“The Foster Portfolio” by Kurt VonnegutLiterary Analysis prep work

Definitions:

  • Analysis is “the separation of the whole into its component parts” (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary)
  • Literary Analysis, therefore, is the process of examining a whole work of literature (story, play, poem, novel) by looking closely at its “component parts” (characters, title, literary devices, themes, etc.)

Plot Points (moments in the story that develop the plot, keep the story going):

  1. Pg. 59, about the narrators usual clients “old ladies – the meek, who by dint of cast-iron constitutions have inherited…”
  2. Pg 60, paragraph beginning “People in my business – and maybe people in general”
  3. Pg. 61, about Herbert Foster “It may have been that I only imagined a look of quiet desperation…”
  4. Pg. 63, narrators reaction “Do you mind telling me where the securities listed here came from?”
  5. Pg. 63, about Alma “She doesn’t know?”
  6. Pg. 66, about Foster’s house “My father. We don’t want a picture of his father.”
  7. Pg. 68, about Foster’s job “Buy the place and burn it down…”
  8. Pg 73, change in Foster “And then the cigarette started to droop…”

Strategies to develop analysis of short story:

  1. Think about your reaction to the story. Did it engage your emotions and/or your intellect? What did the story make you think about or feel? Trace your reaction to the story by reviewing key moments (see list above).
  2. After reading the story, look closely at the title. Does it reveal a theme or concept that runs through the story? Why did the author choose that title, do you think?
  3. Using the list of plot points above, consider:

a)Do any of the plot points reveal a theme or concept that runs through the story?

b)What do the plot points reveal about major characters?

  1. Using the list of plot points above find the climax of the story, the key turning point, the pivot point, the hinge (there are lots of synonyms). This is the moment when the story’s ending is foreshadowed or determined. Usually a main character learns or decides something, or changes in some way.
  2. Then identify these other points:

a)Key moments of rising action (moments prior to the climax that lead directly to it)

b)Key moments of falling action (moments after the climax that are determined by it)

  1. Look at individual characters and their role in the story. Think about:

a)How each main character contributes to development of plot, to the events of the story

b)How each main character reveals or contributes to themes or concepts in the story

c)How minor characters contribute either to plot or theme development

SMALL GROUP TASK / INDIVIDUAL PREP FOR ESSAY
  • Discuss assigned strategy/partial strategy
  • Share results with class
/
  • Follow strategy 1 to start
  • Make notes about any others that appeal