In the analysis paragraph of your Summary and Analysis of a Literary Text, you will be working toward what our textbook author, Katherine O. Acheson, says is the goal of an essay about literature: “a clearly written argument, based on evidence, about the meaning, power, or structure” of a literary text (4).
With only one paragraph, your analysis will be concise. Your argument must be very specific. You will state that argument in the first sentence of your analysis paragraph (the second paragraph) and support it by bringing in textual evidence and discussing that evidence.
For this exercise, brainstorm 2-3 possible arguments for your analysis paragraph. You will use what you’ve learned about the elements of the story and think about what you believe the story means (its theme).
Step 1 — Compose two possible arguments (one complete sentence each) by considering how the author uses one of the elements of the story (plot, characterization, setting, symbolism) to achieve their thematic purpose. (For example, “In the short story, “The Lottery,” Shirley Jackson uses (Element A) to help readers understand (Theme A).)
Step 2 — For each argument, include a bulleted list of 2-3 specific details from the text to support your claim. Please read WEAL chapter 2, if you haven’t done so already, to learn more about how to use and find textual evidence.