Chapter+10

= "Writing About Literature" =

Chapter 10 of //A Short Guide to Writing about Literature// discusses how to write about fictional stories, plays, and poems. The chapter begins with discussing plot and character development. The book says that there are five parts to a plot: unstable situation, rising action, climax, falling action, and stable situation. The book uses a triangular pyramid (figure below) to illustrate how a plot transitions throughout a story. Plot consist of two types of actions, the first is physical action—wandering, strange encounters, births and death, the second type is mental action—a specific perception, a decision, and a failure of the will. The pyramid structure illustrated in this chapter is a very useful method when it comes to understanding the plot of a story, but it is also a formalist method. Formalists view literature as linear, they believe plot only happens within the pyramid structure stated below. Plot is not always linear, plot can be recursive, and there can also be several different plots within a story. There can also be two different types of action going on in a story, for instance a story could entail physical action and mental action, and the action can be based upon how it is interpreted by a reader.



The book also outlines how to organize an analysis for a character. When analyzing a character, first, annotate the text with your own description of a character’s traits. Second, show how a character has developed or declined through the story. Third, find examples of how a character’s development and relate those developments to the character’s traits. After formulating an essay, the book wants writers to relate their own personal experiences to the experiences of the character of the character. The book also mentions ways to approach foreshadowing in a text. When discussing foreshadowing in writing, a writer should show how the “author prepares the reader for this end and simultaneously maintains the right amount of suspense” (Barnet and Cain p.140).

Setting and atmosphere is the next section discussed in text, and the authors of the text believe the setting always symbolizes meaning in a story. Symbolism itself is mentioned in the text: “Writers us symbols because they want readers to perceive—at least faintly—that certain characters or places or season or happenings have rich implications, stand for something more than just want they are on the surface” ( Banet and Cain p.142). Symbols give the story meaning, they help readers and writers form an interpretation of the text.

The last section discussed in the text is point of view. In literature, there are different kinds of narrators. The third-person or nonparticipant point of view has several different subdivisions. There is the omniscient narrator, who knows the inner thoughts of the story’s characters, there is the selective omniscient, who only reveals thoughts of a specific character, and there is the effaced narrator who does not comment on the actions of the characters inside the story. The first-person narrator is the second point of view; this narrator is usually a character, and this narrator can sometimes be unreliable. The points of views emphasize in this book affect how readers and writers interpret and write about a story.

The chapter concluded with some checklists that will probably be helpful for novice readers and writers. Each checklist discusses ways a student can develop ideas for writing about literature. First a reader should start by asking question which will help the critical thinking process. The book states: “Not every question is relevant to every story, but if after reading a story and thinking about it, you then run your eye over these pages, you will probably find some questions that will help you think further about the story—in short, that will help you get ideas” (171).

The cognitive theorists Linda Flowers and John Hayes would both agree with the statement made by //A Short Guide to Writing about Literature.//In the essay titled “The Cognition of Discovery” written by scholars Linda Flowers and John Hayes, it discusses how writers (novice and expert) should established a sets goals before they write. Flowers and Hayes calls the process: “a progressive representation of their goals as they write” (Flowers and Hayes 472). The four goals for writers consist of: “focusing on the effect the paper will have on the reader, establishing a relationship with the reader, building a coherent network of ideas to create meaning, and composing conventional features of written text” (Flowers and Hayes 472). Building a coherent network of ideas is what the book focuses on, and this is important because a writer's ideas should be unique and flow together cohesively.


 * Note:** This wikispace can be used as a guide to decide whether or not the text //A Short Guide to Writing About Literature// will be effective for your classroom probably at the college level. Throughout the review of this book, several composition theorists and their writings are referenced. Familiarity with these articles and theories will be helpful in accessing this guide and deciding whether or not to use this book as a source. For your convenience, on the Annotated Bibliography page of this wiki an annotated bibliography including extensive summaries of each work references can be found.