Critical Analysis An Introduction

What IS critical analysis??? Critical analysis is one of the most common types of research papers in literature, the arts, and other humanities. In literature, to critically analyze means to break a subject (such as a character, theme, or event) into smaller parts, then examine its components and offer a meaning--or alternative meaning. Your opinion matters!

How do I do it??? Choose your subject and analyze it part by part through “slow reading” (or “close reading”) Select details or sections that are open to interpretation. Some ways we will practice interpreting details and sections are through tone, mood, and symbols.

How would I organize it??? Paragraph 1: Your introduction Paragraph 2: Analysis of one detail or section Paragraph 3: Analysis of your next detail or section Paragraph 4: Analysis of your final detail or section Paragraph 5: Your conclusion

Consider this… The River The Fire The Fall The Fight The Storm The Rope What is the character doing in each of these sections? How have they changed in each of these sections? How is the environment or the historical context affecting the character?

Locate a theme in the novel. What does this theme say about the novel as a whole and about the characters in particular? Make sure that the theme you select corresponds to at least two characters.

“The Corrupting Influence of Power” “The Bondage of Familial Bonds” “The Horrors of Slavery” “The Threat of Literacy” “The Role of Environment in Shaping Personalities”

How does Rufus’ environment affect/change him? Is it positive, negative, or both?

Pay careful attention to Rufus – track his development How does he appear at the beginning of the novel? At the middle? At the end? How has he changed each time Dana travels to him? What is making him change? Is it his family? Is it his environment?

S. T. E. A. L. Speech: What does the character say? How does the character speak? Thought: What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts/feelings? Effect on others: What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character? Actions: What does the character do? How does the character behave? Looks: What does the character look like? How does the character dress?

RUFUS: The River “When Rufus saw that it was his mother who held him, he clung to her, screaming as loudly as he could. There was nothing wrong with his voice, anyway.” (14) It seems that Rufus is a mama’s boy, the way he “clings” to her and screams when he realizes it’s her. Dana also seems sarcastic in describing him. No thoughts revealed in The River “I reacted to the child in trouble.” (13) “He’s alive!” cried the woman. She grabbed him and nearly smothered him. “Oh, Rufus, baby…” (14) “What the devil’s going on here?” (14) “Before me was a wide tranquil river, and near the middle of that river was a child splashing, screaming… Drowning!” (14) “A small red-haired boy floating, face down.” (14) “He was no more than four or five years old, and not very big.” (14) -Dana saves him -His mother dotes on him -His father threatens to kill Dana even though she saved his son. This could mean that Butler is accentuating the fact that he is just a child. His thoughts are not yet formed. Rufus is drowning when Dana first finds him. Rufus is just a child and Butler paints him in a very vulnerable way. Red hair could also be symbolic?

Does Dana’s experience in the antebellum South affect/change her? Is she changed for the better or for the worse? How?

Pay careful attention to Dana – track her development. How has she changed each time she travels to Rufus? How is the antebellum South different from her time? What happens to make her feelings change?

DANA: The River