Quick Reference for the Analysis of Narratives
Some of the essential elements of narratives include (in no particular order) plot, theme, characterization, point of view, and setting. Each of these elements work together for a combined effect. To focus on a particular element in your analysis does not preclude you discussing other elements that participate in your element’s effect. Analysis, in this sense, is a matter of focus and priority rather than an artificial selection.
Bearing this in mind, here are some questions with which to interrogate the text you are studying:
1. Plot
*What happened and why do we care? (Beiderwell&Wheeler)
*What conflict sets in motion the cause and effect chain that is the backbone of plot? Examine both the relationships between cause and effect and any change that is brought about.
*Who or what is the agent of conflict? Does this conflict develop quickly, gradually, erratically? Evaluate the quality of the conflict.
*Is the narrative driven primarily by plot or by character? Typically, a story driven by plot rather than character is less sophisticated and more formulaic.
2. Point of View
* Who is telling the story (don’t assume the author).
* What are the qualities of this “voice” especially tone? (i.e. ironic, sardonic, etc..)
* Consider the “distance” between the narrator and the reader, between the narrator and the subjects she/he is describing. What is the effect of this distance?
* Is the narrator objectively a character in the action (so-called 1st person)?
* Is the narrator a character by the level of development afforded by the author even though she/he/it is not participating as an agent in the story?
* Is the role of the narrator steady or does it vary?
3. Characterization
* How are the characters created through the representation in the story? Consider such traditional methods as indirect and direct characterization as well as any other methods you feel are at work and can justify.
* How do the characters shape the conflict? How does the conflict shape the characters? This dynamic is essential for crafting the story.
* Consider the importance of your character(s) for the story as a whole. Is the character essential for the development of other elements, or is the character “ornamental”? Consider the degree of complexity (personality contradictions and tensions).
4. Themes
* What are the themes you can identify in this novel? What is the relationship among the possible themes? Do they stand in a supporting role, or is there a degree of contradiction and tension among the themes?
* What are the essential techniques the author uses to develop these themes?
* Is there a hierarchy of themes? If so, which is dominant?
* What aspect of our humanity does the novel seem to explore?
5. Guided Close Reading
Decide which techniques predominate in your excerpt and how these develop aspects of the story both locally and globally. The main operation in a close reading is to identify structural elements of the text and reveal what these elements construct.
Begin by identifying what type of excerpt you have chosen; what is the essential type of technique being used. For example, is the excerpt primarily dialog, or a deep exploration of a character’s mental state? This is a local consideration. Next, decide what are the essential elements of these techniques, such as the narrator’s tone and how it is developed at the level of word-choice (diction) and proceed to make some sort of connection with a strand of meaning being developed in the novel as a whole in this part of the story; this final connection is a global consideration.
Remember, you do not need to exhaust all possibilities of the use of techniques in guiding us through the passage. You overall purpose is to identify details in the passage and make connections to what is being developed in the story as a whole.
Evaluation
You are being evaluated on how skillfully reveal what is not obvious in a casual reading of the story. As such, the degree to which you develop your analysis will be considered along with your proficiency in using the academic language appropriate to literary analysis. Another essential feature of your presentation will be how successfully you connect your part of the narrative to a possible thematic strand present in the text that you have been assigned. Obviously, as the story develops, you will have more opportunity to contextualize your analysis with the story as a whole. Finally, you should encourage questions, enter into conversations which require you to defend portions of your presentation that are weakest, and perhaps reevaluate a position.
Summarily, your overall success will be qualified by the following grade equivalents:
A = An outstanding presentation on all major criteria. These presentations are masterful in both the fluency with which the language of criticism is applied, and the depth of ideas being revealed and discussed.
B= These presentations are sound and thoroughly demonstrate proficiency in the use of the language of literary criticism. The argument presented is persuasive through both
C = Perfunctory accomplishment characterize this level of achievement. All the parts are there. The literary technique is discussed and some attempt is made to make a connection with the work as a whole. At this level, what is revealed is, perhaps, obvious to the casual reader, but there is an attempt made to develop a thesis and support it with evidence.
D= These presentations are seriously deficient in one or more of the competencies required to demonstrate, may be incomplete or unacceptably brief. At this level, it is evident the student has not met even the minimum requirements for a successful presentation.