1. Starting your Literary Analysis Essay

2. Purpose
A literary analysis examines and sometimes evaluates work of literature.
Examining the different elements of a piece of literature will help you better appreciate and understand the novel, poem, etc. as a whole

3. Step 1: Pick a Theme
Which of the themes do you want to examine/write about?
Remember: The theme is the author’s message or purpose for writing the novel—it provides insight into the human condition. The theme is a central idea or statement it makes about life.
PRO-TIP: The theme can be more than one word. In fact, it is usually a statement.

4. Examples of Themes The Help -dealing with significant losses
-importance of unity/solidarity in the
face of injustice
-recognizing gender inequality
-identifying racism/segregation and its
-impact
-moral blindness to everyday injustice

5. Example #2 Zootopia -overcoming adversity & physical limitations
-subverting gender inequality &
racism
-maintaining the social contract (i.e. the legitimacy of
the authority of the state over the individual) between government and society
-turning dreams into a reality

6. On your Own Look at your paragraph and unpack the prompt.
Do you think hatred is both destructive and self-destructive? Why or why not? How do we come to hate certain groups? And once we give in to hate, how would we answer Wiesel’s question: “What do you hate when you hate, and whom do you hate when you hate?”
Identify a theme in Night that you can integrate in your current work.

7. Step 2: Form a Thesis A thesis is your argument.
It provides the subject and overall opinion of your essay. In a literary analysis essay, your major thesis should:
Relate to the theme of the work
Suggest how this theme is revealed by the author (see handout on thesis statements).

8. On your Own Form a good thesis statement that addresses the prompt.
Look at your paragraph and see if you can identify a working thesis and develop it.