How to Write a Literary analysis using the Book thief as an example

Every student has to, at one point or another, write a literary analysis. This is because the learning process basically involves reading to understand texts, and also analyzing them.

What is a literary analysis?

Now that we have already established that as a student you cannot escape writing a literary analysis essay, it is important to understand, exactly what is a literary analysis?

Literary analysis is a critical examination of a text or certain elements of a text such as the plot, themes, or character. Analysis simply means, to break down a text into parts and examine how they work, either together or as individuals. Professors give out these kinds of assignments to help students answer questions such as,

why did the author write this book?

What idea is this book trying to bring out?

What is the importance of the style used or a certain character included?

How to write a literary analysis?

Read the assigned piece of writing

Reading the literature piece helps ensure that you understand the idea being presented by the author as well as other elements such as characters, the plot, the style used among others. While reading the piece of writing, ask yourself:

What stands out in this text?

Why did the author choose to use these literary devices?

Are the characters developing as we progress?

Get the facts

Your conclusion needs to be quite persuasive. Therefore, it is very important to research and get the facts and the evidence needed. Get the information of the author while at it. This helps to better understand the ideas presented in the text.

Make an outline

Making an outline helps you to put your ideas in order. It is important to understand where to start when writing a literary analysis and what should follow what.

Write your thesis statement

A great thesis helps explain what you seek to achieve and why it is important. A good thesis should always connect your argument to the ideas presented by the author.

Start writing

Once all the above steps are covered, you can now begin writing your essay. Separate your work into the introduction, body part, and the conclusion.

When writing the body part, every statement should be put in its own paragraph. Do not have two statements in one paragraph as it might bring confusion. After you are done writing, put it aside for a while then get back to it to check the presence of any errors.

Types of literary analysis

There are different types of analysis. However, they really aren’t that different. The type of analysis that you choose to use depends on the instructions given. What are you supposed to achieve?

Here are some of the types of literary analysis:

Close reading

This involves reading a literary piece with the intention of analyzing even the minor details. For example, a close reading may involve analyzing specific words used by a character as well as some of the gestures and imagery used. While doing a close reading, it is important to understand why the author chose to use certain devices on their piece of writing.

Theoretical

This is an analysis of a certain theory. You can also be asked to compare and contrast multiple theories. A professor will often ask you to read a piece of writing and analyze the arguments made by the author using multiple theories.

Comparative

As the name suggests, it involves a comparison of the elements used in a piece of writing. A student may be asked to compare a certain text with another text previously worked on. It may also be a comparison between two pieces of writing written by the same author. The aim of a comparative literary analysis is to bring connection between different elements and come up with a singular connection.

Historical

This type of literary analysis focusses on the context of a certain piece of writing, or the historical framework. This kind of analysis requires more research in order to come up with a strong thesis. A strong thesis helps explain how the context or the historical framework of a literature piece relates to the actual writing.

Applied

As compared to all other types of analysis, this is by far the less formal type. When writing an applied type of literary analysis, you are required to take up a piece of writing and analyze how it relates to your own personal experiences.

Elements of literary analysis

There are several elements of literary analysis namely:

Setting: this is the location of the narrative in terms of time and space. Every piece of writing has a setting, that is, its own virtual reality. You get to understand the setting of a piece of literature by the scene, time, background music, culture among others.

Imagery: this includes figures of speech including similes and metaphors

Characters: people in a text. The main character is regarded as a protagonist, while his main opposing force is regarded as an antagonist.

Conflict: this is the tension in the literature piece. Mostly, protagonists want to achieve something, for example, bring the piece in a warring community while the antagonists oppose their efforts.

Tone: This is simply the mood, or how the text feels.

Point of view: the text’s perspective.

Structure: how the work is assembled in a text.

Plot: it includes all actions and events taking place in a text.

Themes: main ideas in a text.

Narrator: this is the person who tells the story in a literature piece. In plays, the narrator mostly makes commentary and gives opinions as the play progresses.

Conclusion

As previously stated, a literary analysis essay involves examining a text or part of it. Your professor may ask you to analyze either a novel, a poem, or even a short story. The professor may also request you to analyze a particular theme, the character of a symbol in a text. A good literary analysis example can be, “compare and contrast the characters of Goneril and Regan in King Lear.”

Learning how to read the King Lear text, and understanding the elements of the text and the ideas presented by Shakespeare makes it easier to write a literary analysis essay towards the same.

Example of a Literary Analysis on The Book Thief

“The book Thief” is an exciting book that centers on the life of a teen by the name Liesel Meminger who was living in Germany during World War 11. Liesel went to live with her foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann after the death of her brother. The main character feels the distraught and the horror of the Nazi Regime as she tries to grow up. As Nazism escalates, Liesel foster parents hide a Jewish by the name Max risking the safety of the family. The parents taught Liesel how to read. Liesel began to steal books from the Nazi and create her stories and share to the world.

A look at the character Max shows that as a soldier he is not only a fighter but also a lover. Max falls in a childlike innocent romance with, Liesel, the lead character in the book. However, the romance is short-lived by the occurrence of war. Max is also exhibited as “the struggler” though only twenty-two years of age when he enters the story. His age appears a bit surprising, but the later reader gets to know that at the age of Rudy and Liesel, he was “the first fighter of the Jewish.” He endured starvation and hiding for two years which required much fight and endurance. However, he becomes burdened with conflicting emotions; guilt being the most intense (Ardagh par. 2).

Symbolism also plays a major part throughout the book. For instance, Liesel’s character becomes majorly based on the books which are symbolic to the resistance against the Nazi regime. This is because she steals the books instead of being interested in what they are and reading them. This symbolizes the rebellion by the main character of the regime which they did not like and had no interest in it. Adolph Hitler, The Swastika, and The Nazi Flag are also a symbol of fear that crippled the society. (Ardagh pg.12). Moreover, Huberman plays accordions which are often associated with sharp, agony-inducing screams. However, in the book, they represent a sign of comfort and hope because characters find comfort in the accordions as Hubermann plays it to them.

Minor characters are less talked of and help the principal characters in advancing the purpose of the book. These minor characters include Paula Meininger who plays the role of Liesel’s mother and puts her up for adoption at a young age. Frau Diller is also a minor character who is exhibited as a shopkeeper who is pro-Nazi and would never sell to a person who is against Hitler by praise (Green par. 4).

The book also contains several themes within it. The themes include; love, war, identity and mortality among others. The characters in the book learn to love despite being faced with great hatred. Romantic childlike love also exists but is ended shortly by the tragedy. The setting of the novel is during the Nazi era in Germany, where simple acts as giving a smile were perceived to be a sign of massive kindness. Such actions could lead to a penalty. War forms the lives of characters and influences their choices. Identity is a struggle in the book as almost all characters make guiltiness a large part of their personalities. The non-Jewish characters in the novel reject getting recognized as Nazis (Green). They are forced to forge new identities through love, friendship, and struggle against injustice.

Annotated Bibliography

Ardagh, Philip. “Review: The Book Thief By Markus Zusak.” the Guardian. N.p., 2010. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

The review done by Ardagh brings out clearly the events in The Book Thief. He talks of Hans Hubermann who hides a Jew, Max Vandenburg since his father once saved his life in the First World War when they were soldiers of Germany. Hubermann and the wife Rosa adopted a teenager named Liesel. She, Liesel, is the leading character of the book. The developing interactions amongst Liesel and Hubermann together with that of Max and Liesel become dominant to the plot.

Green, John. “‘The Book Thief,’ By Markus Zusak – The New York Times Book Review.” Nytimes.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

In this review by Green, the major characters include Liesel, Max, Hubermann and Rosa the wife. The plot mainly surrounds them. Liesel acquires the command of words to impact people (Green). They are influenced by her character to act towards both good and evil. Liesel endures the reign of Hitler hence Death labels her as a “lasting survivor,” as those she loves die due to the Holocaust and World War II. Death is also a character who narrates the tale of the novel with duties such as carrying away the souls of the dead. The symbol of death as a character is to show the loss of lives among the characters in the novel. During the Holocaust and World War II several souls are carried away by death.

Works Cited

Ardagh, Philip. “Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak”. The Guardian, 2017, www.theguardian.com /books /2007/jan/06/ featuresreviews. guardianreview26.

Green, John. “‘The Book Thief,’ By Markus Zusak – The New York Times Book Review”. Nytimes.Com, 2017, www.nytimes.com/ 2006/05/14/ books/review/ 14greenj.html