PIE Paragraphs Analyzing Literature

PIE Paragraph Purpose, or “Why do I write one of these?” A PIE Paragraph is an analytical paragraph about a text. Doing analysis is not paraphrasing, and it is not summarizing. Doing analysis is making arguments about meaning and value (=significance). The point of all writing, either fictional or nonfictional, is to communicate. When we interpret texts, we debate what it is we think that they communicate.

PIE Paragraph Structure, or “How do I write one of these?” POINT (an interpretation of the text) ILLUSTRATION (a quotation from the text) EXPLANATION (supporting the P with the I by dissecting the importance of the words in the I)

An Example P (20% of paragraph) P=Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea shows the rarity and beauty of human pity using dramatic irony.

An Example I (20% of paragraph) I=In his novel, the vast majority of Santiago’s fellows keep clear of him and are either hostile or indifferent to his dealings. The tourists fail to understand him at all; they do not even speak the same language. Only Manolin, his young disciple, is faithful to him. Manolin refuses his parents’ desire that he shun the old man. He ignores the way the others in town either laugh at or lament the old man’s condition. Manolin even asks himself, “Why am I so thoughtless?” (Hemingway 21).

An Example E (60% of paragraph) E=Hemingway’s use of the term “thoughtless” is dramatic ironic. His use is dramatic ironic because the reader knows, even if the character does not know, that Manolin is by far the most thoughtful figure in the entire book. Manolin is the one that buys the old man fishing supplies, food, drink, and reading materials. He talks with the old man about his favorite sport, baseball, and his favorite player, Joe DiMaggio. Indeed, Manolin goes so far as to voluntarily spend all of his free time with Santiago, even though Santiago is deeply unlucky. Hemingway’s use of dramatic irony is therefore very moving. Here, Hemingway drives home the difference between Manolin and everyone else in the area, and he plays up the unusualness as well as the kindness of Manolin’s altruistic behavior.

Assembling the P, I, and E Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea shows the rarity and beauty of human pity using dramatic irony. In his novel, the vast majority of Santiago’s fellows keep clear of him and are either hostile or indifferent to his dealings. The tourists fail to understand him at all; they do not even speak the same language. Only Manolin, his young disciple, is faithful to him. Manolin refuses his parents’ desire that he shun the old man. He ignores the way the others in town either laugh at or lament the old man’s condition. Manolin even asks himself, “Why am I so thoughtless?” (Hemingway 21). Hemingway’s use of the term “thoughtless” is dramatic ironic. His use is dramatic ironic because the reader knows, even if the character does not know, that Manolin is by far the most thoughtful figure in the entire book. Manolin is the one that buys the old man fishing supplies, food, drink, and reading materials. He talks with the old man about his favorite sport, baseball, and his favorite player, Joe DiMaggio. Indeed, Manolin goes so far as to voluntarily spend all of his free time with Santiago, even though Santiago is deeply unlucky. Hemingway’s use of dramatic irony is therefore very moving. Here, Hemingway drives home the difference between Manolin and everyone else in the area, and he plays up the unusualness as well as the kindness of Manolin’s altruistic behavior.

Serving Up Your P Is your P a claim, or a position statement, and not just a fact or an opinion? Does your P state the full name of the author and the full name of the text about which you are writing? Is the author’s name capitalized? Is the book’s title italicized? Does your P include an interpretation of WHAT the author did as well as HOW he did it? In other words, does it include both an interpretation of CONTENT and A LITERARY DEVICE?

Serving Up Your I Is your I a direct quotation, taken word-for-word, from the text? Does your I have quotation marks at the front and the back of it? Does your I have a tag in front of it? i.e. In the story, Santiago says, OR In the tale, Hemingway writes, Does your I have a parenthetical citation behind it? i.e. (Hemingway 123). Does each of your parenthetical citations refer you to an alphabetized entry on the Works Cited page? i.e. (Hemingway 123).  Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, Print.

Serving Up Your E Does your E drive at the deeper implications of a quotation instead of simply paraphrasing or summarizing it? Does your E remind readers, at the end, of your overall P?

Adding Garnish Do you have an MLA heading? Do you have an MLA header? Is your paper formatted with zero spaces before and after its text, no spaces between its paragraphs, and double-spacing throughout? Is your paper in Times New Roman, black, size twelve font? Did you write in complete sentences, or did you accidentally include a fragment or a run-on? Did you capitalize proper nouns? Did you punctuate using periods, semicolons, and commas? Did you spell words correctly?