9.29 WRITING A CLOSE ANALYSIS OF PROSE

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WRITING WORKSHOP

What Is Close Analysis?

You’re probably accustomed to the big-picture analysis of literary texts where you look for theme and interpret the meaning of the work as a whole. So, for instance, you might look at how the characters in A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry embody the theme of the importance of keeping dreams alive. Or you might talk about how point of view in To Kill a Mockingbird helps Harper Lee show the destructive power of prejudice. This kind of analysis looks at the big picture—the camera zooms out to take in a panoramic view.

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What words come to mind when you look at the long camera shot of a battle scene from the film Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King? What words come to mind with the zoom in on one warrior? How does the close-up affect your understanding of the panoramic view?

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When you do a close analysis of prose, you need to zoom in and look at the effects of specific language choices in a piece. So, for example, you might examine one scene with Mama and her son Walter Lee in A Raisin in the Sun to show how keeping dreams alive is conveyed. Or you might analyze every word in a dialogue between Atticus Finch and his daughter, Scout, while he reads to her in To Kill a Mockingbird to show how this scene contributes to Lee’s development of the theme of racial prejudice and how it destroys families and communities alike.

But why do it?

When we write a close analysis, we’re asking ourselves not just what the theme is, or how the setting impacts the story, but how the author has used language to create that setting, and how the author has used language to develop the ideas that make up the theme. It’s taking your analysis to the next level.