Father comes home from the wars By Suzan-Lori Parks

For each literary analysis assigned, choose a work found in our class textbook and, focusing on
issues you find relevant and manageable, write a 4–5-page, double-spaced, literary analysis
specific in its initial thesis, easy to follow in structure, and clear and consistent in style that
adequately and appropriately references the text of the work(s) selected. Be sure to expand
beyond what we may have discussed in class in any discussion board forums. Mere regurgitation
of ideas presented in various discussion threads is not the purpose of this assignment.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to select a different genre for the second literary analysis. For
example, if you selected a poem for Literary Analysis 1, you need to select a work of prose
fiction or a drama for Literary Analysis 2. Also, the Works Cited/References/Title Pages do
NOT count towards page length.
1. If the work is prose fiction (a short story or novella), one key thing to discuss is its
way of proceeding as narrative, i.e., as a piece of writing that tells a story. What strikes
you about it: is it the story itself? The narrator? The characters? What is distinctive, that
is, about this particular piece of story-telling fiction by this author?
2. If the work is a poem, one key thing to discuss is its quality as language: in poetry, it’s
often not so much “story” or “action” that matters most, it’s the medium itself: the
refined, thought-provoking, emotion-inducing, clarity-enhancing arrangement of words
on a page. Words are playing in a very intense spotlight in poetry. How is that quality on
display in the particular poem(s) you’re now reading?
3. If the work is a drama, one key thing to discuss is the play’s manner of representing an
action: a play’s script is meant to bring carefully delineated or imagined events to life on
a stage and thereby to evoke an intellectual/emotional response in an audience. What
specific resources (language, structure, settings, realism, symbolic content, character
development or revelation, etc.) does the playwright most fully bring to bear in order to
further the play’s aims as a representation of some “action”?
Some of you may be familiar and comfortable with writing a literary analysis. However, if you
are not, what follows is a “how to” guide that takes you through the steps of the process. It is
quite detailed; however, feel free to inquire if you need clarification or further assistance.
An overview of grading/assessment information can be found at the end of the guide.
Literary Analysis Assignment Guidelines–2
A Guide to Writing a Literary Analysis
Please read and review the following material carefully.
Overview
The papers for this class should demonstrate your understanding of the literary selection you
choose through a literary analysis consisting of a close reading to indicate how the text creates
meaning. For example, I do not need to be told the plot of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. I’ve
read the play numerous times and know what happens. So, simply summarizing the play or
rewording a soliloquy into your own language (i.e., translation/paraphrase) does not tell me
anything I do not already know. That is not analysis.
Rather, with close reading, you call my attention to a specific section of your chosen text and
perform a close reading by looking closely at the language of the text in order to demonstrate not
just what you think the text means, but more importantly how it means what you think it does.
The only summary needed is to let me know the context of your analysis. For example, you
might write, “In the scene where Hamlet confronts his mother, Gertrude, Shakespeare’s use of
language provides clues to the young man’s state of mind.” I would expect your entire paper to
focus on how your selected section of Hamlet demonstrates those clues to the audience (much
analysis of Hamlet explores Hamlet’s mental state in the drama, so this would be a logical focal
point for a paper). That’s just one example. The anthology provides suggestions and prompts for
paper topics throughout.
Some pointers for composing your literary analysis papers for this course:
• All works must be written exclusively for this class. No double-dipping by submitting
works used for any other courses allowed unless written permission is granted from me
and the other professor. Lack of written permission may result in a zero on the
submission for self-plagiarism (even scholars must acknowledge their own work when
using material they have presented in different publications, for example).
• Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarism consists of representing the words and/or
ideas of another as your own. If you use someone else’s ideas, be sure to cite your
sources carefully and distinguish his or her thoughts from your own. If you use someone
else’s words, be sure to place them in quotation marks and cite your sources.
o Note that even using bits and pieces of original language mixed with
summary/paraphrase without using quotation marks for the borrowed snippets of
original language, even if cited, is plagiarism via faulty summary/paraphrase (aka
“plagiphrasing”).
• Introduce and Integrate Quotations: An important rule you need to remember is that
you must introduce your quotations and integrate them into your sentences. Free-
standing quotations—quotations that stand on their own as complete sentences—are
unacceptable. A simple method to integrate quotations properly is ICE: Introduce your
quotation, provide your quotation, Cite your quotation, then Explain your quotation (this
Literary Analysis Assignment Guidelines–3
is the “close reading”).
• Titles: The titles of shorter works are generally given in quotation marks, whereas those
of longer works are italicized. Short stories and short poems should be in quotation
marks: “Ode to a Nightingale,” “The Road not Taken,” “Song of Myself,” “Incident,”
“the mother,” “Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night,” etc. Long poems and longer
works of prose must be italicized: The Divine Comedy, Paradise Lost, The Glass
Menagerie, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer’s Stone, etc.
• Your introductory paragraph should do two things: introduce your reader to your topic
(e.g., your literary work(s)) and present your thesis (something specific you want to
demonstrate about your literary work(s)). It is important to distinguish in your mind
between your topic—what you will write about—and your thesis—what you will argue
or attempt to demonstrate via textual examples. A thesis may be defined as an
interpretation that you set forth in specific terms and propose to defend or demonstrate
by reasoned argumentation and literary analysis. Your thesis, then, is the position that
you are attempting to convince your reader to accept.
• Four characteristics of a strong thesis statement include:
o A thesis cannot be a statement of fact. Ask yourself: “Could anyone even
potentially disagree with my argument?” If no one could possibly disagree, or if a
simple summary would show that what you’ve said is true, then you have most
likely set forth a statement of fact.
o A good thesis is specific, not general. Avoid all sweeping generalities about
human beings, about literature, about civilization, about anything “through the
ages,” etc. There is no need to “praise the bard” either (e.g., “Author X is one of
the greatest writers who ever lived.”). The fact that we continue to read these
works over the years (sometimes centuries) is sufficient demonstration of the
author’s cultural impact. What do these writers do with their words that make
them continue to be read?
o Your thesis should matter to you, and you should be able to imagine that your
thesis would matter to any other member of our class. Does it pass the “Who
cares?” test?
o Your thesis statement should give the reader some sense of what the structure of
your paper will be (aka an “essay map”). If your thesis contains two or three parts,
then your reader will expect you to discuss those two or three parts in the body of
your paper in the order in which you’ve given them in your thesis statement.
• You do not need a refined thesis in order to start writing. If you begin with a
provisional thesis and then do good and careful close readings, you will often find a
version of your final thesis in the last paragraph of a first draft. Integrate that version
Literary Analysis Assignment Guidelines–4
into your first paragraph and revise from there. Do not worry too much about your thesis,
therefore, until after you’ve written out your close readings! A good final thesis should
emerge from, not precede, your analysis.
• Each of your paper’s body paragraphs should develop one coherent point that relates
clearly back to the thesis within the logical progression of your argument, and everything
in the paragraph should be relevant to that one coherent point. In order to clarify this
logical progression, every paragraph must have an effective topic sentence that does two
things: the first sentence of each paragraph should clarify the one coherent point of that
paragraph and provide a clear and explicit transition to that point from the point of the
preceding paragraph. Your points will be several illustrative examples from the text that
you focus upon in demonstrating the validity of your paper’s thesis. There is no set
number of body paragraphs—the quantity depends on how many you need to clearly
illustrate and support your thesis.
• You might conclude your analysis by considering how your reading of the text enriches
or complicates our understanding of a larger literary, social, historical, or cultural
movement or our appreciation of the status of a significant issue (e.g., love, hate, class,
death, sexuality, youth, age, decisions, etc.) in a particular context. As you conclude your
analysis paper, you may find it helpful to reflect on how your reading of a given text or
texts pertains to some of the larger issues humankind encounters. Briefly acknowledging
the larger context in your conclusion (without introducing new interpretations or
material) demonstrates the broader importance of your analysis in helping open avenues
of understanding for your readers regarding the literary work you selected.
• Every paper must have a Works Cited (MLA) or References (APA) list at the end.
Even if the textbook is your only source, you must still list it at the end of your paper.
Ideas or supporting evidence from secondary sources must also be listed and cited
properly. See OWL at Purdue online (Google search “OWL APA” or “OWL MLA”)
for the current documentation standards (these standards change periodically, and what
you have used previously may be out-of-date now). For example, MLA has streamlined
what is required in the Works Cited entries.
• All papers are submitted to Turnitin.com for originality analysis when you upload
them. Turnitin.com has millions of papers in its database, and it only takes it a short time
to provide a detailed analysis of source use, so make sure you review your documentation
carefully. “Plagiphrasing”—lifting some words/phrases from a source while changing
some wording—is plagiarism, too.
Six Steps for Drafting Your Literary Analysis
1. Think about the assignment. I’ve written it carefully in order to help you produce a good
paper, so please take the assignment seriously.
2. Reread the text(s) you intend to discuss and take good, clear notes on passages that seem
particularly relevant to the assignment.
Literary Analysis Assignment Guidelines–5
3. Still keeping the assignment in mind, look over these notes and then select the one
specific thing that captures your attention the most, the one particular image or metaphor,
or limited set of images or metaphors, about which you feel that you have the most to
say.
4. Next, using your notes make a list of every instance of that image or metaphor, and then
from that list choose the two or three passages that call out most loudly for interpretation.
5. Write out your interpretations of the instances that you’ve chosen, dedicating one rough
paragraph to each. Remember, your goal here is to say not just what you think your
passages mean, but rather to show how they mean what you think they mean. What work
do they perform, and how do they perform it?
6. Finally, look at what you’ve written and let your thesis emerge out of your interpretations,
out of your ideas concerning the work that your image or metaphor, or set of images or
metaphors, performs in your text(s).
Revising and Proofreading
Effective revision and proofreading is often what separates strong papers from weak ones. When
you are ready to revise, please use the “Drafting and Revising Checklist” that I have provided
below. The following tips may also help you improve your skills in these areas:
1. Read your completed drafts (whether rough or final) out loud slowly, either to yourself or
to a friend, pausing to mark difficult, awkward, or unclear passages. Then go back and
revise them. Another trick is to read your paper last sentence to first—this helps slow
your eyes down and makes you read individual sentences.
2. Take time away from your paper. After completing a draft, set it aside — ideally for a
day, but for a few hours at least. Do something else! It is far more productive to return to
a draft with a fresh eye than to try to revise something you’ve just written. Time off will
help you see more clearly the gaps between your intended meanings and their written
expressions.
3. Get feedback from others: some students benefit from Student Support Services, others
from friends. All professional writers collaborate with other writers or editors, and you
should make a habit of getting feedback from a variety of readers too. Readers can help
you identify the areas of your paper that are unclear or need to be developed further.
They can also make you aware of grammatical and stylistic problems, which are often
highly idiosyncratic and therefore hard to identify on your own.
4. Leave yourself enough time to transform your insights and ideas into a well-written,
persuasive literary analysis paper.
Literary Analysis Assignment Guidelines–6
Drafting and Revising Checklist
Review the following components as you review your working draft.
INTRODUCTION
 Does the first paragraph clearly and gracefully introduce the topic and present the thesis?
 Does the thesis statement set forth an argument or a statement of fact? Could someone
potentially disagree with your thesis? If not, you have probably set forth a statement of
fact.
 Is your argument specific, or general?
 Does your thesis matter to you? Would it matter to other members of the class?
 Does the thesis give the reader a sense of what the structure of the paper will be?
BODY
 Look at each paragraph. What is its main idea or point? Is that point clearly stated at the
beginning? Does the topic sentence serve as a “mini-thesis” for that paragraph?
 Is the topic sentence a statement of fact? If so, revise!
 Does the topic sentence support and work with the thesis statement of the paper?
 Does each paragraph flow logically from the preceding paragraph and into the succeeding
paragraph? Does the topic sentence provide a transition that clearly and explicitly
connects the point of the preceding paragraph to the point of the present paragraph?
 Are the quotations introduced clearly and integrated smoothly into the paper? Are there
any free-standing quotations? If so, use ICE to properly introduce, cite, and analyze the
quotation.
 Quotations should be interspersed with analysis. Giving readers a lengthy passage of text
is almost always ineffective because it spatially separates the quotation from your
interpretation and leaves the reader unsure of what to do with the largely unframed
citation. Always guide readers through your interpretation by providing brief, specific
quotations when and where they are needed in your train of thought.
 Do you perform close readings of every passage you quote, and do your close readings
clearly and explicitly support your larger argument, both within the paragraph and in the
paper as a whole?
 How does the draft hold together? Are there places where the analysis feels rushed or
unclear? Does the essay lose its focus or shift its focus at any point?
 Does the essay contain any unnecessary summary?
Literary Analysis Assignment Guidelines–7
 Are there instances of vague language? Be specific.
CONCLUSION
 Does it pull ideas together, restate a key idea in a new way, and/or suggest how your
reading relates to larger issues of interest to you and your readers?
 Is it merely repetitive?
OVERALL
 Does the essay successfully address the specific subject it sets out to analyze?
 Does the essay interpret the text, or merely paraphrase and/or summarize? Have you
merely translated what the text says, or have you analyzed how the text says what you
think it says?
 Does the essay fully develop the thesis it sets forth in the beginning?
 Are there alternative ways the paper could be structured in order more effectively to
argue the thesis?
 Does the thesis need to be changed to reflect the actual argument of the paper?
Use caution with grammar checkers as well as Google translations—machine algorithms
cannot think and do not understand language. They can mislead/misguide you in “correcting”
your language in ways that create awkward, unusual, or downright incomprehensible material.
For example, I have occasionally encountered paper submissions that had passages that were
gibberish because the authors relied on Google translate for the text. Instead of relying
exclusively on machine “intelligence,” seek assistance from Student Support Services, friends, or
others who you know are competent writers for advice and assistance with your writing.
Literary Analysis Assignment Guidelines–8
GRADING /ASSESSMENT
Your literary analyses will be graded on a combination of:
• Content: includes the strength and persuasiveness of your argument and close readings
as well as your familiarity with and knowledge of the text[s] you chose)
• Structure/Organization: logical progression, topic sentences, transitions, etc.
• Grammar/Mechanics: effective integration of quotations, grammar, spelling,
punctuation, etc.
Brief marginal comments will focus on technical elements in your writing (e.g., spelling,
punctuation, logic, organization, transitions, etc.). I do not mark every error. If you consistently
drop quotations into your paper without introduction, I might highlight one or two, but not the
rest. The same goes for other errors.
The end comment will point out the strengths and weaknesses of your current paper and offer
advice for your future writing. In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes, you should always
refer back to both kinds of comments on the previous paper as you work on subsequent
assignments for the class.
Final paper grades are not negotiable and are only changed in the event of a calculation error.
The major characteristics of each grade range follows. However, a specific paper grade is based
on several interrelated factors, so a given paper may not neatly fit into these broader categories
because of specific issues associated with it (a paper might have “A”-level content/ideas, but
“C”-level grammar/mechanics, so might wind up in the “B” range in the end, for instance).
A (90-100)
• insightful thesis that demonstrates thorough understanding of text(s)
• persuasive and graceful argument/explication: strong topic sentences and smooth
transitions
• careful, detailed close reading of key textual passages to support analysis
• concise, even elegant writing unmarred by distracting proofreading errors, grammatical
problems, spelling mistakes, etc.
B (80-89)
• convincing thesis that demonstrates basic understanding of text(s)
• coherent presentation of central focus/argument
• citation and discussion of relevant textual passages to support analysis
• some noticeable errors with technical aspects of writing, but analysis is readable
nevertheless