g n i t i r W gies e t a Str In-Class Analysis `
Task Write a one-paragraph analysis in which you analyze a significant writing strategy and the author s purpose. Cite quotes Bring your annotations and a general outline
Choices: As I Grew Older On Turning 10 Hollow of the Three Hills Hop-Frog The Dead Heart I Go Back to May Bring the text, your notes, and an outline Outline must be general The Soul Selects
Suggested Devices Symbolism Figurative Language Metaphor Simile Diction
Topic Sentence Author + Text + Writing Strategy + Purpose Example: Langston Hughes, author of As I Grew Older, uses an extended metaphor to convey that although a person may lose sight of his dream, it is never too late to achieve the dream if he possesses the inner-strength and determination.
TS Example 2 The narrator of the story Hop-Frog, by Edgar Allan Poe, clearly sides with the protagonist, for he uses simple, yet poignant diction that elicits feelings of pity and sorrow.
Context After the topic sentence, provide a relevant overview of the purpose and the basic situation of the text. What is generally going on when the author uses the symbol or metaphor?
Context Example In On Turning 10, by Billy Collins, the speaker uses figurative language to illustrate how overwhelming and disheartening growing up can be. The poem is told from the perspective of a child who has just turned 10 years old, and throughout the text, he reflects on how depressing adulthood is in that he has to surrender his imagination and accept that life is real and oftentimes painful.
Examples Make reference to multiple examples of the device. Quote only the parts of the example you need. Analyze the examples (relate said examples to the purpose you introduced in the TS).
Writing Strategies: Tips Provide context -- what is going on? Transition with context, as opposed to the first, the second, and finally. Analyze examples in the order in which they appear -- first to last. Break apart the examples -- leave no stone unturned.
Break It Apart Diction: What kind? Any connotations? What do you associate with the word (emotions, images, ideas)? Metaphor: What is the speaker comparing? What does it mean? What is the purpose? Symbolism: What is the symbol? What does it represent? What is generally happening in the text when the symbol appears? What is the purpose -- thematically speaking?
Example Analysis It is not hard to understand why the narrator sympathizes with Hop-Frog: he is a dwarf and a cripple who has suffered greatly under the hands of a king who is characterized as a monster and a tyrant. Whereas the speaker uses insulting diction to characterize the king, he uses emotional, poignant diction that evokes images of helplessness and fragility to characterize Hop Frog. Toward the beginning of the story, for example, the narrator describes him as a cripple, a word that has negative connotations and evokes images of frailty and vulnerability. By using this word to describe the character, the narrator develops a more sympathetic tone; in other words, the word cripple because of its emotional tag implies that the narrator recognizes it is especially cruel for the king to abuse Hop Frog, a deformed, broken dwarf.
Langston Hughes, author of As I Grew Older, uses an extended metaphor to convey that although a person may lose sight of his dream, it is never too late to achieve the dream if he possesses the inner-strength and determination. Toward the beginning of the poem, the speaker begins reflecting on the past and realizes he had almost forgotten [his] dream. So much time has passed that he lost focus and capitulated to whatever obstacles thwarted his ambitions, yet he speaks of his dream with a tone of longing and nostalgia as he remembers that his goal was once bright like a sun. In other words, using a simile the speaker declares that his passions were once vibrant, powerful, and within his reach. However, despite how close he was to achieving his aspirations, he was never able to succeed, for a great wall Rose slowly,/ Slowly,/Between [him] and [his] dream. At this point in the poem, the speaker metaphorically compares the adversity he faced to a seemingly insurmountable wall that Rose until it touched the sky ; as the wall grew in size, as the obstacles became more challenging, the speaker began to forget his dream and lose hope.
Revise Pronoun agreement Comma splices, fragments, run-ons Colons and semicolons No contractions Use only third person pronouns (not you or I, or we, or our )