LITERARY STUDIES

·        The Characterization: the characterization is the study of characters in a narrative text. Every character in a novel must do something, at least one small action. They can be humans as well as animals, sometimes objects, or even natural elements. The study of characterization includes the following:

The characters in the novel are rather life-like and realistic (unlike the short story wherein they are supernatural or very heroic). Thus, the term hero is used less often in the novel, to be replaced by the term protagonist. There are types of characters:

·        The protagonist: the central character around whom all the events of the narration revolve. The protagonist is the most important character in the text.

·        The antagonist, the villain. The antagonist is someone who attempts to hurt the protagonist. It is not always a human being, sometimes it can be a natural element or an animal.

·        Main (Major):  the major characters are the most important ones.

·        Minor (secondary) the secondary characters have a very small contribution in the novel and usually do not change the course of actions.

The analysis of characters extends to their personality traits and roles in the narration, which split into Round and Flat characters:

The round character is a character that is life-like and that shows complexity and depth. He/she is a character that has multidimensionality. He/She grows through the narrative and develops. Usually this character goes through a journey of maturity through the narration so that by the end of the novel it is possible to trace his/her alterity. 

The flat character is rather simple and static. He/she does not change through the narration but fulfills a representative job. He/she is a mouthpiece of social phenomena or class, a symbol, or a representative of an idea, philosophy, or a religious thought. Usually the flat character is a secondary character. 

·        The point of view: it is defined by Henry James in The Wings of the Dove as “the aspects from which the events of the story are regarded or narrated” (qtd. in Rawlings 56). It is the perspective from which the events are narrated. The shift in voice of the speaker/ narrator changes the representation of events and the impact on the reader. The point of view concerns the narrator’s voice only, it does not concerns the characters nor the author, unless if these are doing the narration by themselves.

The point of view can be first person or third person.

·        The First person point of view is used by a narrator that is directly concerned by the events which are narrated. In such case the speaker uses the first person pronoun “I” or “We”. In this case, the reader has direct access to the affects and feelings of the character / speaker. The first person point of view can be central or peripheral. It is central  if the narrator / speaker is the protagonist of the novel / story, and is peripheral if the speaker is using the first person pronoun and is directly concerned with the events, but is not the protagonist.

·        The third Person point of view: The third person point of view is used by a narrator who only reports events that happened in front of him/her but has not taken part in them directly. This narrator can be reporting dialogues or other characters’ lines, and adds his / her own comment in the narration. This perspective gives less access to the psychology of the characters and gives the narrator complete control of the reader’s reactions to the text. In this perspective, the narrator uses the third person pronouns “He” / “She” / “It” / “They”.

There are two types of third person point of view: Omniscient  which concerns a narrator who knows everything about every character. This kind of narrator knows the past and the future and even the secrets of the characters. The second type if the limited narrator, this narrator knows only the things he/she sees and would often switch the narration to the voice of another character in the novel/ story. This is called the “unreliable narrator” (Kuiper 10).

·        Tone: the feeling and voice of the author. It can be felt from the author's choice of words and decisions about the characters. To understand the tone, the reader must ask himself the question: if I was the author, how do I feel (about the characters and the narrative), example: the author seems to feel sympathy and pity towards the protagonist as he uses the term "poor" to refer to him. He also saves him from the blame of his wife as he makes her die before Rip's return to the village. 

·        Atmosphere: the general mood of the text that surrounds the characters. To understand the atmosphere, the reader must ask himself the question: if I was the protagonist/character, how do I feel (about the characters and the narrative) ? Example: the general mood in the text extracted from the novel Hard Times is darkness and violence as the learners are subjected to the authoritative decisions of Mr Gradgrind's philosophy, which is destructive of their innocence. 

·        The Literary Devices: also known as figures of speech, rhetorical devices, or aesthetic devices, they are used to give the text the aspect of literariness. The figures of speech are alternatives used in language to give it a certain style and impact that is made intentionally by the author. The different references used in a text reflect the author's intentions and ideologies. They are metaphors, references, and stylistic devices, each with its own function. 

·      Simile: it is a direct comparison that includes the tool of comparison "as" or "like", example: He was violent as thunder.

·      Metaphor: a comparison that is not indicated (no tool of comparison), example: He is a fierce lion. 

·      Personification: a comparison wherein a human attribute is given to an animal or object. It is the act of personifying. Example: The anger of the waves.

·      Hyperbole: an exaggeration in speech, example: I walked a million miles to reach home. 

·      Apostrophe: to address someone who is not in front of the speaker, example: although you are gone, my lad, I will always be your loyal friend.

·      Pun: two meanings in one expression, the first is literal and the second is metaphorical, example:  the town was cold and dark. The first meaning is that the town was literally cold and dark , but it also signifies sadness and hopelessness.

·      Irony: to say something opposite to the intended meaning, irony includes laughter and satire, the goal of which is criticism. Example: It is a truth universally acknowledged that a man with a large fortune must be in want of a wife. 

·      Litote: an understatement wherein something positive is expressed using the negative. The litote is considered an ironic statement, example: I've met her after the funeral and she was not a little sad. 

·      Reference (allusion): to refer to a historical event or famous place to emphasize a quality that belongs to it. Example: this freezer's brand is Alaska, it has to be cold!

·      Analogy: an opposition of two words, example: she was dressed in black and white

·      Paradox: an opposition of two situations, example: yesterday I was ill and tired, today I am healthy and dynamic. 

·      Structure: the length, special punctuation and symbols in the text and their function in shaping the theme. Example: chapter 5 "The Keynote" in Hard Times is written in a rhythmical way to refer to the boring routine of the industrial city Coketown, the structure of its paragraphs reflects the title of the chapter: the Keynote!

1.   The conclusion: the conclusion of the essay must state conclusions and personal interpretations of thebtext in general and the themes identified by the learner. The learner must not use any personal pronouns in drafting the conclusion and must not address the reader. 

Things to avoid in an essay:

1. Never use personal pronouns: I, me, my, you, your, our, etc. 

2. Respect the capitalization and use capital letters where necessary only, especially for titles of books, chapters, stories, poems, and names. 

3. Refer to an author using their full name the first time, then their last name only during the analysis. 

4. Use the conjunction "and" only once in a sentence, if it occurs more than once that means you need to use a full stop or rewrite the sentence. Use clauses and connectors. 

5. Use only one tense in a sentence and a paragraph. Do not switch back and forth in tenses. Use the present simple for narration and analysis. 

6. Use the complete title of a novel

7. Do not use contracted forms like: “don't”, “19^th C”, you should rather use the complete and correct forms: do not, nineteenth century. 

8. Discuss only one idea in a paragraph and only one element in a sentence. 

9. Use transitions between paragraphs and to shift from one idea to another. 

10. Avoid long sentences, a sentence must not exceed 3 lines. 

11. A paragraph should not be shorter than 4 lines.