer, particularly "Letter IX: Charleston Slave," by Michel Guillaune Jean de Crevecoeur, it is imperative to realize how the horrors of slavery and the human qualities of slaves were oftentimes overlooked and deemed unimportant. Crevecoeur, in a sarcastic and angry tone, says, "They told me that the laws of self-preservation rendered such executions necessary" (341). Thus, it is reassuring for modern society to know that even some non-slaves of this era noticed the inhumanity of slavery and were saddened and scarred by its violence.

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The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.