The Literature Code

There’s something calm and relaxing about a clear blue day. Perhaps it’s the sunlight gently pouring down. Perhaps it’s the soft blue sky, or the wispy movements of the clouds. Perhaps it’s just feeling that wind at your back and enjoying the mirror-like blue of the water. Then again, maybe I make the day out to be more romantic than it really is, and there’s no real meaning at all.

Life is the search for meaning. As humans, we want to make sense of the world around us, and transform it into something we can understand. This desire inspired the earliest stories and myths, which were told to explain the unknowable.

Although our understanding of the world has changed, literature remains the same. There’s still that same search for meaning in our lives. However, with literature, we are searching for meaning within a book, poem, or short story. This is called literary analysis.

Many people confuse literary analysis with retelling the story. However, there’s no real reason for anyone to summarize a piece of literature. We know what happened in the story. Literary analysts are not concerned with the words themselves, but with the meaning behind them.

“When is a rose not a rose?” When it’s used to mean something else.

When looking at a story or a poem, the first thing to ask is what the author’s main idea is. When reading an essay, we first look for the author’s thesis statement. It’s no different with literature. The story will often have a moral behind it, or some kind of hidden message from the author. This is the story’s theme.

Once you identify the theme, consider how the author is using language to show meaning. Ask questions about the text. Do you see an object being used constantly within the story? That object could be a symbol for a larger idea within the story. Do any characters act in a way that proves the author’s point? This could be used to show theme. Do you see similarities between the characters and the author’s life? The author may be writing the story from experience.
When reading a story or a poem, always interrogate what you’ve read. Once you’ve answered those questions, ask what it all means. Look for a pattern that makes sense. From there, you must prove your ideas with evidence from the text or any useful outside sources.

Don’t worry if your idea sounds strange or unusual. There’s always room for more than one “correct answer” in literary analysis. The important thing is that you’re reading beyond the text and making connections about what you’ve read.

Although writing a literary analysis can be difficult at first, it gradually becomes easier with time and practice. Just keep reading, keep questioning, and keep writing until the answer comes to you.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!