Writing About Literature
When you write about a literary work, you are offering other readers our own interpretation. Since a good piece of literature will lend itself to a number of possible coherent interpretations, your particular reading offers yet another possibility in opening up work to further insight and investigation by readers. The literary work actually invites readers to make sense of it, offering readers the opportunity to acknowledge a specific perspective that they might not have considered before.
I. The Argumentative Literary Essay
Goals of the Argumentative Literary Essay
An essay about literature can take many different forms (book reports, personal responses, etc.), and the instructor will usually give specific directions for the kind of essay required. The aim of the argumentative essay, however, is to persuade the reader of an idea or point of a particular interpretation. Because most students are probably more familiar or comfortable with other forms of essays about literature (such as those mentioned above), they often don’t understand what sort of essay they are supposed to write and therefore focus primarily on character exposition or plot summary.
For this reason, it is important that you understand that the argumentative essay tries to persuade your readers that your ideas about the literary text are valid. Your writing, then, will use evidence from the text and sometimes the opinions of others to support these ideas. Unlike the book report or the personal response essay, the argumentative essay is driven by a definable, focused thesis that ties together all the specific aims of the paper. The book report, for instance, may be structured according to the plot of the text (what happens in the beginning, the middle, and the end). The argumentative essay, on the other hand, subordinates plot and character to a central idea about what the text “means” or how it functions culturally.
The Importance of a Central Thesis
How you summarize important events in the story or how you discuss what a certain character represents depends entirely on a central thesis. For example, if I choose to argue that Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is about humankind’s fear of its own primitive unconscious, then I may wish to focus largely on the relationship between the narrator and Kurtz. As evidence of this idea, I will draw on passages from the text in which these two figures play a part. On the other hand, if my interest is in demonstrating how the story is a product of British colonialism, I may wish to emphasize the racist language and images Conrad uses to describe Africa. What evidence I bring from the text (how I discuss the book) depends on what argument I am making.
The Importance of Reading Carefully and Critically
Although it is good advice to read everything carefully, literature requires especially close reading. To read a work of literature closely, you might begin by deliberately seeking out puzzles in the text. Mark passages that confuse you or contradict what you previously believed the text to be about. Don’t be afraid to recognize multiple interpretations of a particular passage or the text as a whole. Although it may be true that interpretation of a text depends a great deal on what the author intended, it is important to be aware of differing perspectives of just what this intent is. No writer can control the diversity of effects of combinations of words and images, especially as those useful to think of the writer of an argumentative literary essay as having a much more active role as a reader.
II. Gathering Evidence for Your Argument
Careful reading should result in providing you with sufficient evidence to begin formulating an opinion about the literary work. The evidence you gather to support your thesis may require you to return again and again to the text to isolate passages that clarify your meaning. This is what is meant by “textual evidence” and it is crucial to arguing anything where interpreting the words and ideas of others is involved. This evidence can assume the form of dialogue, events, descriptive details, key words, images, themes, and metaphors. Do not be afraid to scrutinize evidence that possibly contradicts your present thesis. Although it can be frustrating, you can view this conflicting evidence as an opportunity to help you not only refine and clarify your work, but enrich your understanding of the complexity of a particular literary work. An awareness of a literary work’s complexity is always encouraged in the literary essay. It is what helps make the argumentative literary essay argumentative.
Tips for Gathering Evidence
There is no question that careful reading is crucial to gathering evidence for a literary essay. Even if one has a firm grasp of the fundamental elements of a text (plot, theme, author’s voice, etc.), this does not ensure that these elements will provide adequate support for any claim made about the text. Not only are these elements sometimes unreliable, they are often subordinated to other, less clear elements (such as language, imagery, or character dialogue). For example, at the end of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, the otherwise independent and ferocious Kate finally marries Petruchio. Because of this, we might be led to ignore ambiguity in the dialogue (double meaning, irony, wit, etc.) and choose instead to base our argument on ploy only (”Kate is, like all women, ultimately submissive to her man”). This would be a shame, however, for it is precisely the ambiguity which makes for interesting argumentation. This is not to say that things such as plot and theme aren’t essential to argument—indeed, there is no reason to suggest that an argument cannot be built and supported by these elements alone.
Just be aware that the richness of a good text is seemingly fathomless—the basic elements of storytelling need not be your sole source of evidence.
III. Tips for Reading Carefully and Critically
These are simply good suggestions for ways of looking more closely at a passage and are by no means exclusive. Each passage is different and, accordingly, different things will need to be emphasized.
Literary Reading: This is simply designed to make sure that you understand on a literal level what is going on in your passage. Try paraphrasing this passage:
Now mother St. Justine will be waiting for you. I have sent a girl who has been with us for nearly a year. Her name is Louise—Louise de Plana. If you feel strange, she will explain everything. (Wild Sargasso Sea)
In plain English, the nun tells Bertha that the mother superior is waiting for her, that a girl named Louise de Plana will greet Bertha, and if Bertha has any questions that Bertha will know the answers. But there is a tension between what the passage means on a literal level and what is says. Why repeat the name “Louise” twice? Why does the nun say “if you feel strange” rather than “if you have any questions?” Literal meaning is also important if you are analyzing difference between characters.
Grammatical Structure: This includes looking at things like syntax, grammar, subordinate clauses, parallel structure, punctuation, length and structure of the sentence, ambiguous pronouns, word order and choice, the overabundance of nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.
With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate terms. Darcy, as well as Elizabeth, really loved them, and they were both sensible of the warmest gratitude towards the persons who, by bringing her into Darbyshire, had been the means of uniting them. (Pride and Prejudice)
First, normal sentence order (subject-verb-object) is being changed—the Gardiners are placed at the beginning of the sentence; in the second sentence the verb is placed at the end: “uniting them.” Second, both subordinate clauses (“as well as Elizabeth” and “by bringing them into Darbyshire”) refer to Elizabeth, but the first puts Darcy in the subordinate position—i.e., “besides Elizabeth, Darcy felt this way as well.” This is not an argument, this is just a statement. Third, note how the word “sensible”—which in normal modern usage is an adjective (“she is a sensible person”)—is used in the verb tense “they were both sensible of the warmest gratitude.”
Figures of Speech: This category would include metaphors, similes, personification, ellipsis, alliteration, chiasmus, zeugma, etc.
You are my sympathy—my better self—my good angel. I am bound to you with strong attachment. I think you good, gifted and lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion conceived in my heart, draws you to my center and spring of life, wraps my existence around you. (Jane Eyre)
This passage opens with a metaphor (“you are my sympathy”) and then gives several alternative metaphors (“my better self” and “my good angel”). This suggests either that the three are equal, or that Rochester is being indecisive. Next, note the parallel construction of the first and third sentences. The three are terms of the metaphor, and then “good, gifted and lovely” suggests that these may perhaps be terms of the first metaphor. Finally, the author uses an extended figure of speech in the third sentence: “solemn passion” is personified—it can “draw” Jane toward it. Also: “existence” is likened to a cloak which the personified “passion” can “wrap” around Jane.
Images and Themes: Some words have more than one meaning (it’s good to look them up in the dictionary). Moreover, words within the passage can evoke previous scenes, images, or ideas that have occurred earlier in the text.
There was a terrible cutting truth in Tom’s words—that hard rind of truth which is discerned by unimaginative, unsympathetic minds. Maggie always writhed under this judgment of Tom’s: she rebelled and was humiliated at the same time. (The Mill on the Floss)
Notice that there is more than one kind of truth presented in the passage—regular truth and “terrible truth.” An argument could be made that these two kinds of truth are presented in the novel as a whole. Next, the image of “cutting” is used many times in the novel (it is related to Tom’s threatening Maggie with the scimitar, to the “cutting” remarks characteristic of his relationship with Maggie, and to Maggie’s own “cutting” of her hair when she is criticized). The idea of “judgment” certainly relates to the sense of judgment and justice that the novel presents.
Context: When you are analyzing a passage, you are taking it out of context. Make sure that you put it back in its context. Remember that you experience a novel cumulatively, and that your feelings and impressions of the characters, themes, etc. change. For example, if you’re looking at a passage where Jane Eyre rebels against John Reed, you need to consider that this is early in the novel and that other aspects of Jane’s character are developed as the novel progresses. This does not mean that you would have to discuss all the other aspects of Jane’s character, but you should acknowledge the limitations of doing a close reading of a single passage.
Putting it All Together: After you have looked at the literal meaning, grammatical structure, figures of speech, themes and ideas, and context, you need to decide what all these say about your passage. Sometimes there won’t be clear distinctions. That is to say, the use of metaphor in a sentence might be dependent upon the sentence’s syntax, for example. Some arguments that could be made from the examples given are:
In this passage from Wide Sargassa Sea we see the nun treating Bertha as if she has some mental deficiency. She repeats Louise’s name twice, as if Bertha had hearing problems, and she seems to assume that Bertha might feel “strange.”
Rochester’s choice of words in this passage from Jane Eyre suggest either that he cannot find specific words to express his feelings, or that he sees a similarity between the terms “my sympathy,” “my better self,” and “my good angel.” “My sympathy” implies a somewhat condescending attitude towards Jane (that is, she is the object of his sympathy), but “my good angel” suggests, paradoxically, that Rochester is the one to be pitied (Jane, as the “good angel,” is an object of pious reverence). At the same time, “my better self” implies a splitting of the self into two halves (into an inferior self and a superior self that is also, in essence, Jane’s double).
IV. Tips for Developing a Clear and Compelling Thesis
When evaluating an early draft of your essay, examine the thesis statement to determine whether it makes a point.
- Is the argument worth making?
- Would the statement provoke reactions?
- Can someone legitimately disagree with it?
Read your thesis aloud and then ask yourself whether an intelligent member of the audience would respond to your point with “So what?” or “Big deal!” If they can, look for a more significant idea, present a more interesting facet of your original thought, or modify it to say something that sparks interest or raises expectation.
Tyranny is spreading like the plague! England’s unjust taxes, quartering acts, deprivation of trial by jury, and the cease of trade with all parts of the world is smothering the life out of the colonies. Thomas Paine, through his clear and organized fashion employs the laws of “nature” and vivid imagery in his pamphlet Common Sense to build his ethos and persuade the people that revolt is the only solution. Henry David Thoreau, however, also uses metaphors and imagery in his essay “Resistance to Civil Government” to express his “reality” of the government.
You may already know that Paine and Thoreau use figurative language (metaphors, imagery) in their writing. This information is not particularly compelling. In fact, it is what we would expect of writers surveyed in a literature course. Thus a reader would not likely disagree with or be otherwise stimulated by the opening. How could it be revised so that it might provoke some kind of reaction? In its current form, the thesis simply makes a statement that the two authors have different writing styles, a statement which is not much of an argument. To turn these statements in to an argument, you might argue that Paine’s writing is much more interesting and lively than Thoreau’s. A Thoreau fan would probably take issue with this kind of statement. The task of the paper would then be to prove that Paine’s writing is superior. As the writer of this thesis, you would have to ask yourself: what is it about Paine that makes him more interesting than Thoreau?
While you do this, you may also be forced to ask how the interesting elements of Paine’s writing relate to one another and work together in an effective way. In other words, it is not very compelling to simply list series of observations you have made about his essay. Let us, for instance, return to the book Jane Eyre. Earlier, we recognized how the author’s figure of speech raised interesting questions about the character of Rochester. Can an argument about the book as a whole be made from them? You might want to gather together some more evidence in order to determine just how much you can develop initial reflections about a specific passage into a larger argument. For example, in the novel Jane Eyre, it was suggested that the character of Rochester seemed unstable. The use of metaphors (“you are my sympathy—my better self—my good angel”) allows us, as readers, to see how Rochester’s love for Jane Eyre is paradoxical. He both sympathizes with her (“you are my sympathy”) and worships her (“my good angel”); he stands both above her and beneath her. In between this paradoxical split is yet another split (“my good angel”). Does the idea of love as split seem like an idea that can be explored in greater depth? Is it an idea that occurs repeatedly? Is it an idea that can be argued?
Finally, here is an opening paragraph that includes a clearly stated thesis:
American culture has traditionally greeted the liberated role of women with hostility. In the aftermath of the 1960’s, the concept of the women’s movement referred primarily to ideas of gender equality. It is now the 2010’s and the ideas of female inferiority continue to permeate our society. The perceived role of women and the marketing of sex and romance resembles the destructive image of women since, and prior to, the 1920’s. In Nathaniel West’s The Day of the Locust and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, women are depicted in the traditional role. The authors affirm the belief that women’s aspirations are limited to being beautiful, famous, or marrying rich. Both novels reinvent the belief that women are a prize to be won, hence, competing with one another for the greatest catch. Beauty and sexuality will win them a ticket on a journey in pursuit of the glamorous, extravagant lifestyle of their dreams. Upon failing, they are trapped in an embattled paradise with shattered dreams.
The idea that the female characters in these novels (Faye Greener, Daisy Buchanan, and Myrtle Wilson) all enact the traditional roles assigned to women by American culture is not necessarily a foregone conclusion. Neither is the claim that adhering to this role will only lead to “shattered dreams.” The writer has inserted his or her informed opinion (as a critical and careful reader) in this opening paragraph and for the rest of the paper will have ample support to defend it.