Essay 2: Literary Analysis. • • Due: Tuesday, Oct. 6 • Times New Roman, 12 point font • 5-6 pages, Double spaced • 3 sources (including the novel) cited in MLA format. • 3rd person (do not use I). Overview: Many people are intimidated by writing about literature. They don’t trust their interpretations of the literature, don’t understand some of the more technical jargon that English instructors like to use, and don’t feel like they have anything original to say. Learning to write about literature is, in many ways, a process of learning to trust yourself. We are all readers (or at least will be for this next paper.) We all form opinions on what we have read. And we all have reasons for forming those opinions. Writing about literature is simply expressing our opinions and giving the reasons for our opinions (with evidence). The same concept will be used for other argumentative writing you will do in this and future classes. Assignment: Your assignment is to write a literary analysis of Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. You will give an argument or interpretation of the book, and back that interpretation up with evidence from the book itself and from scholarly sources (such as books in the library or journal articles from NC Live or Pro-Quest). Your analysis can focus on any aspect of the novel you find interesting or feel you have a strong opinion about. Some options include: • A focus on theme. What is the novel trying to say about war? Family? American values? History and the way we write about it? Fate and free will? Suffering? Masculinity? Time? Morality? The way prisoners of war are treated? Pick any theme in the book and develop it. • A focus on characterization. In this novel, we have a narrator (who serves as a surrogate for the author, Vonnegut), a man (Billy Pilgrim) who travels through time and space, Aliens, soldiers, a porn star, and many others. Pick a character who you find intriguing, and form an argument about characterization. How is the character developed by the author? Why? What purpose does that character hold, and how do they fit into the overall plot or theme? • A focus on structure. As Billy Pilgrim comes “unstuck in time,” so do we. The novel travels back and forth in both time and location. What effect does that have on you as a reader? Why might Vonnegut have chosen to construct the novel in such an intentionally disorienting way? What do critics say about the book’s structure? • A focus on history. Research WW2, especially the firebombing of Dresden (at which Vonnegut was present as POW). How does Vonnegut’s novel describe the events, and how do his descriptions compare to the historical account? Was bombing the city warranted or justified? Why or why not? • A focus on the science fiction elements of the novel. Why are they there, in a novel purportedly about war here on Earth? What do they add to the story, and what do they reveal about Billy and his character? How are the aliens depicted, and why? • A focus on the stylistic elements of the book. The book has a unique style, especially in its use of repetition. What effect does the repetition of phrases like “so it goes” have on the readers? What does the style contribute to the theme? • A focus on tone. What is the tone of the book? How is it developed? Why? Literary terms, Defined: Theme—The central meaning or dominant idea of a literary work. All of the elements of the work (tone, characters, plot, setting, symbols, etc.) often work together to add to or form the theme. This is not the subject of the work—this is an abstract concept that is “made concrete through the images, characterization, and action of the text” (Meyer 2195). Tone—The author’s “implicit attitude” towards the characters or the reader of his works. The tone is revealed by the author’s style (the words he/she uses and the way in which those words are arranged). The tone can be ironic, sincere, happy, sad, bitter, angry, etc. Characterization—The process by which the characters are made to seem realistic and whole to the reader. Often includes a protagonist (a central character the readers sympathize with) and an antagonist pitted against the protagonist. Characterization is developed by showing the readers the actions of the characters and letting the readers infer their personalities and motivations, and by telling the readers about the characters through a first or third person narrator. Symbol—A “person, object, image, word, or event that evokes a range of additional meaning beyond and usually more abstract than its literal significance” (Meyer 2194). Some symbols are universally acknowledged (flags = patriotism, country; cross = faith) while others are developed by writers to strengthen the meanings or themes of a work. Irony—“A literary device that uses contradictory statements or situations to reveal a reality different from what appears to be true.” Contradictions can come in terms of words (verbal irony, sarcasm) or situations (situational irony). Dramatic irony occurs when the readers know something the characters do not. Flashback—A break in the narration that reveals something about the character’s past and then returns to the present day. Often used to fill in gaps in the narration or add additional character development. Image—A word, phrase, or figure of speech (such as a simile or metaphor) that “addresses the senses, suggesting mental pictures of sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings, or actions” (2183). Foreshadowing—The introduction of elements early in the work that gives hints of something to come later. First Person Point of View—told using words like “I” that reveals the narration comes from the character itself. Third Person Point of View—Uses “he,” “she,” “they,” and does not participate in the story itself. Can be omniscient (knowing the thoughts and feelings of every character) or limited, knowing the thoughts and feelings of only one character. Websites to avoid Using as Sources. Anything “Wiki” (Wiktionary, wiki-articles, wikihow, etc.) Anything “e” (e-articles, e-zines, e-pedia, etc.) Yahoo (yahoo articles) Yahoo Answers / Wiki Answers About.com Ask.com Squidoo Buzzle Shmoop Howstuffworks Hubpages Urban Dictionary Buzzfeed Sparknotes Pink Monkey Comment sections Reddit Brainyquotes.com or any similar “quotes” site Review
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