Great Expectations Literary Analysis

Literary Analysis: Great Expectations

Cite the book WITHIN your paper like this (Dickens).

ANALYSIS # 1 REQUIREMENTS READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS THOROUGHLY!
Length: 3-4 pages in length (at least 3 full pages). The 4th page should be the works cited. The paper should be double-spaced, with font Times New Roman, size 12 (MLA FORMAT).

Sources: TWO sources are required for this essay: the literary text you are analyzing for this essay and one other source. This is considered a research assignment, so you should use and cite those two sources. You may use more than two sources. This analysis should primarily be based on your own thoughts, analysis, and interpretation with only a little research included to support your ideas. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA, SPARKNOTES, ENOTES, OR ANY OTHER QUICK REFERENCE WEBSITES. Look for only credible, RESEARCH articles that support your ideas. If you go to the WPCC website, click on Library, then NC Live. You will be able to find credible, academic level essays, articles and criticisms about the novel. Choose your sources wisely and be sure that the information you use is meaningful and relevant.

Organization. Your paper should begin with an introduction that includes a thesis statement, several body paragraphs in which you discuss the topic in depth, and a conclusion. In the body paragraphs, you should do the following: 1. provide brief quotations from the story (and cite), 2. provide analysis and evaluation of the quotations (along with research), and 3. tie your analysis to the thesis of the essay. Remember, THIS IS NOT A SUMMARY. This is an ANALYSIS. Papers that are nothing more than a summary of the story will not be accepted. It is necessary to begin the paper with a short summary, but the entire essay should summarize the story.

Format. Use MLA format throughout the paper. Document quotations in the body of the paper as well as on the works cited page at the end of the paper.
To document quotations/paraphrases in the body of the paper, indicate the authors name and the page number of the quotation in parentheses at the end of the sentence like this (Wolff 19). If the other source you choose doesnt have an author, you would cite the title of the WEBpage.
Document both sources at the end of the essay.

SAMPLE OUTLINE FORMAT
(an outline is not required for submission, but this is a great tool to help generate ideas and ensure organization within your writing)

Thesis statement (see the link provided in the lecture notes/reading assignments folder about forming a literary analysis thesis statement). Remember, in your introduction, begin with an attention grabber, a short summary of the story and then give your thesis statement.
Point of Analysis #1 Your point of analysis (preferably choose from the literary terms/devices provided) should be clear and to the point in a topic sentence for this paragraph.
Be sure to give specific details from the story (in the form of documented quotes) and support from the other research source you are including.
Point of Analysis #2 – Your point of analysis (preferably choose from the literary terms/devices provided) should be clear and to the point in a topic sentence for this paragraph.
Be sure to give specific details from the story (in the form of documented quotes) and support from the other research source you are including.
Point of Analysis #3 – Your point of analysis (preferably choose from the literary terms/devices provided) should be clear and to the point in a topic sentence for this paragraph.
Be sure to give specific details from the story (in the form of documented quotes) and support from the other research source you are including.
Conclusion summarize the ideas presented in your essay, reiterate your thesis statement again, and end with a profound statement that leaves your reader thinking.

LITERARY CONVENTIONS
Be aware of and follow these literary conventions when writing your analysis:

Write in the present tense.

EXAMPLE: In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” the townspeople visit Emily Grierson’s house because it smells bad.

NOT: In Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily,” the townspeople visited Emily Grierson’s house because it smelled bad.

Keep yourself out of your analysis; in other words, use the third person (no I or you).

CORRECT (third person): The narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” is a dynamic character who changes his attitude toward and relationship with Sonny as the story progresses.

INCORRECT (first person): I believe that the narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” is a dynamic character because I read many details about the changes in his attitude toward and relationship with Sonny.

CORRECT (third person): At the end of “Everyday Use,” Mama realizes that Maggie is like her but has not received enough attention to build self-esteem.

INCORRECT (second person): At the end of “Everyday Use,” Mama realizes that Maggie is like her but has not received the attention you should give your daughter to help her attain self-esteem.

Avoid summarizing the plot (i.e., retelling the story literally). Instead analyze (form a thesis and explain) the story in literary terms.

PLOT SUMMARY: In Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart,” the mad narrator explains in detail how he kills the old man, who screams as he dies. After being alerted by a neighbor, the police arrive, and the madman gives them a tour through the house, finally halting in the old man’s bedroom, where he has buried the man beneath the floor planks under the bed. As he is talking, the narrator hears what he thinks is the old man’s heart beating loudly, and he is driven to confess the murder.

ANALYSIS: Though the narrator claims he is not mad, the reader realizes that the narrator in “The Telltale Heart” is unreliable and lies about his sanity. For example, the mad narrator says he can hear “all things in the heaven and in the earth.” Sane people cannot. He also lies to the police when he tells them that the shriek they hear occurs in his dream. Though sane people do lie, most do not meticulously plan murders, lie to the police, and then confess without prompting. Finally, the madman is so plagued with guilt that he

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