FORMALIST ANALYSIS ESSAY Form Structure in A Long

FORMALIST ANALYSIS ESSAY Form & Structure in A Long Way Gone

Your Goals ■ Demonstrate understanding of formalist literary criticism. ■ Demonstrate close reading of Ishmael Beah’s memoir, A Long Way Gone. ■ Remain formal and objective in your tone: – Critique without insult. – Avoid author flattery.

Your task ■ Write a 750 -900 word essay ■ Examine one facet of formalism and focus on: – How the author uses the form/structure/device – What impact it has on the text ■ Example looking at question 10: From what point of view is the content of the text being told? – Beah uses first person narration… ■ ■ to invite his audience into the setting of the story, and to allow the audience to experience the events alongside him.

A SAMPLE INTRODUCTION Refer to the hand-out

Breaking down the example From the example: What is being done: ■ “Few of those who have the privilege of owning books…” ■ Starts with a brief summary: one synopsis of the story. ■ “For this reason, he immerses his audience into his home country in all its contrast…” ■ Leads into thesis by referring to the narration style as a “campfire tale”. ■ “Through the use of first person perspective, Ishmael Beah allows his audience to experience…” ■ “This point of view is only made more poignant by his tendency to remove himself from the situation…” ■ Uses open thesis: one sentence claim that details the facet of formalism and the overall intent. ■ One sentence methodology that shows how the claim will be “proven”.

From here, it’s familiar territory. ■ Construct multiple body paragraphs that support your thesis. ■ Use evidence from the text in each body paragraph. – Transition and lead in to your quotes using context. – Be sure to cite your quotes according to MLA guidelines. ■ Spend quality time in the analysis portion of each body paragraph: – What is the significance of the evidence you have provided in terms of its overall impact on the text? – What is the author’s intent in including this, and presenting it in this manner? – How does the evidence support your thesis? ■ End with a concluding paragraph that not only revisits your thesis, but also how and why this is significant.

Reminders: Formal Language ■ No first or second person—let the text and author speak for themselves. ■ Write out single and two-digit numbers. ■ Refer to the author once by his full name, then by his last name. You are not on a first-name basis with Ishmael Beah. ■ No rhetorical questions—do not talk to your audience. ■ Avoid unnecessary intensifiers (very, really, truly); pick strong verbs, clear nouns, and descriptive adjectives instead. ■ Write about literature in present tense.

FLIP OVER THE HANDOUT Let the rubric be your guide!

Goals for today: 1. Choose a facet of formalist analysis (juxtaposition, parallelism, symbolism, mood, allusion, etc. ). 2. Compile evidence associated with that facet (look back on double-entry journals for good information and evidence). 3. Arrive at a working thesis based on the evidence. 4. Begin organizing the evidence and analysis of your body paragraphs. Oftentimes, writers will save their strongest point for their final body paragraph.