English 2H: Writer’s Analysis

Author:Title:

Significance of the opening scene or chapter:
  • What hints to the rest of the book are here?
  • What images are significant here and why?
  • With what character does the text start? Why?
  • Why is this a good scene to start with?
  • Make sure to use textual evidence (words and phrases from the text) to support your ideas.
/ Significance of the closing scene or chapter:
  • How do final images correlate with the rest of the text?
  • With what character does the text end, and why?
  • Why is this scene thematically important?
  • Use textual evidence to support your ideas.

Plot Analysis (what were the most significant events?):
First…
Then…
But…
So…
Finally… / Write 4 “illuminating/aha” moments for the reader, where we understand something hidden, and why they are important.
  • Were there epiphanies for a character?
  • Did you realize something interesting about the culture/society/nature of people?
  • What, if anything, did a character learn?
  • What, if anything, did we learn about a character?
  • What are the big idea/theme questions?

Describe the author’s style (sentence length, figurative language, unusual punctuation, formality of diction, poetic or straightforward). / Give good, original examples that demonstrate that style, and the effect that is created.
What is the significance of the title? Why do you think the author chose this title for this particular work?

Characterization

Character Name / Role in the Story / Direct Characterization
(How the narrator describes the character) / Indirect Characterization
(What is revealed by what the character does/says, or what others say about him/her) / Significance of the character’s name: Why do you think the author chose that name for this character?

Setting

List three most important places in the text. Be specific – one small place, not a country or a city or a region. / How is this setting symbolic? Consider how/why the author chose those details to reveal about the setting (furniture, knickknacks, structures, weather, seasons, walls, windows, art, colors, nature, etc.). / Evidence from the text to support your ideas. Include page numbers. Please use short quotations and sometimes embed them in your own words.

Symbolism – (Ones NOT IN SPARKNOTES)

Symbol(a symbol is a tangible object, a thing that represents another object or idea or sign) / What you think it means – don’t forget ironies that may be within a symbol. It’s ok to guess at the meaning, as long as the idea is thoughtful. What makes you think this is symbolic? Is it a motif (does it repeat throughout)? / Evidence from the text (include page numbers)
Don’t write long passages, but rather several small phrases or simply words that prove/support your idea. Use quotation marks and page numbers.
Identify five Literary Devices (metaphor, simile, irony, foreshadowing, personification, allusion, imagery, hyperbole, paradox, etc.) and write the line. / What effected is created by the use of this device? Why might the author use this comparison, sound device, etc.? What does this device do for the flavor, meaning, texture of the line/paragraph?

Rate the Book (A-F)

How much did you enjoy the book? Why? / Grade it on its literary merit, for its under-the-surface meaning, the beauty of the language and images, literary qualities, etc.
Explain your grade.