Questions: Literary Analysis: Overview and Approaches

Question 1

Which of the following is an example of literary analysis rather than plot summary, personal reaction, or historical context?

• A. In Chapter 3, Gatsby throws a lavish party and Daisy finally arrives.
• B. The green light at the end of Daisy's dock recurs three times, each appearance marking Gatsby's growing distance from rather than proximity to her.
• C. I found the novel's ending devastating and did not expect it.
• D. Fitzgerald wrote the novel in 1925 during the height of the Jazz Age.

Answer: (B)

Literary analysis explains the relationship between a specific textual choice (the recurring green light) and its significance (the irony of longing that increases with apparent nearness). Option A is summary; option C is personal reaction; option D is historical context. None of these explain how the text works.

Question 2

The best approach to literary analysis is to form a strong personal reaction to the text first, then search for evidence that supports it.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: False

This approach produces confirmation bias rather than analysis. Literary analysis begins with close observation of specific textual details — patterns, word choice, structural choices — and then interprets what those details mean and how they function. Starting with a conclusion and hunting for support leads you to ignore contradicting evidence.

Question 3

What is the difference between what a text 'says' and what it 'does' in literary analysis?

Model answer: What a text 'says' is its content — the events, characters, and stated ideas. What it 'does' is the effect it produces on a reader through specific language and structural choices. Literary analysis focuses on the 'does': how the text creates meaning, not just what meaning it contains.

This distinction is the foundation of the discipline. A plot summary tells you what happened; analysis explains how the author made it happen, and what significance those choices carry. The analytical move is always from observable textual feature to interpreted effect or meaning.