How does the author’s choice of words and/or syntax support the meaning of the text? What is the role of the narrator in the text? Is the narrator reliable? How does the narrator influence the reader and the action of reading?

Rhetorical analysis of Toni Morrison’s song of Solomon

Literary analysis seeks to answer the questions about the meaning and purpose of literature by using our skills of literary analysis to examine specific elements of the text in a close and detailed way. For your first paper in this class, you will compose a piece of literary analysis on Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. Before crafting a thesis for your literary analysis essay, you will need to identify the larger themes and issues being raised in the text. You must select a theme.

This essay asks you to be analytical and to use detail: you will consider the entire text and provide specific examples from the work to support your thesis/claim. A good principle is that each body paragraph of your essay (including your support paragraphs and your refutation) should include two specific and cited examples from the primary text.

Some questions you might consider:

How does the author’s choice of words and/or syntax support the meaning of the text? Here, think about the way different characters speak, the vocabulary the author chooses to use, or the structure of the language in the text.
What is the role of the narrator in the text? Is the narrator reliable? How does the narrator influence the reader and the action of reading?
Identify a repeated and dominant symbol or conceit in the text. How does the author use the symbol or conceit to enhance the message or theme of the text?
How does a character’s social role affect their role and/or function within the text?
How do specific conflicts between characters emphasize and inform the theme and/or message of the text?
What is the plot climax? (Note: this is dependent on whose narrative is the dominant narrative. You should discuss how characters’ choices led to the plot climax through the rising action and what the consequences are through the falling action and denouement.)
Discuss moments of anagnorisis and peripeteia in the text and their contribution to theme or message.
Discuss the praise or blame of a character within the text. Evaluate their decisions and choices throughout the narrative. What virtue or vice are they responsible for?
Evaluate the author’s use of schemes and tropes throughout the text. How does it influence the reading and message of the text?