Friday, 9/11

1. Take Plot & Genre Quiz. You will need a separate piece of paper. Keep iPads away. Independent Reading if you Finish.

*Pray Psalm 11

2. Analysis Essay - some key terms (put in Writing Notes, title "Literary Analysis Essay"

• Analysis (not summary) - breaking down into smaller parts in order to see how they function within the whole. The focus of questioning is on how and why, not what. Seek to discuss how an author uses elements of literature in order to do something with the entire story.
• Thesis - central statement about what the author uses or does in order to achieve some larger aim with the story (e.g. In "The Heavenly Christmas Tree," Dostoevsky uses elements of fantasy and a cumulative plot to portray the spiritual comfort of a poor, isolated and dying boy.")
• Evidence/Concrete Details - quotes, paraphrases, or summaries from the story that concretely display analytical claims being made about the story. Using solid evidence to support a claim will ensure that analysis, and not summary, is being done.
• Quote Usage - the way that a quote is used within the syntax (sentence-structure) of the writing. Provide only the parts of the quote completely necessary to your argument, and do not insert a quote into your paragraph that is all by itself in a sentence. Start with a transition, followed by a lead-in (e.g. For example, Dostoevsky describes Christ's Christmas Tree as "for the little children who have no tree of their own."

Resources:

Basic structure of an essay

A more in-depth discussion of the Literary Analysis Essay.

Guide for analyzing and not summarizing, with excellent sample essays (at the bottom)

Tips for getting started if you are struggling

3. With the time remaining, review your story and annotations, and begin writing a Literary Analysis Essay on your chosen story. The prompt is at the very end of the "Introduction to Short Stories" Unit under "Units of Study." This is not homework--it must be handwritten in class. I will collect them, and you will have class on Monday to finish them.

Masterful authors create plot structures that are not merely exciting, but are also well-suited for the intended themes and elements of genre. Analyze the story's plot and genre in a 5-paragraph literary analysis essay. Use proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar.

Identify the plot structure and genre of the story. Defend your assertion with evidence from the story that demonstrates how events in the plot form the "shape of the story" and how key elements of genre make the story unique within that genre.

HW: Independent Reading; Purchase The Essential Homer, trans. by Stanley Lombardo. You may purchase a physical or digital book.