So you’re writing a literary analysis, huh?

What is a literary analysis? You can write about theme, characters, plot, point of view, symbolism, foreshadowing, and more. It is not a book report. It requires a minimum of 4 quotes from the novel and 1 citation from an outside source.

2nd step – figure out what you will analyze How to analyze a text 1st step – Read novel! 2nd step – figure out what you will analyze 3rd step – Reread passages of your novel

What can I analyze? One thing you can look at is theme!

Looking at theme The idea or point of a story. You can write your essay explaining what the theme of the novel is. Some common themes are…

themes in Fahrenheit 451 Censorship Ignorance vs. knowledge Life vs. death Technology conflict with nature Society vs. individual Plus more…

What if theme is not your thing? What about characters!

Characters – what to look at? Protagonist – major character at the center of the story Antagonist – a character or force that opposes the protagonist

Characters Minor– often provide support and illuminate the protagonist Sometimes a minor character has a major impact on the plot

Characters Characterization – the means by which writers reveal character There are many ways an author reveal character’s personalities or traits.

Characters Explicit – narrator gives facts and comments in a very clear manner. For example, “Jimmy was very angry at his father.”

Characters Implied– narrator gives description, reader judges For example – “Jimmy threw open the door and stormed into the room, glaring at his father.”

Characters – what to look for Connections between characters What function does each character serve? Foils

What if you’re not into characters? Plot - that's what's happening!

Plot Causality – one event occurs because of another event What are the triggers? What leads to major events occurring?

Plot Conflict – struggle between opposing forces – may be internal or external

Plot Foreshadowing – a suggestion of what is going to happen Think about all the examples from Of Mice and Men

Plot Suspense – a sense of worry established by the author Scary movies create suspense because you know something bad will happen at any moment, just not when. Fahrenheit keeps mentioning the fighter planes flying overhead.

Point of view Narrator – the person telling the story 1st person? 3rd person? How different is our story since it was told in 1st person? What if Mildred told the story?

What do you do if you don’t want to analyze characters??????? Not characters? What do you do if you don’t want to analyze characters???????

Irony Verbal – we understand the opposite of what the speaker says Example – “war is kind” from Stephen Crane poem

Irony Situational – when a character or reader expects one thing to happen, but the opposite occurs Example – In Chekhov’s “The Bear” – a woman is happy when her husband dies

Irony Dramatic – the reader knows more than the characters Example – Romeo & Juliet or Titanic – we know the characters fate, but they don’t

Symbolism Many stories have elements that are symbolic “Raven” – represents death “Mockingbird” – a wonderful creature that should not be harmed

Allusions I think you should be able to find a few. You can focus your essay on one type. Ex – look at just literary or biblical or historic allusions

Language use You could analyze use of simile, metaphor or imagery. There are lots of these to choose from in Fahrenheit 451

All of these and more could be analyzed in your essay.