How to Analyze Fictions
How to
ANALYZE FICTION
William Kenney
Assistant Professor of English Manhattan College
Monarch Press
Copyright @ 1966 by Simon & Schuster Printed in United States of America
How to Analyze Fiction
2
Chapter 1 Plot Choice Fiction and Choice: The act of writing. Whether one is writing a complex three-volume novel or a personal letter to a close friend, consists of a series of choices. To see just what this means, let’s consider the simpler form, the personal letter first. Choice in personal letter: In writing a personal letter, we begin making choices at the very beginning—at the salutation as it is usually called. We begin “Dear…..” Dear what? Analyzing our relationship to the intended recipient of the letter permits us to a choose the salutation properly. If the letter is to a personal friend, we choose to address him by his first name, perhaps even by a nickname. A more distant acquaintance calls for more formal salutation, a more intimate one may suggest a more intimate salutation. On the one hand “dear Mr. Brown.” On the other, “Darling.” The choice is ours. Of course, the choice is not entirely free. We are limited to some extent by custom, to some extent by what we understand as the expectations of the person who is to read the letter. Still, we must decide what customs apply to the particular situation in which we find ourselves. And we may have to decide whether there is some good reason to disappoint those expectations. For instance, she may expect me to address her as “darling.” Since I normally do, but I want to know at once that I’m displeased with her: “Dear Mary” Many of the choices we make in these situations are, of course, not conscious choices. Most often, we instinctively choose the right salutation and make similarly correct choices right down to the closing “sincerely”, “Love”. But conscious or not, all of them are significant. All of the contribute to the total meaning we communicate to the reader. Choice in writing a
ANALYZE FICTION
William Kenney
Assistant Professor of English Manhattan College
Monarch Press
Copyright @ 1966 by Simon & Schuster Printed in United States of America
How to Analyze Fiction
2
Chapter 1 Plot Choice Fiction and Choice: The act of writing. Whether one is writing a complex three-volume novel or a personal letter to a close friend, consists of a series of choices. To see just what this means, let’s consider the simpler form, the personal letter first. Choice in personal letter: In writing a personal letter, we begin making choices at the very beginning—at the salutation as it is usually called. We begin “Dear…..” Dear what? Analyzing our relationship to the intended recipient of the letter permits us to a choose the salutation properly. If the letter is to a personal friend, we choose to address him by his first name, perhaps even by a nickname. A more distant acquaintance calls for more formal salutation, a more intimate one may suggest a more intimate salutation. On the one hand “dear Mr. Brown.” On the other, “Darling.” The choice is ours. Of course, the choice is not entirely free. We are limited to some extent by custom, to some extent by what we understand as the expectations of the person who is to read the letter. Still, we must decide what customs apply to the particular situation in which we find ourselves. And we may have to decide whether there is some good reason to disappoint those expectations. For instance, she may expect me to address her as “darling.” Since I normally do, but I want to know at once that I’m displeased with her: “Dear Mary” Many of the choices we make in these situations are, of course, not conscious choices. Most often, we instinctively choose the right salutation and make similarly correct choices right down to the closing “sincerely”, “Love”. But conscious or not, all of them are significant. All of the contribute to the total meaning we communicate to the reader. Choice in writing a