Analysis Essay

Why Analyze?

The ability to analyze is a practical skill. After a football game, the coach analyzes the game film. After a presidential debate, commentators analyze the results. After a sale's quarter, CEO's analyze stock performance. In the academic world of American secondary education, the SAT, AP Literature and Composition, and the AP Language and Composition exams all place heavy emphasis on the ability to analyze. Analysis is a useful tool to accomplish various ends. It is not an end.

What is Literary Analysis?

The Greek roots of the word analysis show that its essence is to "loosen things up" (from ana meaning "up" and lysis meaning "loosen"). That is, to analyze a text, or a speech, or a football game, or anything else in the world subject to analysis, is to take it apart , i.e."to loosen it up," in order to understand it better.

The tools of analysis are questions. The analyzer is a mechanic who chooses the right tools (i.e. the right questions) to take apart the engine (i.e. the subject being considered). The purpose is either pragmatic (e.g. political change or improvement to the subject being considered) or existential (e.g. moral and spiritual development of the individual.) Again, analysis in not an end in itself, but a tool to accomplish other purposes.

How do I Analyze?

The following song is intended to provide tools for the literary analysis toolbox of teachers and students. Each line of the song deals with a different literary element or analytical technique which can be used to "loosen up" a text for whatever purpose a reader may have. Because the real analytical tools are questions, after the song I provide a list of sample questions linked to each of the song's sixteen lines.




Ode to Analysis
The PLOT begins, middles, and ends,
But THEME is what it’s all about.
PREDICT which way the story bends,
Then show the TONES expressed throughout.
Describe a CHARACTER’S main trait,
And know the SETTING’S time and place;
Find CLIMAX when you know they’ll beat
The CONFLICTS that all heroes face.
A METAPHOR pairs unlike things
But SIMILES use like, as, or than,
PERSONIFY the wind: it sings;
COMPARE a lion with a lamb.
CAUSE and EFFECT: Let there be light!
The PURPOSE: teach, persuade, inform.
EVALUATE what’s wrong or right,
And then APPLY to be reborn.


Terms and Sample Questions
1.  PLOT - The organization.  What was your favorite part? Why? What was your least favorite part? Why? Did you like the beginning, middle, or end best? Why? Can you summarize the plot (plot summaries should include the main character, main conflict, climax, and resolution)? Was the plot good or bad? Why?
2.  THEME - The message.  What is the message/lesson of this text? How many messages can you find? What does it teach? Was the lesson good or bad? Why?
3.  PREDICTION - The guess.  What do you think was happening before this story began? What do you think will happen next? What do you think will happen at the end?
4.  TONE - The feeling.  Is this text happy or sad or a mixture? What words best describe the feeling of this text? Do you like it? Why? Should you like it? Why?
5.  CHARACTER - The subject(s).  Who was your favorite character? Why? Who was your least favorite character? Why? Did a character do the right thing? Why? What should a character have done? Did a character change? What words best describe a character?
6.     SETTING - The time and place. Did you like the location of the text? Why? Did you like the time period? Did the setting fit the story well? Did the setting change throughout the text or did it stay the same? Did that make the text better or worse?
 7.     CLIMAX - The moment.  Where was the climax in the text and what caused it? Did you like the climax? Was it satisfying? Why?
 8.     CONFLICT - The problem. Did you like the conflict in the text? Why? Which conflict was most interesting to you? Why? Is this a conflict that you can relate to? Would you have solved the conflict differently?
 9.     SIMILE - The similarity. What was your favorite simile in the text? Why? Did similes play a major role in the text? Did that make the text better or worse?
10.     METAPHOR - The similarity. What was your favorite metaphor or symbol in the text? Why? Did metaphoric and symbolic language play a major or minor role in the text? Did that make the text better or worse?
11.     PERSONIFICATION – The personality. Did the text use of personification? Why? Did it make the text better or worse?
12.  COMPARE - The juxtaposition.  Is this text similar to any other texts (including movies and songs) you know? How? Are the characters similar to any other characters (or people) you know? How? Is the setting similar to a place you have been? Is the conflict similar to a conflict you have had?
13.  CAUSE - The cause.  Why did a character do what he did? What really motivated an action? What really caused a conflict?
14.  PURPOSE - The purpose.  What was the author trying to accomplish? Did the author have a good purpose in mind?
15.  EVALUATE - The judgment.  Was the text (or any element of the text) good or bad? Why?
16.  APPLICATION - The use.  Did this text teach you anything? Do you feel at all changed by this text? How and why? Do you want to recommend this text to anyone? Who and why? Did this text remind you of a truth you already know? Did this text reinforce a moral or religious teaching which you know to be true? Did this text reinforce or contradict something which you believe? Is this good or bad?

How do I Write an Analytical Essay?

A literary analysis essay can respond to either a fiction or non-fiction text. The structure of the essay looks different for these two types of text.

Fiction Analysis (Example)
I. The main message/purpose/claim of the text is...
II. The beginning of the text supports the main message by... (general reason)
     A. Example of character
     B. Example of conflict
     C. Example of tone
     D. Example of setting
     E. Example of metaphor/symbol/simile/personification (or other literary device)
III. The middle of the text supports the main message by... (similar or different reason)
     A. Example of character
     B. Example of climax
     C. Example of tone
     D. Example of setting
     E. Example of metaphor/symbol/simile/personification (or other literary device)
IV. The end of the text supports the main message by... (similar or different reason)
     A. Example of character
     B. Example of climax
     C. Example of tone
     D. Example of setting
     E. Example of metaphor/symbol/simile/personification (or other literary device)
V. Conclusion

N.B. The writer would pick appropriate examples from the A-E list and not try to include every literary example in every paragraph. For example, he may choose to focus upon characters in paragraph two (because, for example, the beginning focused intensely on a specific character's development) and setting in paragraph three (because, for example, the setting shifted in the middle of the text.) On the other hand, there may be a paragraph where all the examples would be appropriate.

Non-Fiction Analysis (Example)
I. The main message/purpose/claim of the text is...
II. The beginning of the text supports the main message by appealing to... (general reason)
     A. Example of diction (word choice) emphasizes...
     B. Example of detail (names, numbers, quotations) emphasizes...
     C. Example of rhetoric (repetition and poetic language) emphasizes...
III. The middle of the text supports the main message by appealing to... (similar or different reason)
     A. Example of diction (word choice) emphasizes...
     B. Example of detail (names, numbers, quotations) emphasizes...
     C. Example of rhetoric (repetition and poetic language) emphasizes...
IV. The end of the text supports the main message by appealing to... (similar or different reason)
     A. Example of diction (word choice) emphasizes...
     B. Example of detail (names, numbers, quotations) emphasizes...
     C. Example of rhetoric (repetition and poetic language) emphasizes...
V. Conclusion

N.B. As with fictional analysis, some paragraphs may focus entirely on diction while others focus on detail and rhetoric. It all depends on the number and types of examples provided by the beginning, middle, and end of the text.

Discussion
The structure of the two analysis essays above is similar. They both trace an argument/theme/claim from the beginning to the end of a text. They both show how the text supports the claim in different or similar ways as the story or argument progresses. The main difference lies in the types of examples used to support the argument. Fictional analysis uses the elements of fiction (character, conflict, setting, etc.) as examples to support the argument, while non-fictional analysis uses the elements of non-fiction (diction, detail, and rhetoric.)