1. How to Launch a Literary Analysis
With Diane L. Kenel-Truelove
as your Commander

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12. Launch

13. Launch

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15. Launch

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17. Launch

18. Launch

19. Launch successful……
We are ready to rock!!!!

20. Launch successful……
We are ready to rock!!!!

21. Launch successful……
We are ready to rock!!!!

22. Launch successful……
We are ready to rock!!!!

23. Launch successful……
We are ready to rock!!!!

24. Launch successful……
We are ready to rock!!!!

25. Launch successful……
We are ready to rock!!!!

26. Now start your engines
and launch your own
literary analysis…..

27. Now start your engines
and launch your own
literary analysis…..

28. Now start your engines
and launch your own
literary analysis…..

29. Now start your engines
and launch your own
literary analysis…..

30. Now start your engines
and launch your own
literary analysis…..

31. Now start your engines
and launch your own
literary analysis…..

32. Just Kidding

33. Now that I have your attention…….

34. Writing a Literary Analysis that ROCKS!!!

35. Just what is a Literary Analysis?

36. Analysis is the practice of looking closely at small parts to see how they affect the whole.
Literary analysis focuses on how plot, character, setting, symbols, conflict, and other sundry literary elements are used by the author to create meaning.
Always be sure to connect the significance of your observations to the main idea about life (the theme).

37. Wait!
What background do I possess that would enable me to even consider writing a Literary Analysis?

38. When it comes to The Catcher in the Rye, you already have a successful working knowledge of the following information/concepts at your disposal:

39. 1. Background information of the 1950s

40. 2. Content of the novel: characters, setting, plot, conflict, narration, etc.

41. 3. Literary Critics’ assessment of the novel.

42. 4. MLA format

43. 5. How to write a thesis

44. 6. How to organize your thesis from least important to most important

45. 7. How to use quotations/examples to support your points

46. 8. How to write with confidence

47. 9. How to proofread for spelling and usage errors.

48. 10.How The Catcher in the Rye connects to today’s society

49. Determine the theme of the novel.
So…if I was going to write a Literary Analysis of The Catcher in the Rye, this is what I would do first:
Determine the theme of the novel.
(Remember: a theme, when written in an essay is a universal message stated as a sentence, but before I get that fancy, I may first concentrate on a big idea or one of the Essential Questions regarding this novel)

50. I could, for example, thinking about all of the troubles and challenges Holden Caulfied faces in the novel, develop my theme to focus on alienation and rebellion among teenagers, or the phoniness of the adult world. Or perhaps, I could choose to focus upon loneliness or depression.

51. For my purposes and understanding of what I believe to be the major theme of the novel, I would choose alienation and rebellion and write the theme in a sentence:
Example: Adolescents’ road to adulthood is a journey filled with alienation and rebellion.

52. I would then put the theme into a THESIS STATEMENT that would include three literary components because my goal is to analyze The Catcher in the Rye from a literary standpoint.
(REMEMBER: THE THESIS STATEMENT IS THE LAST SENTENCE OF AN ESSAY’S INTRODUCTION AND SETS THE PURPOSE OF THE ESSAY FOR THE READER)

53. Example:
In the 1951 novel, Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, the road to adulthood is a journey filled with alienation and rebellion as evidenced by the emotional state of the protagonist, the setting, and the vulgar language employed by the narrator.

54. Once I have my three-pronged thesis, the rest is a “walk in the park!”

55. BECAUSE...

56. Now I just need to write an Introduction paragraph, Body Paragraphs and a Conclusion.

57. BUT, I ALSO NEED TO BE MINDFUL OF DETAILS, DETAILS, DETAILS TO SUPPORT MY THESIS.

58. I MUST ALSO BE MINDFUL TO SUPPORT MY THOUGHTS, IDEAS AND POSITION WITH EXAMPLES AND QUOTES FROM THE NOVEL!!!!!!!

59. EXAMPLE:
As Holden makes his way through the maze of adolescence, one of the first adults he meets is his history teacher, Mr. Spencer. Holden does not appreciate Mr. Spencer’s advice that “Life is a game” (36) that everyone must play to win in life.

60. Where to from here???? Let’s recap: I have my thesis.
I have written my thesis from the least important literary concept to the most important BECAUSE
What the readers read last, they will remember the most.
Now I have to write an INTRODUCTION that will bring my thoughts down to my thesis, the final sentence in my first paragraph.

61. Introduction Paragraph Example:
The decade of the 1950s in America was a time marked by conformity and complacency. Everyone had to “color within the lines” in order to be accepted by society. Everyone, it seemed, desired to be a part of middle class America - a class that had two parents, a beautiful home, a white picket fence, two high achieving children, a dog named Scrappy, and no problems whatsoever. Yet within this cookie cutter life, J. D. Salinger broke through the established lies of the decade when he wrote his now classic Bildungsroman novel, the Catcher in the Rye. Set primarily in New York City, Salinger forwards his beliefs that the road to adulthood is a journey filled with alienation and rebellion as evidenced by the emotional state of the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, the setting of New York City, and the vulgar language of the narrator.

62. Where now????
Easy-Peasy:
Now I have to hunker down and find all the details and examples and quotes I need to prove my thesis to readers!!!!