1. Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Literary Analysis Essay

2. Literary Analysis Essay- To Kill a Mockingbird Name____________________________________ Overall Scores: Application __________________ Strategies ___________________ Conventions _____________ Total Points: _____________/70   On Time Student submitted essay on time (all assignments were checked off prior to essay being due) Student had the assignment completed in class; however, it was not printed out or turned in Student turned essay in on time; however, did not complete all assignments prior to the essay due date Student did not turn the assignment in on time Introduction/ Conclusion (Application) Introduction is effective in all of the following categories: immediately engages the reader appropriately introduces author and work provides a clear and concise definition of element(s) being examined and background information as necessary   Conclusion recaps thesis and main points; leads to a thoughtful analysis, reflection, or summary Introduction includes all of the following categories: immediately engages the reader appropriately introduces author and work provides a clear and concise definition of element(s) being examined and background information as necessary   Conclusion recaps thesis and main points and leads to a thoughtful analysis, but does so less powerfully or memorably Introduction includes two of the following categories: immediately engages the reader appropriately introduces author and work provides a clear and concise definition of element(s) being examined and background information as necessary   Conclusion goes nowhere; simply repeats introduction Introduction includes one of the following categories: immediately engages the reader appropriately introduces author and work provides a clear and concise definition of element(s) being examined and background information as necessary   No substantial conclusion   Thesis (Application) Thesis (claim) is effective in all of the following areas: States the author States the literary focus Uses an action verb that links literary focus to the bigger picture Thesis (claim) includes all of the following areas: States the author States the literary focus Uses an action verb that links the literary focus to the bigger picture Thesis (claim) includes three of the following areas: States the author States the literary focus Uses an action verb that links the literary focus to the bigger picture Thesis (claim) includes less than three of the following areas: States the author States the literary focus Uses an action verb that links literary focus to the bigger picture Development (Application) Topic sentences effectively align to support thesis   Clear, relevant, and specific evidence effectively supports thesis and each topic sentence   Two effective quotes are used per paragraph Topic sentences align to support thesis   Clear, relevant, and specific evidence supports thesis and each topic sentence   Two quotes are used per paragraph Most topic sentences align to support thesis   Evidence is not clear, relevant, and specific; does little to support/oppose claim   One effective quote is used per paragraph Topic sentences fail to support thesis   Evidence is not clear, relevant, and specific; does not support claim   One quote is used per paragraph OR no quotes are used Analysis (Application) Analysis contains original thought and successfully expands on evidence to reveal and support bigger picture Analysis contains some original thought and expands on evidence to reveal and support the bigger picture Analysis merely summarizes the evidence, OR commentary does not contain original thought beyond readings and/or discussions Analysis merely summarizes the evidence, OR commentary does not contain original thought beyond readings and/or discussions Organization (Strategies) Essay does not deviate from prescribed organizational method   Transitions are seamless and work to connect ideas   All quotes are imbedded Essay does not deviate from prescribed organizational method   Transitions work to connect ideas     Most quotes are imbedded Essay slightly deviates from prescribed organizational method   Little evidence of transitions which ineffectively work to connect ideas   Some quotes are imbedded Essay deviates from prescribed organizational method   No evidence of transitions     No quotes are imbedded   Conventions 0-2 spelling/grammar errors including “I”, “you”, “we”, or “us”, contractions, and taboo words   Strong and varied sentence structure clearly conveys meaning throughout the whole essay 3-5 spelling/grammar errors including “I”, “you”, “we”, or “us”, contractions, and taboo words   Strong and varied sentence structure clearly conveys meaning   6-9 spelling/grammar errors including “I”, “you”, “we”, or “us”, contractions, and taboo words   Minimal evidence of varied sentence structure   10 or more spelling/grammar errors including “I”, “you”, “we”, or “us”, contractions, and taboo words   Sentence beginnings, length and structure lack variation MLA (Conventions) 0 errors 1-3 errors 4-6 errors 7 or more   Creative title: ____________/2         Reminders
Never use “I”, “you”, “we”, “our” (even though this is your interpretation, you may not provide opinions)
Always talk about literature in present tense
Do not retell the story in your essay (this is not a book report)
Incorporate a discussion of as many literary techniques as possible (if applicable)
Embed your quotes into your sentence
After Haroun realizes that his mother has indeed left his father, the mood of the story changes and the outside “air [becomes] too weepy for words” (Rushdie 24).

3. Developing Your Thesis Statement
Step 1: Look back over the themes we went through at the beginning of this unit.
Stories are vital and important. A life without them is meaningless
Stories are constantly interwoven and reborn
Stories can be cheapened and polluted through the absence of imagination and the insistence that they serve some type of purpose
The mess of democracy is preferable to the “darkness” of dictatorship
In the end, the world needs both light and darkness
The world is filled with opposites which in the end must be reconciled
Sticking up for what you believe in defines a person
The relation between the imaginary world and the real world is complex and important

4. Step 2: Look back through Rushdie’s life and history.
The background hand-out I gave you at the beginning of this unit

5. Step 3: Skim back over your annotations throughout the novel
Do you see any scenes, lines, or parts of the novel that connect to any greater themes?
What does Rushdie use (literary devices) to reveal a bigger theme?
What are the most important lines in the novel? Why are they important in your understanding of the entire novel?
Do you see any scenes that allegorize (represent) Rushdie’s life?
What does Rushdie use (literary devices, descriptions or character interactions) to reveal to the readers aspects of what he was going through when writing this novel?
Do you see any warnings Rushdie is trying to give to us?
How does he use magic realism to convey these warnings?

6. Step 4: Decide what you want to focus on based off of what you discovered throughout the novel
Step 5: Create your unique thesis statement (remember, a good thesis is made up of three parts)
Part 1: A specific element in the text (an event, an image, a description, a scene, a literary device, etc.)
Part 2: An active verb (that links Part 1 and Part 3)
Part 3: The story’s larger theme (the author’s purpose in writing the story; the story’s meaning)

7. Example
Part 1: A specific element in the text (an event, an image, a description, a scene, a literary device, etc.)
Part 2: An active verb (that links Part 1 and Part 3)
Part 3: The story’s larger theme (the author’s purpose in writing the story; the story’s meaning)
Rushdie utilizes dichotomies throughout the text to uncover the idea that opposites must exist in order for there to be balance.
The Land of Chup accurately parallels the oppressive control over freedom of speech imposed by the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Khomeini.

8. Topic Sentences
Topic sentences must directly connect to your thesis statement and work as the reasons that prove your thesis.
You must incorporate words from your thesis statement in each topic sentence.
Example:
Rushdie utilizes dichotomies throughout the text to uncover the idea that opposites must exist in order for there to be balance.
For my topic sentences I would choose three instances of dichotomies and tell what each one reveals.
Land of the Gup and Chup, light and dark, good and evil, speech and no speech, story, anti-story, dull and lively, fantasy and reality…
T.S.- The existence of the shadow warrior captures the dichotomy between the Gups and the Chups while also revealing the beauty of a possible balance amongst them.

9. Evidence
Without evidence to support your argument (thesis) and argument points (topic sentences), you have no argument.
Think about a trial. The thesis of the defense is “he/she is not guilty”. The topic sentences are reasons proving why he/she is not guilty. The evidence is DNA samples, testimonies, forensics which all support the reasons, which ultimately supports the thesis of “not guilty”.
Your evidence must directly support your topic sentence and thesis statement (after choosing it, check if it proves your thesis and topic sentence)

10. Example:
Thesis: Rushdie utilizes dichotomies throughout the text to uncover the idea that opposites must exist in order for there to be balance.
T.S.: The existence of the shadow warrior captures the dichotomy between the Gups and the Chups while also revealing the beauty of a possible balance amongst them.
Evidence: As Haroun observes the shadow warrior from the land of Chup he has an epiphany that “the dance of the shadow warrior had its own grace and beauty (just as speech could be graceless and ugly); and that Action could be as noble as Words” (Rushdie 125).

11. “Chalk Talk”

12. Analysis Can not be a summary of the play or a recap of your evidence.
The goal of analysis is to prove your thesis and topic sentence and show the significance of your evidence.
You need to “dig-deeper” to reveal something new to your audience and show how the specific helps reveal the larger theme. (Think thesis equation)
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT OF YOUR ESSAY- IT SHOULD BE AT LEAST 3-5 SENTECNES AND IT MUST BE WELL THOUGHT OUT!!!!!

13. While thinking and writing, as yourself the question “so what”?
In an in-class essay format, make sure you have outlined (in your mind) the points you want to make about each topic sentence.
While thinking and writing, as yourself the question “so what”?
Why is what I am writing important? How does it help reveal something significant? Why is it interesting? Why is it important for readers to understand this?

14. Example Paragraph
The existence of the shadow warrior captures the dichotomy between the Gups and the Chups while also revealing the beauty of a possible balance amongst them. As Haroun observes the shadow warrior from the land of Chup he has an epiphany that “the dance of the shadow warrior had its own grace and beauty (just as speech could be graceless and ugly); and that Action could be as noble as Words” (Rushdie 125). Before this moment, Haroun has understood the world in terms of opposites and dichotomies; either one or the other must exist, but never both at the same time. This is the first moment Haroun realizes that the balance created because of these opposites is not only appealing, but necessary in order for each to exist. Harmony between the Gups and the Chups will only manifest when each group learns to embrace their differences. Similarly, harmony cannot exist in Haroun’s world until he realizes that having an equal balance of fantasy and reality is essential to living a happy and fulfilled life.