World Lit II-- Can anyone help me with a 'literary analysis'?

Question

A single mom back in college, I am a little overwhelmed this semester. Its the end, and I am struggling with, among others, writing a 7 pg analysis of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One; recreating a piece of art with a human element from our text book (and have no camera..); write a paper on the artistic architecture of a church and the origins, and-- *take an author we've read this semester (Conrad, Joyce, Sartre, Pirandhello, Borges, Beckett, Fugard) and write our own "original and informed analysis in essay form."

It should reference previous critical analyses, and refer to specific passages from the primary text (I assume what was in our textbook, like No Exit; Heart of Darkness; Six Charactes Searching for an Author; The Dead) with each reference properly cited in MLA.

He says "I recommend " starting in the library, as "specialized encyclo. and books offer more authoratative and interesting ideas than..the broad, general landscape of the web.."

Any ideas/help?

Answer 1

If I were you, I'd start by taking my favorite work from the semester (say it's Heart of Darkness for example's sake) and then figuring out what intrigued you about it intellectually. Then go through the book, and list out as many passages as you can (just not page numbers and a brief comment) that connect to that idea. Then sit down and just write, quickly and without worrying about punctuation, etc. the ideas that are boiling around in your head about that idea.

After you do that, then you might go to the library and start researching others' ideas about your interest. Then you can set up your idea in the context of others in an introductory paragraph or two and use the text and the voices of the literary critics to show that your idea about Heart of Darkness is true.

I do quite a lot of this general sort of writing, though, and I think it's useful to lay out your own ideas before you are awash in the criticism. Use your research as a backdrop against which to sharpen your own ideas.

Good luck!

P.S. You should also feel free to talk with your professor; if he/she is a jerk the worst that could happen is you get no help. If he/she is a good teacher, you'll get some valuable advice. Minimally, he/she will at least know you care about your work.

Answer 2

A literary analysis looks in-depth at some aspect of a literary work--a specific theme, recurring image, character, etc.--in order to interpret its meaning or value and to enrich our understanding of the work as a whole.

The primary text is the specific work that you are supposed to write about. Referencing "previous critical analyses" means that you need to go to the library and look for books or journal articles that other people have written on that same work. Every literary analysis argues one point or another; you will pull pieces from their arguments in order to support or add depth to your own argument.

If you don't know exactly what you want to write about yet, I suggest looking at journal articles to see what kinds of ideas other people have come up with.

Answer 3

And i'd like someone to clean my bathroom.