LITERARY ANALYSIS Recap & Revision

YOUR LITERARY ANALYSIS NEEDS TO BE… BALANCED – both questions are equally important ACCURATE – your points need to reflect your understanding of the text NUANCED – avoid focusing on shallow points SUPPORTED by evidence from the passage and/or the text FORMATTED according to PEEL COMPLETE – 3 points per answer!

FOR TKAM, YOU NEED… o To understand the important events and how they relate to the themes in the book o To keep track of important characters and their characteristics/interactions with one another (annotation and note- taking in your scrapbook can help here) o To keep track of the writer’s tone and understand the perspective from which various incidents are being narrated (we’ll discuss this aspect in class)

HOW DO I IMPROVE MY LIT ANALYSIS SKILLS? o Practice! This doesn’t just have to be the assignments we work on in class; you can pick any passage in the novel and try to write an analysis of the character/incident it describes. If you’d like me to look at your practices, hand them in to me. o Knowing the text – you can’t analyse unless you understand. Look up bits of the text you don’t understand. Ask questions in class. Don’t rely on websites that can be edited by just about anyone! o Precision. Use words to mean exactly what you want them to mean. Remember, for example, that ‘clever’, ‘sneaky’ and ‘cunning’ don’t mean the same thing.

QUOTING VS. PARAPHRASING Quote/paraphrase as you see fit, but be specific; don’t just narrate general events. ‘Zoom in’ on specific instances/conversations/details. Quoting will strengthen your answer. o It’s helpful to build a ‘quotation bank’ as you read the novel; pick out important or memorable phrases or sentences and write them down in your scrapbook (or illustrate them if that helps you remember!)

RECAP

WHAT NOT TO DO: PEEL What’s wrong with these examples? The aunt is very impatient. The evidence is that she speaks to Nicholas “impatiently”. This implies that she uses a very impatient tone when talking to the child. Thus I can tell that she is not a patient individual. In this essay I discuss the main characteristics of Nicholas. In my opinion Nicholas is a smart, intelligent and quick-witted character.

WHAT NOT TO DO: PEEL What’s wrong with this example? I can infer that the aunt is a liar. The evidence is that she first told Nicholas not to enter the gooseberry garden but then later told him that he should enter. This means that she was lying in her original instruction and actually wanted him to enter the garden to rescue her. From this I can infer that she lies to Nicholas.

WHAT NOT TO DO: PEEL What’s wrong with this example? One example of irony in the text is the fact that the children do not have fun at Jagborough Sands. The aunt sends them on the expedition to have fun but Bobby’s boots are too tight and the tide is in. I can tell that this is situational irony.

SO…WHAT DO I DO?

PEEL: ANALYSE/EXPLAIN While you might be able to pick good points, you must also be able to explain them in a way that shows you’re analysing the text, not just reproducing evidence. PART A: Character 1. Why does the character behave this way? (Motivation) 2. Does the character change over time? Can you structure your answer to show this character development? 3.Does the character’s outward behaviour reflect something about their personality/thoughts/desires?

PART B: WRITER’S CRAFT How does [event] evoke [emotion] in reader? Personal response is always good for a sympathy question, but avoid generalisations (e.g. “we will feel sad because we have been through the same thing”) How does [literary device] make the story effective? Is the event/incident significant in the context of the text? Is it a central example of foreshadowing or irony? Does it evoke sympathy for particular character[s]? Is it an important metaphor for a main theme in the text? Can you draw connections to other parts of the text? Can you see a pattern of repeated behaviour/events in the text?

PHRASING PROMPTS [To state a point] I can infer that [character] is… / One characteristic displayed by [character] is… / The text describes/portrays [character] as… / [character] is described/portrayed as… [To introduce evidence] This can be inferred from / This is clearly seen when… / I can infer this because… / This trait is displayed when… / As stated in the text… [To develop your explanation] From this evidence I can infer that / This example suggests… / This evidence shows that… / Nicholas’s actions/words reveal that…