Honors World Literature

Building Your Evidence for an Analytical Essay

John Bell Clayton’s “The White Circle”

(1947)

Your Quest:

Following your reading of the interlude between John Bell Clayton’s youthful main character and his nemesis, Anvil, you must begin to ascertain the story’s true message, or messages. Most young readers take the story for face value (i.e. what is on the surface), but the author has much more in mind for his readers than a simplistic plot revolving around an apple tree and its apples. Possible questions and connections must be made by readers if the mystery of Mr. Clayton’s short story is to be solved. What are the real identities of these characters and what are their true purposes? What message might there be in the characters’ names and in their actions? What’s up with all of the numbers employed throughout the story? What colors do we see and why? How do the settings and their stage props fit in to the mystery of “The White Circle”? Is there possibly some historical connection to characters and their actions? These are some fairly “out there” concepts, so please feel free to share your ideas with me, and inquire about all of the questions you may have!

Your Goal:

You must begin to build a database of examples of world literature you will study to synthesize all of your evidence into one clear understanding of how literature, no matter the type, tells a factual history of mankind through elaborate fictional texts. Remember: your ultimate goal here is to create building blocks of information to convey a message of literary unity within one solid essay, discussing the one single thread of the only story man has ever written about, albeit in a multitudinous way.

Your Directions:

Using the guide below, look back through John Bell Clayton’s “The White Circle,” and note the places where you see the following list of things. Write down what is happening in the story at that particular time that may give you a clue as to the true meaning, and do not forget to write down any questions you have for me.

Can you find examples of the following nine (9) items?

  1. Communion (The partaking of food and/or drink):
  2. The page(s)?
  3. The paragraph(s)?
  4. What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?
  1. Weather (clouds, lightning, rain, etc.)
  1. The page(s)?
  2. The paragraph(s)?
  3. What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?
  1. The Hero’s Sidekick (Could you argue for a sidekick in this short story? Are there multiple sidekicks? How do you know?)

***Look for these examples:

  • Nearly all sidekicks bite the dust, either figuratively or literally
  • The page(s)?
  • The paragraph(s)?
  • What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?
  • Sidekicks force the hero to grow and complete their quest
  • The page(s)?
  • The paragraph(s)?
  • What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?
  1. Illness, Disease, Death, & Violence (includes Starvation and Thirst)
  1. The page(s)?
  2. The paragraph(s)?
  3. What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?
  1. Symbols (animals, creatures, gods, spirits, rivers, mountains, time of day, etc.)
  1. The page(s)?
  2. The paragraph(s)?
  3. What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?
  1. Political Conflict (For Joyce Carol Oates’s “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been,” politics have the possibility of coming in many forms. Your job is to decide what those forms are.)
  1. The page(s)?
  2. The paragraph(s)?
  3. What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?
  1. Flight (Think about symbolic freedom here; freedom may not always be the answer, but it gives you a starting place for your ideas and questions.)
  1. The page(s)?
  2. The paragraph(s)?
  3. What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?
  1. Seasons (winter, spring, summer, fall: Think about what the characters mentally and physically experience at these times of the year, during their journey.)
  1. The page(s)?
  2. The paragraph(s)?
  3. What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?

(TURN OVER FOR #9, PLEASE!!!)

  1. Physical Afflictions (blindness, deafness, missing limbs, paralysis, being turned into a monster/demon, etc.)
  1. The page(s)?
  2. The paragraph(s)?
  3. What is going on in the story here (one or two sentence summary)?

Notes