Writing the Beginning Paragraph

Start your analysis with a lead that gets readers' attention and introduces them to the piece of literature you will analyze. After your lead sentence, you will develop a paragraph that ends with your thesis statement.

1. Name the work and author and summarize the main conflict.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor tells the story of a young girl who learns how to fight discrimination and injustice.

2. Quote something interesting a character said.

Cassie Logan will never forget something her dad once told her about the land they own and live on. “All that belongs to you. You ain’t never had to live on nobody’s place but your own and long as I live and the family survives, you’ll never have to. That’s important. You may not understand that now, but one day you will.”

3. Provide a historical fact about the work.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry was one of the first young adult books to not shy away from life's harsh realities.

4. Ask an interesting question.

How can you stand up for yourself in an unjust society?

Prewriting to Select a Work

Your teacher may assign a certain work of literature for you to analyze, or you may get to choose your own. If you need to choose between multiple works, create a chart to gather topic ideas. Then select the topic for your analysis.

Prewriting to Focus on Literary Elements

All fiction has a number of common elements: characters, plot, setting, and theme. You can ask questions about each element to gather details about the work you chose. You may need to reread portions of the work in order to fully answer qustions.

Reading a Literary Analysis

Before you begin working on your own analysis, it's helpful to read how another student analyzed a piece of literature.

Reading a Student Model

This sample focuses on the character arc of Junior from The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. As you read the sample, pay close attention to how the writer describes changes in the character by citing examples from the text. Then consider how the writer connects those changes to larger lessons about life. Click on the side notes for a closer look at the key features.

Sample Literary Analysis

Warm-Up for Literary Analyses

What is the purpose of literature? That’s a BIG question. The ancient Roman poet Horace answered it in simple but powerful terms. He said literature should “instruct and delight.” Centuries later, novelists, poets, teachers, and scholars still invoke Horace’s words when creating and studying literature.

The feeling of delight is obvious when you get lost in a really good book. However, the instructional value of a story or poem is not always immediately evident. You have to read closely and critically to discover teachable moments. This is the main challenge of writing a literary analysis.

What Is a Literary Analysis?

© Thoughtful Learning 2018

In a literary analysis, you explore one or more important features in a piece of literature. For example, you could trace how the main character changes in a story, or you could discuss how a theme develops. Analyses usually deal with the main elements of literature—plot, character, setting, and theme.

The lessons in this unit will help you learn from and delight in a book of your choosing. Your goal is to share something important that you have learned through your reading and analyzing. You should base the ideas in your analysis on specific evidence from the text. You will likely need to reread portions of the text to focus your ideas. Then you will present the results of your work in a carefully planned essay.

Thinking About Conflict

Let's face it: conflict is compelling . . . and not just the physical variety. Battling and defeating thoughts and feelings can be just as dramatic as fighting a group of ninjas. In literature, conflict fuels the drama, excitement, and suspense that make readers want to keep on reading.

Characters in literature tend to face both internal and external conflicts. On a micro level, characters commonly face at least one of these five types of literary conflict:

• Character vs. Self

Cody wants to try out for the school musical but worries that he’s not talented enough and that joining the musical might hurt his reputation. Cody battles with himself about whether or not to try out.

• Character vs. Character

Cody decides to try out. He faces off with Phil for a role. Cody and Phil are in conflict with each other.

• Character vs. Society

When Cody joins the musical, his friends on the basketball team shut him out, while the regular theater kids shun him for being a jock. Cody is in conflict with the social stereotype that athletes can’t be artistic.

• Character vs. Nature

During rehearsal, a tornado rips through the town. The cast members have to take shelter in the basement, while the auditorium is destroyed. Nature conflicts with Cody’s aspirations.

• Character vs. Fate/Supernatural

Ghosts of performances past appear to Cody, chanting, “The show must go on! The show must go on!” The supernatural creates a new set of obstacles.

Editing Common Comma Errors

In the last lesson, you learned how to combine sentences to improve the flow of your writing. In this lesson, you'll review how to avoid three common comma errors that can occur when you combine sentences.

1. Missing Comma in a Compound Sentence: When you combine two sentences (independent clauses) using a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet), always place a comma before the conjunction.

   Manuel gave swimming lessons to Sam, and Lupita coaxed him into the wave pool.

   Note: Without the comma, this compound sentence could be misread as "Manuel gave swimming lessons to Sam and Lupita . . .

2. Missing Comma in a Series: Use commas to separate three or more words, phrases, or clauses, in a series.

   I want to thank my parents, Spock, and Serena Williams.

   Note: Without the final comma, this sentence could be misread as "I want to thank my parents, Spock and Serena Williams (the parents are Spock and Serena Williams?).

3. Missing Comma After Long Introductory Phrases or Clauses: Place a comma after a long introductory phrases or clauses before the main part of sentence.

   In the middle of the night, the neighborhood was usually very quiet.

   When I heard a thump and shout, the pounding of my heart filled the room.

   Note: Without the comma, the opening clause gets confused with the subject: "a thump and shout the pounding of my heart . .&nbsp."

Revising to Connect Characters to Themes

An effective character analysis should show how the words and actions of the characters demonstrate larger themes. Often themes express life lessons, social or cultural realities, or moral dilemmas. Answering critical questions about the character can help you identify themes:

1. Why is this character so interesting?

   Ghost is interesting because he tries to outrun his past, but doing so leads to bad decisions in his present.

2. What is the most critical moment for this character?

   On the day he's supposed to get his uniform, his coach finds out he stole the track shoes.

3. If this character could do one thing over, what would it be?

   He would have asked his mom or coach to help him get a pair of track shoes for the season.

4. What emotion best defines this character?

   Ghost experiences many emotions, but the two that pop up the most are anger and resentment. He doesn't feel comfortable with himself until he lets others into his life.

5. What can you learn from the character?

Writing the Beginning Paragraph

Start your essay with a lead that gets readers' attention and orients them to the piece of literature you will analyze. Then provide background information that leads to your thesis statement.

1. Name the work and author and summarize its importance.

   Ghost by Jason Reynolds tells the story of a middle-schooler running toward a better future.

2. Ask a compelling question about the character or theme.

   Have you ever tried running away from a problem?

Reading a Character Analysis

Before you begin your own writing, you should read an example created by another student to get a sense of what a character analysis looks and sounds like. As you read, note how the writer describes the character, explores themes, and cites evidence from the literature. Click on the side notes to study these features.

Reading a Student Model

This student sample analyzes the main character from Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. The analysis highlights how the character changes throughout the story and how the changes reflect some of the main themes of the work. The overall structure includes a beginning paragraph, multiple body paragraphs, and an ending paragraph. The writer uses source citations and discussions of theme to reveal qualities of the character.

Sample Character Analysis

Warm-Up for Analyzing a Character

Who is your favorite character from a story or novel? Someone with amazing abilities who does astounding things? Someone with major flaws who overcomes them in surprising ways? Is the person likable? Intelligent? Funny? Are other qualities more important? You could answer these questions in many ways because great characters, like real people, are multilayered and complex.

In this unit, you will peel back the layers of a character from a story or novel. In addition to the person's actions, you'll analyze the character's mind, body, and spirit to discover what makes the person tick. In the process, you may even get closer to understanding what really makes a great literary character.

What Is a Character Analysis?

© Thoughtful Learning 2018

A character analysis is a response to literature that looks closely at one or more characters from a story or novel. A successful analysis considers different aspects of a character, provides textual evidence about the person, and explains what these details mean in the larger context of the work.

In this unit, you will pick a key character from a work of fiction that you know well. The lessons that follow will help you closely analyze the character, express an overarching idea about the person, and find evidence to support your position.

Thinking About Character Traits

One of the challenges of writing a character analysis is drawing conclusions about someone you have met only through words on a page. You have to rely on text evidence, things the character does and says in the story. Of course, we all make similar judgments about people we've met only in other media, for example favorite icons from music, sports, politics, or movies.

You can warm up your character-analysis muscles by answering interview questions from the perspective of a famous person. Create answers as best you can based on what you know about the person. Here's an example to get you started: