Project: Literary Analysis Essay
Now that you have closely read the Beloved Novel by Toni Morrison, it is time for you to explain the central themes in the book in a formal literary analysis essay.
“Literary analysis essay” might seem daunting, but it simply means explaining key aspects of the novel in writing.
This project will require you to demonstrate that you can write a concise, focused argument about some aspect of the novel that you understand and find important or interesting.
Your essay should mainly focus on a theme in the text, but more a advanced essay can also focus on the author’s use of the following in order to convey that theme:
– Characters and characterization
– Plot
– Conflict/ drama
– Narrative structure
– Narrative point of view
– Symbolism
– Motif/ repetition
– Feminist theory/ lens
The essay should be:
– 4 pages maximum, double spaced, standard 12pt font
– Standard essay format: intro, body paragraphs w/textual evidence and analysis, and conclusion
Examples of theme-based thesis statements:
1. In The Master and Margarita, Bulgakov shows that good and evil must exist in a necessary balance, and that without that, society, in this case the Soviet Union, will fall into ruin.
2. In 1984 Orwell shows a future in which the ruling Party controls the public’s view of reality, serving as a warning to the dangers of a totalitarian regime.
3. In Pachinko, Min Jin Lee shows that you have to be accepting of all aspects of yourself in order to thrive in a society that is actively working against you.
4. Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin illustrates that patriarchal ideals ultimately damage women because it allows men to rob women of their independence and ability to trust their own beliefs.
