Literature Analysis

NONFICTION ANALYSIS

Please answer the following questions about the book you have selected.

TOPIC(S) and/or EVENT(S)

1.     As we have discussed in class, a book is said to be nonfiction if its content is based on facts or events.  What is your book about?  [a]. Try writing a paragraph first to capture your thoughts.  [b]. Then see if you can boil it down to one clear statement.  (Even if you feel like you can just skip to [b], please do both; remember that your reader doesn’t know what you know.

2.     Why did your author choose to write about this topic, person or event?

3.     Why did you choose this book?  What about the book appealed to you the first time it came to your attention (and how did it come to your attention)?  What about the book made you want to keep reading once you began?

4.     Did you find the book realistic?  Did you make any connections between people/events you read about and people/events in your own life?  Why or (if you didn’t) why not?

PEOPLE

1.     Since this book is nonfiction, the theory goes that the author didn’t create characters.  But that’s not entirely true, is it?  Doesn’t the author report his/her own interpretations based on personal observations?  If we met his/her subjects for ourselves we might see them completely differently.   What do the author’s choices say to you?  Why did s/he choose to write about this book?  What is the author’s tone, and what (if anything) does it say about the author and his/her subjects?

2.     Describe two or three people from the book.  What do they look like?  How do they act?  How would you write them as fictional characters (would you use direct or indirect characterization?

3.     What about these people makes them interesting enough to write about?

[ {UPDATE: 29 September 2013: MORE ON CHARACTER/PEOPLE}



1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.  Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.

STYLE

1.     Did the author use any tools from fiction writing (such as foreshadowing or symbolism), or did the author use a journalistic style? Example(s)?

2.     Does the author use lengthy descriptions of places and people,or does s/he focus more on action or dialogue?  What overall effect do these choices have on the book?

3.     What tools does the author use to demonstrate tone and create a mood?

4.     What do you think the author’s attitude was toward the subject, or the characters, or the audience (i.e., you)?  Why?

5.     What resources (newspaper articles, interviews, historical documents, e.g.) does the author offer?  Did it matter in your thinking?  Why/why not?

ENDURING MEMORY

Write a paragraph in which you describe the one or two ideas from this book that you expect to remember for a long time.  Explain your choices and their importance.  Share a passage or two that give your reader a taste of the same effect.

FICTION ANALYSIS

1. Briefly summarize the plot of the novel you read according to the elements of plot you've learned in past courses (exposition, inciting incident, etc.).  Explain how the narrative fulfills the author's purpose (based on your well-informed interpretation of same).
2. Succinctly describe the theme of the novel. Avoid cliches.
3. Describe the author's tone. Include a minimum of three excerpts that illustrate your point(s).
4. Describe a minimum of ten literary elements/techniques you observed that strengthened your understanding of the author's purpose, the text's theme and/or your sense of the tone. For each, please include textual support to help illustrate the point for your readers. (Please include edition and page numbers for easy reference.)

CHARACTERIZATION
1. Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization.  Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?
2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character?  How?  Example(s)?
3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic?  Flat or round?  Explain.
4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character?  Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.