Writing Workshop Analyzing a Short Story Assignment Prewriting Choose a Story Analyze Literary Elements Write a Thesis Statement Support Your Thesis Statement Organize Your Analysis Practice and Apply Feature Menu

Assignment: Write a response to literature in which you analyze the literary elements in a short story. Analyzing a Short Story Have you ever read a short story and found that you just couldn’t get it off your mind? It probably stuck with you because it had a deep emotional effect on you. You can better understand why a story affects you a certain way if you write an analysis of it. [End of Section]

You’ll be putting a lot of time and thought into your analysis, so find a short story that interests you. Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Choose a Story Look for stories by a favorite author. Ask friends, parents, or teachers to recommend a story. Scan short-story collections at a library. [End of Section]

First, read the story to get an overall impression. Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Analyze Literary Elements Then, analyze the basic literary elements— character, plot, and setting—to grasp the significant ideas in the story.

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Analyze Literary Elements Character What are the major characters like? What motivates them? Do any of them change? If so, how?

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Analyze Literary Elements Plot What conflict or problem do the characters face? How is the conflict resolved? Does the resolution make sense?

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Analyze Literary Elements Setting Where and when does the story take place? Does the setting affect the story’s plot or characters? If so, how?

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Analyze Literary Elements You may find other literary elements beside character, plot, and setting. Look deeper into the story, and jot down answers to the questions in this chart. Literary Elements Mood is the dominant feeling created in the story. Is the mood tense? hectic? happy and fun? frightening? quiet and calm? What helps to create the story’s mood?

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Analyze Literary Elements Literary Elements Point of view is the vantage point or angle from which the narrator tells the story. Is the narrator of the story a character in the story (first-person point of view), or is he or she outside of the story (third-person point of view)? How does the point of view affect your understanding of the story?

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Analyze Literary Elements Literary Elements Stylistic devices are the language techniques the author uses to create certain effects. How does the author’s word choice, or diction, influence the story’s meaning? What metaphors, similes, or examples of personification does the author use to prompt you to look at things differently?

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Analyze Literary Elements Literary Elements Symbolism is the use of an object, person, or event to represent something beyond itself. Is a specific object closely related to a character or event? Does one character or one event represent an abstract idea, such as bravery, greed, or education?

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Analyze Literary Elements Literary Elements Theme is the main idea the story reveals or suggests about human nature. What common life experience does the story examine? How do the other elements in the story work together to reveal the theme? [End of Section]

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Write a Thesis Statement Why do I like this story? What makes this story successful? Select the element that has the most impact on the story. This will be the focus element of your analysis. Ask yourself,

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Write a Thesis Statement think about what the author does to create the focus element or make it effective notice how other elements work together to help give the focus element its impact develop a key point, or main idea, about each of the other elements to support your discussion of the focus element Once you have decided on a focus element,

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Write a Thesis Statement Now write a thesis statement that identifies both the focus element and the supporting elements. In “Thank You, M’am,” Langston Hughes uses character, diction, and point of view to reveal his theme: Treating others with respect creates both trust and trustworthiness. [End of Section] Focus Element = Supporting Elements = Theme Character, Diction, Point of View

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Support Your Thesis Statement Gather evidence from the short story to support your key points. Evidence comes in three forms. Direct quotation: Exact words from the short story, set within quotation marks.Direct quotation Paraphrase: The author’s idea restated in your own words.Paraphrase Summary: A condensed restatement of the author’s most important ideas.Summary

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Support Your Thesis Statement Elaborate on your evidence by explaining what it means and how it supports your key points. Use elaboration to clarify and explain ambiguities: words, sentences, or passages with more than one possible interpretation nuances: changes in tone or meaning complexities: rich layers of meaning that might be difficult to interpret

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Support Your Thesis Statement As you gather evidence, keep your notes in a chart like this one. Key pointSupporting evidence Elaboration The character of Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones is both respectful and trusting. “‘Then, Roger, you go to that sink and wash your face,’ said the woman...” She turns Roger loose when she knows he will not run away. Addressing the boy by name shows respect. Telling him to wash his face shows she cares. Turning him loose show she trusts him. [End of Section] From “Thank You, M’am” from Short Stories by Langston Hughes. Copyright © 1996 by Ramona Bass and Arnold Rampersad. Reproduced by permission of Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Organize Your Analysis One way to organize your analysis is to arrange the ideas chronologically—in the order in which they occur in the story. Key Point 1 (early in story) Key Point 3 (still later) Key Point 2 (later in story)

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Organize Your Analysis Another way to organize your analysis is by order of importance. OR [End of Section] Most Important Point (strong first impression) Second Most Important Point Least Important Point Second Most Important Point Most Important Point (strong note at end)

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Practice and Apply Choose a short story, and analyze the literary elements in it. Choose a focus element, and develop key points about it. Write a thesis, select strong supporting evidence, and organize the ideas for your analysis. [End of Section]

The End

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Write a Thesis Statement Multiple Focus Elements You may find that two or more elements contribute equally to the story’s impact. If so, try to focus your essay equally on each element. Be sure you have enough time and space to write an in-depth analysis of each element.

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Support Your Thesis Statement Direct Quotation At the end of the story, Mrs. Jones tells Roger “do not make the mistake of latching on to my pocketbook nor nobody else’s—because shoes got by devilish ways will burn your feet.” From “Thank You, M’am” from Short Stories by Langston Hughes. Copyright © 1996 by Ramona Bass and Arnold Rampersad. Reproduced by permission of Hill and Wang, a division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Support Your Thesis Statement Paraphrase At the end of the story, Mrs. Jones tells Roger that he shouldn’t steal from others because things bought with stolen money will be tainted.

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Support Your Thesis Statement Summary At the end of the story, Mrs. Jones reminds Roger that stealing is not right.

Analyzing a Short Story Prewriting: Organize Your Analysis Use order of importance if one key point is clearly more important than the others. Otherwise, arrange your elements in the order in which they appear in the story.