Do not forget your complete literary analysis rough draft and it must include all assigned references, including the primary source, which is the story. You need literary criticisms that help to support your interpretation and not make it. This was one of the concerns I addressed with the argument paper. Keep in mind that your literary criticism sources must come from the school’s databases. I recommend using JSTOR, Bloom’s Literature, Literary Reference Center, or the new trial database Reference Shelf Salem Press Series. All three authors (Baldwin, O’Connor, and Faulkner) are listed. Even though not all of the stories are specifically listed, the database provides biographical context, literary criticisms about their writing style, and other resources. These sources can help you to support your literary analysis, but your analysis of how the author uses the short story terms must remain at the forefront.
This must be YOUR ANALYSIS. You cannot take the ideas of the critics and call them yours. You must provide proper attribution or it constitutes plagiarism. The sources you have listed on your Works Cited page must be used in the paper and vice versa. The purpose of a Works Cited is to document the sources you used in the paper. This is no different from the argument paper. An analysis is a type of argument; you take a stand, your interpretative claim, and your body paragraphs must support it.
Your paper cannot be a summary of what critics have said about the stories. Your analysis must rely on the primary source, which is the story you are analyzing, and use your secondary sources briefly to support and clarify your interpretation. As I have mentioned previously, I have read both stories multiple times and carefully, and I have read the research about them; failure to cite properly will hurt your grade. If you have never heard, the golden rule is: “If it did not come out of your head or your mouth, you must cite it.”
Other Concerns:
- Your analysis must reflect a holistic analysis of the story. I do not want you to announce what you noticed or what elements you noticed (This is also why the writing assignment explicitly states not to use first or second person.) The material I assign is meant for you to study so that you do not make these types of mistakes. Since this is the last paper, this can be a “make or break” paper. I expect to see growth, and for that to happen, you must plan, which means studying all of the assigned material, including the writing assignment and even the writing rubric. You must work through the writing process, and at this point, you should notice that it requires different things at different times. I have included, with permission, one of my student’s papers. While it not perfect, it is an A paper. It covers a different paper, but it is a thoughtful analysis.
- For “A Rose for Emily,” do not stress the number of sections. Do not neglect to explain HOW the characterization, the plot arrangement, the narrative voice, the symbolism (that moves beyond the rose) contribute to Faulkner’s message. You need to consider whether this story could be seen as a parable or the point of telling the story about such a tragic character. Did you consider that all of Ms. Emily’s conflicts happen with men? Why? Is Faulkner suggesting anything by this? What message is Faulkner telling his audience through the actions of Ms. Emily and the townspeople? How does the point of view contribute to it? (NOTE: One of our databases has an interview where Faulkner discusses the short story.)
- For those of you who are doing “Sonny’s Blues,” I do not want to see how you have taken my interpretation and restructured it to call it your own. Also, DO NOT use dated words such as “Negro” or “Colored” (This is applicable for all of the stories.); you should use these words only if you are quoting something from the story. Additionally, there is so much more to this story besides the light and dark. Pay attention to how sound builds in the story or even just as important, the silence, and not to mention the beautiful imagery. However, whatever you discuss, every literary piece must work together to support it. Also, this is not a story about drug use; it is the inciting incident that breaks and brings these two brothers together, but it is not the story’s focus.
- In “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” like “Sonny’s Blues,” do not confuse the protagonist and antagonist with a good guy and a bad guy. They can be extremely different. You must consider why O’Connor titled the story “A Good Man is Hard to Find.” O’Connor’s story, like Baldwin’s, relies heavily on Christian theology. To understand this story, truly, and really any of the stories, you need to pay close attention to the plot’s movement. “A Good Man is Hard to Find” examines both existentialism (the absurd) and Christianity. (NOTE: Consider Calvinist theory and T.U.L.I.P.)
- DO NOT refer to the authors as the narrator, they are the author, and that is it. The authors create a narrator to tell the story. Go back and watch the video about literary criticism.
- To address and explain all of this, you must read your story multiple times, take detailed notes, ask A LOT of questions, and make logical inferences about those questions. To do this requires that you study the literary terms –moving beyond figurative language. Once you have done these steps, create a solid claim that states your interpretation. Listing points is not a claim. I would advise that you go back and review these examples and materials. Understanding and knowing the purpose of the short story terms will help you know HOW the author uses them, but it still requires you consider WHY the author uses them.
- There is a reason why Faulkner uses an unlimited POV instead of first-person.
- There is a reason why Baldwin never mentions the narrator’s name.
- There is a reason why O’Connor’s narrator tells readers the grandmother was smiling up at the “cloudless sky.”
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