Analysis Fun with Thurber:

Ransdells Rough Analysis Types for English 101 & 107

For Unit 1 of English 101/107, have your students write one of the following kinds of
analysis. (For the sake of simple omparisons, !"ve #ased all the e$amples on the %hur#er
fa#le reprinted #elow.& 'ou might want to start the semester with a %e$tual (nalysis sine
most students have done that kind of writing in high shool #ut need pratie with
ollege)level lose reading. For Unit * you might want to repeat the assignment+or feel
free to hoose one of the other forms. ,ave the -onte$tual (nalysis for Unit ..
/hile !"ve la#eled the analysis types, they atually om#ine and ollapse. 0ive your
students parameters of some kind, #ut what you need is for students to write essays with
organi1ed strutures and developed analysis #ased in part on a te$t they read (or
e$periened& for your lass.
For Units 1 and *2
%e$tual (nalysis (-lose 3eading&
/hat might the author #e trying to suggest through this te$t4
/hat ould #e the author"s message or advie4
In The Unicorn in the Garden, Thurber suggests that men are
so dominated by women that they must resort to cruel tricks to fnd
peace.
5ote2 ,tudents often think there is only one right way to 6read7 te$ts. (ssure them
that any te$t might have any num#er of meanings8 all they have to do is offer a
reasona#le interpretation.
3hetorial (nalysis
/hat strategies does the author use to deliver a partiular message4
By eaggerating the wi!e"s dialogue in The Unicorn in the
Garden, Thurber suggests that women"s attitudes need to change
be!ore women will be able to communicate with men e#ecti$ely.
9ow does the author use the onept of audiene to make the te$t more effetive4
%nowing that his audience is other middle&class males, Thurber
preaches to the choir when he uses The Unicorn in the Garden to
suggest that women make men"s li$es miserable.
:iterary (nalysis
/hat literary or poeti elements does the author use to produe the te$t4
/hat is the overall effet4
Through success!ul use o! imagery, Thurber suggests that the
conni$ing husband o! The Unicorn in the Garden acts in 'ustifable
sel!&de!ense when he has his wi!e sent to the booby&hatch.
-ultural (nalysis
9ow does the te$t illustrate an aspet of the ulture that produed it4
!n what ways is the te$t a produt of its times4
9ow do modern readers reat to it and why4
Thurber"s The Unicorn in the Garden shows how problems
caused by gender roles were such an epected part o! (merican li!e in
the )*+,s that humor became an important coping strategy.
3eader)3esponse (nalysis
9ow might the reader make meaning of the te$t #y omparing it to personal
e$periene4
9ow might the reader use the te$t to e$pliate a personal philosophy4
(lthough I didn"t go to the etent o! sending my e&boy!riend to
the bobby&hatch, I agree with Thurber"s husband in The Unicorn in
the Garden- since people with an eaggerated sense o! their own
authority will always cause harm to themsel$es as well as to others,
they need to be stopped at all costs.
-omparative (nalysis
9ow does the author"s te$t ompare to a modern te$t on a similar theme4
9ow do the haraters resem#le those in reent films or in other e$amples of pop
ulture4
In .ames Thurber"s )*+, The Unicorn in the Garden, the author
suggests that women and men are so !ar !rom understanding one
another that there is no way they can get along/ the modern T0 show
1e in the 2ity shows that as much as times ha$e changed, there are
more ways in which they ha$e remained the same. The most di3cult
aspects o! understanding the opposite se include4..
For Unit .2
-onte$tual (nalysis (%e$t)in)-onte$t&
For the researh unit (te$t)in)onte$t unit&, students look at how te$ts 6talk7 to one
another and affet one another. %o omplete their essays, the students should use a
om#ination of at least five te$ts. 'ou might ask them to use the materials you"ve read in
lass, look for similar materials, or hunt for more formal kinds of researh. ;rowse
through ereserves to find material other instrutors have found useful
(eres.li#rary.ari1ona.edu, password 6gat.7&. %he students" essays should demonstrate an
understanding of how to use summary, paraphrases, and <uotations, and should onform
to a standard itation system (=:( or (>(&.
( few #asi approahes2
a& =ultiple te$ts, similar theme
9ow is the theme of ? e$plored in various te$ts4
5hether it"s Tobias 5ol#, Bobbie (nn 6ason, or .ames Thurber,
the authors agree- communication between the sees is so di3cult
that not e$en li!e partners come close to understanding one another.
#& =ultiple te$ts, ontrasting themes
9ow do the author"s onerns relate to those of ' and @4
5hen we"re children, we ha$e con7icts with parents and siblings,
when we"re older we ha$e con7icts with our partners, and somewhere
along the line, we ha$e con7icts with society. (s we see through the
tets by (my Tan, .ames Thurber, and 8lannery 9"2onnor, to be
success!ul in li!e means to de$elop strategies to deal success!ully with
multiple kinds o! con7ict e$en i! it means gi$ing up some o! our own
principles.
& ,ets of te$ts #y the same author
/hat is one of the author"s overall messages4
Through his cartoons, essays, and !ables, .ames Thurber shows
that people"s epectations are so predictable that we can use that
in!ormation against them, and in the name o! sel!&de!ense, we should.
d& Ane primary te$t plus researh that helps e$plain a #iographial, psyhologial, soial,
eonomi, histori, or ultural angle.
/hat are some #iographial aspets of the author"s life that may have influened
his or her world)view4
5hile .ames Thurber"s The Unicorn in the Garden suggests a
cynical $ersion o! marriage, a care!ul analysis o! Thurber"s parents"
marriage as well as his own help eplain his outlook.
e& ( film plus related te$ts
9ow do the themes in Film ? relate to themes in other te$ts that we"ve read4
:enial is a !act o! human nature. (s we see through The ;ueen,
The Unicorn in the Garden, and Two %inds, it"s much easier to shi!t
the blame to someone else than to eamine the problems we"$e
created !or oursel$es.
%hur#er, Bames. 6%he Uniorn in the 0arden7
Ane upon a sunny morning a man who sat in a #reakfast nook looked up from his
sram#led eggs to see a white uniorn with a golden horn <uietly ropping the roses in
the garden. %he man went up to the #edroom where his wife was still asleep and woke
her. 6%hereCs a uniorn in the garden,7 he said. 6Eating roses.7 ,he opened one unfriendly
eye and looked at him. 6%he uniorn is a mythial #east,7 she said, and turned her #ak
on him. %he man walked slowly downstairs and out into the garden. %he uniorn was still
there8 he was now #rowsing among the tulips. 69ere, uniorn,7 said the man and pulled
up a lily and gave it to him. %he uniorn ate it gravely. /ith a high heart, #eause there
was a uniorn in his garden, the man went upstairs and roused his wife a gain. 6%he
uniorn,7 he said, 6ate a lily.7 9is wife sat up in #ed and looked at him, oldly. 6'ou are a
#oo#y,7 she said, 6and ! am going to have you put in a #oo#y)hath.7 %he man, who
never liked the words 6#oo#y7 and 6#oo#y)hath,7 and who liked them even less on a
shining morning when there was a uniorn in the garden, thought for a moment. 6/eCll
see a#out that,7 he said. 9e walked over to the door. 69e has a golden horn in the middle
of his forehead,7 he told her. %hen he went #ak to the garden to wath the uniorn8 #ut
the uniorn had gone away. %he man sat among the roses and went to sleep.
(nd as soon as the hus#and had gone out of the house, the wife got up and dressed as fast
as she ould. ,he was very e$ited and there was a gloat in her eye. ,he telephoned the
polie and she telephoned the psyhiatrist8 she told them to hurry to her house and #ring a
straitDaket. /hen the polie and the psyhiatrist arrived they sat down in hairs and
looked at her, with great interest. 6=y hus#and,7 she said, 6saw a uniorn this morning.7
%he polie looked at the psyhiatrist and the psyhiatrist looked at the polie. 69e told
me it ate a lily,7 she said. %he psyhiatrist looked at the polie and the polie looked at
the psyhiatrist. 69e told me it had a golden horn in the middle of its forehead,7 she said.
(t a solemn signal from the psyhiatrist, the polie leaped from their hairs and sei1ed
the wife. %hey had a hard time su#duing her, for she put up a terrifi struggle, #ut they
finally su#dued her. Bust as they got her into the straitDaket, the hus#and ame #ak into
the house.
6Eid you tell your wife you saw a uniorn47 asked the polie. 6Af ourse not,7 said the
hus#and. 6%he uniorn is a mythial #east.7 6%hatCs all ! wanted to know,7 said the
psyhiatrist. 6%ake her away. !Cm sorry, sir, #ut your wife is as ra1y as a Day #ird.7 ,o
they took her away, ursing and sreaming, and shut her up in an institution. %he hus#and
lived happily ever after.
=oral2 EonCt ount your #oo#ies until they are hathed. Fa#les for Aur %imes (1FG0&
3ansdell 10/07