SIFT A Literary Analysis Method SIFT Method Symbol
SIFT A Literary Analysis Method
SIFT Method • Symbol: examine the text and title for symbolism • Images: identify images and sensory details • Figures of Speech: analyze figurative language and other devices • Tone and Theme: discuss how all devices reveal tone and theme
Symbols: Signs of Something More • Our everyday lives are heaped with symbols: These commonly accepted symbols are called public symbols
Symbols in Literature • Writers create new, personal symbols in their work. • In literature, a symbol is an object, a setting, an event, an animal, or even a person that functions in the story the way you’d expect it to, but also stands for something more than itself, usually for something abstract.
Moby Dick • The white whale in Moby Dick is a very real white whale in the novel, and Captain Ahab spends the whole book chasing it. • BUT- certain passages let the readers know that the whale is ASSOCIATED with the mystery of evil in the world. • Symbols work by ASSOCIATION!
Is it a symbol? • Guidelines to follow… o Symbols are often visual. o When some event or object or setting is used as a symbol in the story, you will usually find that the writer has given it a great deal of emphasis. Often it reappears throughout the story. o A symbol in literature is a form of figurative language. Like a metaphor, a symbol is something that is identified with something else that is very different from it, but that shares some quality. o A symbol usually has something to do with a story’s theme.
(SIFT) Images • Identify images and sensory details. • Imagery helps to promote mood and tone. o What do I see, hear, taste, smell or feel? o What effect is the author trying to convey with these images?
• Tone & Mood Tone: The attitude that an AUTHOR takes toward the audience, subject, or the character. • Tone is conveyed through the author’s word and details. angry-challenging-sarcastic-outraged-humorous • Mood: The emotions that the READER feels while reading; the atmosphere of the story. • Mood is conveyed through character emotions, setting and other elements. romantic-gloomy-optimistic-sad-hopeful
(SIFT) Figures of Speech • Analyze figurative language and other devices. • Writers form images by using figures of speech such as simile, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification. • Other devices can include: irony, allusion
(SIFT) Theme and Tone • Theme: central, underlying, and controlling idea of a literary work. • Abstract concept represented by a character, by actions, or by images in the literary work. • A generalization about human conduct. • Ordinarily expressed in a full sentence and it may even require a full paragraph.
Theme= What it is NOT • • Cannot be expressed in a single word. Not the purpose of the work (entertainment or instruction) Man versus nature is not a theme, it is a conflict. Unlike a moral or fable, theme is seldom, if ever, stated. • It is never a cliché.
How Do I Figure Out the Theme? • You must first understand the plot, the characterization and conflict, the imagery, and the author’s tone. • Identify the subject in one word… • Then, explain in one or two sentences what the author says about the subject. • NOTE: Many stories/novels have more than one theme and there is seldom just one “right” answer!
For Example… • Literature: To Kill A Mockingbird • Subject: Racism • Possible Theme: Justice is often withheld from economically deprived racial minorities.
Shift in Tone • Good authors rarely use only one tone! • A speaker’s attitude may be complex… • An author might have one attitude toward the audience and another attitude toward the subject.
D I D How to analyze tone: • L Diction: the connotation of word choice • S Images: Imagery that appeals to the senses • Details: Facts and details that the author has • • included (does not appeal to the senses) Language: Formal? Cliché? Jargon? Figurative Language? Sentence Structure: Long or short sentences? D I D L S
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