Close Reading Strategy What is close reading? Close reading is a method of literary analysis involving reading and writing. When you close reads a text, you analyze it based on individual words, or groups of words, rather than by long quotes. Despite its name, close reading has a lot more to do with writing than reading! Why is it important? Close reading is an essential college skill, regardless of a writer s subject area. It is often a more effective way of explaining a text than by using long quotes, as you have been taught to do throughout high school. How are we going to use it? Learning the entire technique and style of close reading pertains more to the study of literature than anything else, so we are going to focus on a few skills related to the overall literary technique. Those of you who choose to study literature in college will have a jump- start on your 200- level English classes, and those of you who are pursuing other disciplines or careers will have a widely applicable skill under your belt that can be used in presentations, letters, essays, and projects. All of you will find it helpful and advantageous to use these skills next semester in your selective classes. How do we do it? First, develop a thesis or topic sentence. Then, instead of using long quotes in your paragraphs of response, you should use the most essential word or words from the text as part of your answer. Unlike traditional quoting, where you provide a sentence of introduction (a signal phrase) before a quote and a sentence of explanation after, when you close read a text, you actually use the language of the text as your own to explain your answer, setting up the example/quote to be discussed and expressing your main idea at the same time. For example: Traditional Quote with Discussion: In Vonnegut's personal opening chapter, during a conversation he had with the movie producer, Harrison Starr, Starr says, ʼIs it an anti-war book?ʼ, to which Vonnegut responds, ʼYes, I guess,ʼ (4). Later in the conversation, Starr suggests, ʼWhy donʼt you write an anti-glacier book instead?ʼ (4). In this conversation, Vonnegut is unsure about the purpose of his book, and Starr clearly believes that wars, like glaciers, are inevitable and part of life on the planet. Close-read Quote with Discussion: In Vonnegut's personal opening chapter, he remarks upon a conversation he had with the movie producer, Harrison Starr. When asked if his book was an anti-war book, he says Yes I guess (4). Starr jokes with him and says he should write an anti-glacier book instead (4). Vonnegut understands this to mean that there will always be wars, that they were as easy to stop as glaciers (4). A successful close reading will integrate quotes as if they were your own words. This is extremely important! If you merely use long quotations (even important quotations), you interrupt your own voice as a writer and jump to someone else s voice. Since this analysis is your writing, you need to be sure that it sounds like you. 1
Some tips for close reading: 1. When completing reading assignments, read carefully, paying attention to determining what the most powerful and meaningful words are. In the Vonnegut quotation above, the most important phrases are anti- war and anti- glacier ; you can easily paraphrase the rest of the quotation. As you read above, this allows you to maintain your own voice. 2. Read the question first and develop a clear idea of your main idea/thesis before looking for passages that support your answer. 3. Choose meaningful passages and review them, selecting the most important language. 4. Use the author s language to answer the question/support your main idea. 5. Keep your quoted material short. Integrating a word or a few words into your own writing is easier than integrating an entire sentence! For example: [Topic Sentence] The tone of The Bean Eaters by Gwendolyn Brooks is depressing. [say] In the poem, Brooks describes an old couple who have lived their day (6), [mean] insinuating (implying) that their lives are over. [say] This idea is further illustrated when Brooks states that the couple is putting things away (8), [mean] as if their belongings will no longer be needed or used. [matter] Brooks sees this couple with little time to live and cannot help but focus on how they are seemingly waiting for death. You must explain every detail you use, that is, unless the details are self- explanatory. [Topic Sentence] Gwendolyn Brooks conveys an optimistic tone in The Bean Eaters. [say] Although Brooks describes the couple remembering, with twinges (10), she also describes them remembering, with twinklings (10), [mean] which minimizes the power of the twinges. [say] And while the old couple eat beans mostly (1) and have Plain chipware (3), revealing what appears to be a meager existence, [mean] the final line catalogs (lists) evidence of something more substantial: the couple s long life together: As they lean over the beans in their rented back room that is full of beads and receipts and dolls and cloths, tobacco crumbs, vases and fringes (11). [matter] What these people have is not much, but it is something. *Note: it may be necessary to use a long quote, especially when it calls attention to itself. Twinge: a sudden, sharp pain. Twinkling: sparkling. 2
Analyzing Literature What is a literary analysis? A literary analysis explains a work of fiction, poetry or drama by means of interpretations. Literary analysis broadens and deepens your understanding of a work of literature. What is an interpretation? An interpretation is your individual response that addresses meaning. It is your claim about the underlying meaning that goes beyond the literal meaning of a literary work, whether that is a poem, play, short story, or novel. Example 1: Although she plans to have a much more successful garden, Mama wants to take her little plant to the new house [support]. Though the plant has struggled to live and seems to lack the beauty for which it would ordinarily be valued, it is significant to Mama because it, as Mama tells Beneatha, expresses her [commentary / support]. The plant has survived despite the struggle of living in an apartment, just as Mama and her family has survived [commentary]. Interpretation: The plant represents Mama. An interpretation is a combination of commentary (opinion) and support aka textual evidence or references to the text (quotes and summary). Notice how each of these examples mixes commentary with references to the text. FYI: support is used to defend commentary. Example 2: The single most ironic moment in the play is when Mr. Lindner explains that the people he represents have worked hard to achieve their dreams [commentary]. In that single scene, the characters don t notice the irony so much as the audience does, and it s Hansberry at her finest exposing how the American Dream can ring hollow for African Americans [commentary / support]. Interpretation: The American Dream doesn t exist for African Americans. Example 3: Hansberry names the play after a line in the Langston Hughes poem "Harlem," which was published in a volume titled Montage of a Dream Deferred. In the poem, Hughes asks: "What happens to a dream deferred? / Does it dry up/like a raisin in the sun?" While we do not see a single raisin in the play, we do see many deferred dreams and at the end, one dream fulfilled. By titling her play A Raisin in the Sun, Hansberry asks audiences to pay attention to the dreams that were deferred, and bring their attention to the questions that Hughes poses in the poem. Interpretation: Explains the purpose/function/deeper meaning of the title Raisin in the Sun. 3
How do you develop an interpretation? Interpretations are developed by an in- depth examination of a text. An interpretation often will be the thesis of your paper. Remember, a thesis is a debatable claim, so your interpretation must explain a deeper idea and provide relevant evidence to support your claim. READING: How do you conduct an "in-depth" examination of a text? 1. Before reading the work, make sure to examine the title carefully. Often the title is a clue to an important idea in the work. Consider the ideas/images of a dried raisin baking in the sun in Raisin in the Sun or, in The Awakening, someone waking up. 2. Make sure you look up in the dictionary any words with which you are not familiar. 3. After reading the work the first time, ask yourself the following questions: What is the geographical, historical and social setting? How does this affect the story or poem? (Would Raisin in the Sun be the same if racism didn t exist?) Who is (are) the main character(s)? Who are the secondary characters, and how are they linked to the main characters? Does the main character change? If so, how and why? If not, why not? What is the conflict? Can you trace the development and resolution of the conflict? Who is telling the story? How does this influence the story or poem? In poetry, can you find a pattern of rime and meter? 4. As you re- read the work, make sure you can answer these questions. Then ask yourself the following questions, which may help you to discover deeper meanings that will lead you to an interpretation. Can you summarize the author's meaning in one paragraph? Can you state a theme of the work in one sentence? You need to be able to do this. Can you identify any symbols or metaphors? What do they mean? How do you prove your interpretation? You prove your interpretation by finding a pattern of examples in the literature that support your idea. You find this pattern in the literary elements, such as plot, point of view, character, setting, symbols, tone, and style. In poetry, the uses of language (rhyme, meter and metaphors) are also patterns that can support your interpretation. These patterns become your evidence. If interpretations are an individual response, are all interpretations valid? No. Because an interpretation must be supported, the strength or weakness of your interpretation rests on the strength or weakness of your argument. How much of the story should you retell in a critical analysis? You do need to locate your reader to the scene or section of the poem that you are discussing; therefore, some plot summary is necessary, but re-telling the story or a poem is not considered an analysis. You can assume your reader has read the work. 4
Recap & Example When we analyze, we re trying to prove our interpretation of something using support from the text. As such, an analysis paragraph should: make a debatable claim that explains the meaning of something (thesis/interpretation) provide proof for that claim (support) show how the evidence supports the claim (the analysis) Example: Though many readers may sympathize with the narrator because his brother is addicted to heroin, the narrator actually begins as a hardened, unfeeling man. Two scenes show his lack of compassion. The narrator first shows how cruel and unfeeling he is when he meets Sonny's friend on the street. Adopting a sarcastic tone, the narrator questions the friend's motives: "You come all the way down here to just tell me about Sonny?" We can see in this tone that the narrator doubts that the friend truly cares for Sonny. The narrator also swears at the friend, saying "you're pretty goddamn smart, I bet," and offers him no sympathy for his "sad story," declaring that he wishes the friend had a pistol so he could kill himself (49). These reactions to the friend show the narrator's anger at the situation Sonny is in, but they also convey a stark lack of compassion for those less fortunate than himself. In fact, the narrator's anger seems to fuel his lack of compassion. In the flashback scene, we find out that the narrator has been angry with Sonny before, for when the narrator visits Sonny in his Greenwich Village apartment, he tells Sonny that he "might just as well be dead as live the way he was living" (62). These scenes depict the narrator's warped personality; his anger and fear have made him cruel, almost sadistic in wishing for the deaths of his brother and his brother's friend. With analysis, you tell your reader how you want him or her to understand the quotation or summary you have provided as support. As a writer, you can't necessarily assume that your reader will draw the same conclusions you have drawn from the evidence. On Transitions: Well- organized paragraphs use transitions between the topic sentence, support, and analysis, which let the reader know where the argument is going. Simple transitions such as "for example," "for instance," "therefore," "however," and "also" are useful to show relationships between ideas. More complex transitions can be whole phrases or even sentences that show how the writer is moving from one idea to another. The words in bold in the example above are transitions. 5
Using Textual Evidence Sammy's descriptions of the A & P present a setting that is ugly, monotonous, and rigidly regulated. We can identify with the uniformity Sammy describes because we have all been in chain stores. The fluorescent light is as blandly cool as the "checkerboard green-and-cream rubber tile floor" (486). The "usual traffic in the store moves in one direction (except for the swim suited girls, who move against it), and everything is neatly organized and categorized in tidy aisles. The dehumanizing routine of this environment is suggested by Sammy's offhand references to the typical shoppers as "sheep," "house slaves," and "pigs." These regular customers seem to walk through the store in a stupor; as Sammy tells us, not even dynamite could move them out of their routine (485). The skillful use of textual evidence - - summary, paraphrase, specific detail, and direct quotations - - can illustrate and support the ideas you are developing in your essay. However, textual evidence should be used judiciously (with caution) and only when it directly relates to your topic. The correct and effective use of textual evidence is vital to the successful literary analysis essay. SUMMARY If a key event or series of events in the literary work support a point you are trying to make, you may want to include a brief summary, making sure that you show the relevance of the event or events by explicitly connecting your summary to your point. Below is an effective summary (with its relevance clearly pointed out) from the essay already quoted above on "The Secret Lion : Example: The boys find the grinding ball, but later attempt to bury it (summary). Burying it is their futile (pointless) attempt to make time stand still and to preserve perfection (commentary-relevance). SPECIFIC DETAIL Various types of details from the text lend concrete support to the development of the central idea of your literary analysis essay. These details add credibility to the point you are developing. Below is a list of some of the details used in the paragraph above. o "usual traffic" o "fluorescent lights" o "checkerboard green- and- cream rubber- tile floor" o "electric eye" o shoppers like "sheep," "house slaves," and "pigs" Using Direct Quotations Quotations can illuminate and support the ideas you are trying to develop. A judicious use of quoted material will make your points clearer and more convincing. As with all the textual evidence you use, make sure you explain how the evidence is relevant -- let the reader know what you make of the quotations you cite. Below are guidelines and examples that should help you use quotations effectively: 6
1. Brief quotations (four lines or fewer of prose and three lines or fewer of poetry) should be carefully introduced and integrated into the text of your paper. Put quotation marks around all briefly quoted material. Prose example: As the "manager" of the A & P, Lengel is both the guardian and enforcer of "policy." When he gives the girls "that sad Sunday- school- superintendent stare," we know we are in the presence of the A & P's version of a dreary bureaucrat who "doesn't miss much" (487). Make sure you give page numbers when necessary. Notice that in this example the page numbers are in parentheses after the quotation marks but before the period. Poetry example: From the beginning, the Duke in Browning's poem gives the reader a sense of how possessive he really is: "That's my last Duchess on the wall, / Looking as if she were alive" (1-2). We can't help notice how, even though the Duke is talking about her portrait, his main concern is that she belongs to him. Notice that line # 1 is separated from line # 2 by a slash. Make sure you give the line numbers when necessary. OMITTING WORDS You must use an ellipsis if you omit any words from the original source you are quoting. Ellipsis can be used at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the quotation, depending on where the missing words were originally. Ellipsis is formed by either three or four periods with a space between each period. Original Quote: "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Example (omission from beginning): This behavior "... makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Example (omission from middle): This maxim claims that "Early to bed... makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise." Example (omission from end): He said, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy...." Ellipsis is formed by four dots before the quotation marks -- the fourth dot is really a period which ends the sentence. 7
Analyzing a passage In writing about literature or any specific text, you will strengthen your discussion if you offer specific passages from the text as evidence. Rather than simply dropping in quotations and expecting their significance and relevance to your argument to be self- evident, you need to provide sufficient analysis of the passage. Remember that your over- riding goal of analysis writing is to demonstrate some new understanding of the text. Principles of analyzing a passage 1. Offer a thesis or topic sentence indicating a basic observation or assertion about the text or passage. 2. Offer a context for the passage without offering too much summary. 3. Cite the passage (using correct MLA format). 4. Then follow the passage with some combination of the following elements: o Discuss what happens in the passage and why it is significant to the work as a whole. o Consider what is said, particularly subtleties of the imagery and the ideas expressed. o Assess how it is said, considering how the word choice, the ordering of ideas, sentence structure, etc., contribute to the meaning of the passage. o Explain what it means, tying your analysis of the passage back to the significance of the text as a whole. 5. Repeat the process of context, quotation and analysis with additional support for your thesis or topic sentence. 8
Sample analysis paragraphs Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions Although Tambu recognizes the injustices she and Nyasha endure as females, she hesitates to act on her suspicion because of fear. First of all, she is afraid that she might not recognize and feel comfortable with herself in a critical role. She hesitates to pursue her critique, noting that when reflecting on her own identity, she " was beginning to suspect that [she] was not the person [she] was expected to be. She considered this proof that, somewhere, she had taken a wrong turning" (116). Using other people's perceptions rather than her own, she judges her thoughts to be wrong. Although she senses that her behavior as the "grateful poor female relative" was insincere, she admitted it felt more comfortable. "It mapped clearly the ways I could or could not go, and by keeping within those boundaries I was able to avoid the mazes of self- confrontation" (116). While she is somewhat embarrassed that she lacks the intensity she had when fighting against Nhamo and her father over the maize, she is reluctant to lose Babamakuru's protection and fears experiencing the same kind of trauma Nyasha does in her struggle. Although she says she feels "wise to be preserving [her] energy, unlike [her] cousin, who was burning herself out," she reveals that she fears losing a familiar sense of herself in order to battle injustices. from James McBride's The Color of Water An important difference between James and his mother is their method of dealing with the pain they experience. While James turns inward, his mother Ruth turns outward, starting a new relationship, moving to a different place, keeping herself busy. Ruth herself describes that, even as a young girl, she had an urge to run, to feel the freedom and the movement of her legs pumping as fast as they can (42). As an adult, Ruth still feels the urge to run. Following her second husband's death, James points out that, "while she weebled and wobbled and leaned, she did not fall. She responded with speed and motion. She would not stop moving" (163). As she biked, walked, rode the bus all over the city, "she kept moving as if her life depended on it, which in some ways it did. She ran, as she had done most of her life, but this time she was running for her own sanity" (164). Ruth's motion is a pattern of responding to the tragedy in her life. As a girl, she did not sit and think about her abusive father and her trapped life in the Suffolk store. Instead she just left home, moved on, tried something different. She did not analyze the connections between pain and understanding, between action and response, even though she seems to understand them. As an adult, she continues this pattern, although her running is modified by her responsibilities to her children and home. The image of running that McBride uses here and elsewhere supports his understanding of his mother as someone who does not stop and consider what is happening in her life yet is able to move ahead. Movement provides the solution, although a temporary one, and preserves her sanity. Discrete moments of action preserve her sense of her own strength and offer her new alternatives for the future. Even McBride's sentence structure in the paragraph about his mother's running supports the effectiveness of her spurts of action without reflection. Although varying in length, each of the last seven sentences of the paragraph begins with the subject "She" and an active verb such as "rode," "walked," "took," "grasp" and "ran." The section is choppy, repetitive and yet clear, as if to reinforce Ruth's unconscious insistence on movement as a means of coping with the difficulties of her life. 9
Writing about Theme A routine assignment for students in literature and composition classes is to write a literary analysis. In writing such an analysis, students discuss a work of fiction or poetry in terms of one or more elements of the work. For example, a story may be analyzed in terms of the importance that setting plays to the story; in terms of a particular problem it presents to the reader; in terms of specific symbolism in the work; or in terms of a character s or an event s role in the story. A common approach is to analyze a work's theme(s). In doing this sort of analysis, one should keep in mind that the themes in poems, short stories, plays and novels are rarely stated. Instead, the reader has to infer from the work itself what the idea or ideas are. The reader must ask: o What is the main idea of this work? o What is the author trying to say? o What point is the author making about society, the individual, war, love, freedom, religion, or any other issue? If you were analyzing a story for its theme, you would first assume that the writer does indeed have a point to make or something to communicate to the reader. Ask yourself what that point is, and the answer can serve as the basis for an analysis of the theme. For example, in "Little Red Riding Hood," the main point might be that it is dangerous to be inexperienced since Red gets into a deadly situation as a result of her inexperience with forest travel. The theme could just as easily be that one should trust one's first impressions since Red is at first frightened and wary of the wolf but later is fooled into complacency. Once you have revealed what you believe to be the main idea of the work (your thesis), you must assemble evidence to support your assertion. That is, you must tell your reader what passages or words or events in the story or poem have led you to the theme. As you reveal evidence for your thesis, you will probably find the need to quote passages from the work. When you do, make sure that the quotes are thoroughly explained and smoothly integrated into your paper. The attached example paper shows how this is done. 10
Some General Considerations Avoid the use of the second person (the pronoun you) in making your point. Although we do this all the time when speaking, it assumes that the reader agrees with you (which may or may not be true) and makes for informal (and usually ineffective) writing except in cases such as this handout, in which the analysis is of a process which is being taught to the reader. The first person (the pronoun I) is also taboo unless you are supporting your argument with personal experience: Do not say, "I will present the reasons why..." or "I feel that the author is saying...". Also stay away from writing that focuses on the writing process ("This paper will attempt to explain the symbolism in The Scarlet Letter...") instead of the topic at hand ("The Scarlet Letter is rife with symbolism..."). Talking about your paper weakens your argument and is considered lazy writing. It is practically cheating to use such contrivances as "In conclusion" and "Secondly." A proper conclusion is an unambiguous closing and should sound like one even without a label. Similarly, the order of your argument should make sense and follow some kind of pattern, such as least to most important; it should be clear why a particular support area is second or third, not merely that it is second or third. The connection and relationship between support areas in your paper should be signaled by transition sentences that guide the reader from one point to the next. There are innumerable ways to do this. Don't limit yourself to old standbys such as Furthermore, Moreover, Next and In addition. A literary analysis (as well as a review of any book, film or play) is written in the present tense, as if you are the narrator. 11