Literary Analysis Essay: 4 Easy Steps for Writing a Paper

1️⃣ Allegory

Authors utilize allegory to incorporate a deeper meaning, concept, or idea. As such, readers may fail to grasp its application in the text if they do not analyze the work from a literary perspective. An example of an allegory is George Orwell’s depiction of animals fighting for equality in his novel “Animal Farm.” A casual reading may result in a different interpretation of this text from the author’s intention of depicting the Russian Revolution. Therefore, when writing a literary analysis paper, students should highlight how the text they are analyzing uses this device to hide the deeper meaning of an idea or concept.

2️⃣ Metaphor

Metaphor is standard in short stories and other texts because authors use it as a figure of speech to describe an object or action in a manner that defies literal understanding of nature or the world. An example of a metaphor is, “I could observe a white blanket of snow running into the horizon along the streets of New York.” While it is true that snow can cover entire streets, it is a lie to conclude that the snow is a blanket. Therefore, when writing a literary analysis essay, students must address how the author of the text uses metaphors to express ideas better. They should discuss how this device gives readers a striking image that arouses their intellectual curiosity.

3️⃣ Simile

When reading a specific text for analysis, students must notice how the writer utilizes similes as figures of speech that compare two things by emphasizing their similarities. One can identify this device by assessing contexts where the text uses the terms ‘like’ or ‘as’ to establish a relationship. An example of a simile is when a paper includes: “He ran as fast as a cheetah.” In this case, the author compares the individual’s ability to run with a cheetah, which humanity considers the fastest animal on Earth. When conducting a literary analysis of a document, individuals should explain how the author uses the characteristics of one object to compare it with another.

4️⃣ Symbolism

Symbolism depicts authors’ traditions of using symbols to emphasize deeper meanings and qualities within their texts. When writing a text for a literal analysis essay, students should focus on how the writer uses words to depict hidden ideas and concepts. An example of symbolism is an author’s statement, “Tears of joy flowed freely in the faces of everyone who witnessed the wedding.” While people associate tears with sadness, this statement depicts them as evidence of happiness in a multitude. From this perspective, students performing a literary analysis of a novel should emphasize how the author uses words to symbolize deeper meanings.

5️⃣ Flashback

Flashback allows authors to emphasize the significance of past events or experiences to the present. An example of this device is when a writer of a novel claims, “She stood on the podium, reflecting on how her childhood experience with domestic violence had shaped her illustrious career as an activist.” In this statement, the author introduces the activist’s past as essential in understanding why they chose their career path. In this respect, individuals conducting a literary analysis essay should explain how the author uses past events to convey to the audience important information that helps one to understand a character’s background and how it shaped their present reality.

6️⃣ Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is a writing technique that allows authors to inform the audience about an event yet to happen in the story. An example of a flashback in a novel is when the author states, “As the boys retreated to their respective rooms, the vocal one vowed to revenge the abuse visited upon them by the school bully.” This statement prepares readers for a later event where one person acts to punish another individual who occasionally bullies students. Therefore, when writing a literary analysis essay, learners should highlight how the author speaks of events that will unfold later in the story.

7️⃣ Hyperbole

When writing stories, authors often use hyperboles to exaggerate or stretch the truth to express a feeling or emphasize an idea or concept. However, what they put across is literary impossible. An example of this writing technique is when a novelist claims, “Students were dying of thirst.” While the writer intends to emphasize the deep thirst that students had, probably because of going for long without drinking anything, the literal meaning of the text is that students were dying because of thirst, which is not valid. As such, when undertaking a literary analysis of a novel, writers should explain how the novelist uses words to exaggerate ideas or concepts, defying literal understanding of the scenario.

8️⃣ Imagery

Imagery is a writing technique where authors use powerful sensory language to evoke the reader’s imagination or emotions. An example of imagery is when a poet states, “The odor from his sweaty shirt was a sufficient repulsive agent.” Upon reading this line, one imagines a shirt stinking because of sweat to the point of making someone avoid it. So, when writing a literary analysis essay, students should emphasize how the writer uses words that compel the audience to visualize an imaginary world and feel part of the story.

9️⃣ Personification

Authors use the literary device of personification when they want to give an object, animal, or something nonhuman human-like qualities. An example of personification in a sentence is when an author of a short story writes, “The flowers in the decorated pots were begging for water.” This sentence equates flowers with human beings by describing them using the human-like quality of begging. Naturally, plants do not beg because they cannot speak or gesture. Therefore, when writing a literary analysis essay, people should describe how the author utilizes personification by identifying sentences describing objects, animals, and other things using qualities that nature assigns to humans.

🔟 Motif

Novelists utilize motifs when they incorporate a recurring pattern, such as an idea, throughout the story to reinforce their plot or a particular theme. An example of a motif is when the author of Harry Potter highlights Harry’s scar several times throughout the text. In this respect, readers get the idea that the scar is central to understanding the story, specifically the role of Harry and his experiences. Therefore, when students are literary analyzing a short story, they should explain how the author utilizes motifs in the story to reinforce an idea, a theme, or the plot.

1️⃣ Privilege Versus Lack

In most short stories, authors contrast people from a wealthy background who appear privileged and those from a poor background who suffer from lack. Typically, this contrast happens when writers emphasize the significance of material things in the story, such as a car and a house, or social status, like a good education and a secure neighborhood.

2️⃣ Nature Versus Humanity

When writing a short story, authors may create a scenario where nature conflicts with humanity, such as when natural events, like floods and earthquakes, cause irreversible damage to communities. Essentially, this contrast emphasizes the danger of human encroachment into natural habitats, including forests through deforestation and oceans through offshore oil drilling.

3️⃣ Protagonist Versus Society

Authors of various texts, particularly novels and short stories, depict a struggle between the protagonist and society. In this conflict, the main character challenges acceptable societal norms, practices, or values, although they are against humanity’s progress. As such, an example is where a protagonist fights against corruption in public service or immorality in society despite everyone else being comfortable with the status quo.

4️⃣ Human Versus Technology

In today’s age of technology, writers produce texts that highlight a conflict between humans and various systems. An example is where the author emphasizes the drawbacks of social media by emphasizing their negative impact on adolescents’ academic performance and sociability. While some authors may hail technology as critical to human progress, they pinpoint its harmful impacts on individuals’ physical, mental, or social well-being.

5️⃣ Hero Versus Fate

Most novels and short stories have a hero who defies nature or the status quo and suffers a painful fate at the end, such as death. This scenario depicts conflict because society expects heroes to survive anything that comes their way, including battles and disease. Therefore, by showing heroes as subject to fate, authors emphasize that humans are limited and no one can defy nature.

6️⃣ Person Versus Self

When writing fiction, authors tend to depict individuals’ struggles with some aspects of their personality, such as greed for material wealth or hunger for power. This conflict helps readers to understand human frailty and its implications on individuals, their families, and society. In most instances, people utilize this writing approach to emphasize a moral lesson to readers.

I. College essay introduction

• Hook
• A short summary of the text
• Thesis statement

II. First body paragraph

• Topic sentence 1: A sentence that emphasizes an idea in the thesis statement that the writer supports or defends in the rest of the paragraph.
• Evidence 1: A quote from the text.
• Analysis 1: Explaining who says the quote and the context of their words.
• Concluding sentence 1 with a transition to the next paragraph.

III. Second body paragraph

• Topic sentence 2: A sentence that emphasizes an idea in the thesis statement that the writer supports or defends in the rest of the paragraph.
• Evidence 2: A quote from the text.
• Analysis 2: Explaining who says the quote and the context of their words.
• Concluding sentence 2 with a transition to the next paragraph.

IV. Third body paragraph

• Topic sentence 3: A sentence that emphasizes an idea in the thesis statement that the writer supports or defends in the rest of the paragraph.
• Evidence 3: A quote from the text.
• Analysis 3: Explaining who says the quote and the context of their words.
• Concluding sentence 3 with a transition to the next paragraph.

Note: Repeat the above pattern for the first, second, and third body paragraphs and add other paragraphs depending on the college essay length of a literary analysis.

V. Conclusion

• Restate the thesis
• Summarize the main points presented in body paragraphs
• Show why the text is important by relating its ideas to society.

Topic: Fear as a Central Theme in William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies”

I. Sample Introduction

Fear is a strong emotion that helps humans to avoid danger. As such, it is an eloquent characteristic of most people’s personalities, meaning it is a foundation for personal weaknesses or strengths. In “Lord of the Flies,” William Golding makes fear a central theme by depicting the main characters, Jack, Ralph, and Piggy, as individuals living in a constant unease state.

II. Example of Body Paragraph 1

Jack is uneasy throughout the story because he believes a beast lives amongst them. For example, he confirms his fear by saying, “We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat—!” While this statement depicts someone ready to face a beast, reading through the text reveals that Jack spoke the words out of fear. In this case, he uses his fear of the beast to control and manipulate his peers. Arguably, he exploits others’ fear to conceal his own.

III. Example of Body Paragraph 2

Although Ralph is also fearful, the cause of his fear is different. While his peers fear the beast, what makes him uneasy is the fear of never being rescued after the boys failed to keep the rescue fire burning. For instance, he exclaims, “I’m chief… There’s no signal showing. There may be a ship out there. Are you all off your rockers?” Basically, he is visibly angry at his peers for failing to realize the importance of fire to their well-being. In essence, Ralph’s attempt to see the fire as a savior is based on his fear of the beast.

IV. Example of Body Paragraph 3

On his part, Piggy is more afraid of Jack than the beast. For example, he says about Jack, “I’m scared of him…but if you stand out of the way he’d hurt the next thing. And that’s me.” His avoidance of Jack is a convenient way of dealing with his uneasiness. To a greater extent, Piggy’s fear of Jack creates another fear: his friends shunning him. Hence, fear is a powerful emotion that shapes Piggy’s experiences in the story.

V. Sample Conclusion

Golding’s novel depicts fear as a powerful influence on the behavior and experiences of the three main characters. Many people can relate the story to their individual lives by seeing how each boy deals with his fear. Ultimately, the novel is relevant to society because it depicts fear as a powerful influence on people’s personalities.