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Readings 101 (Close Reading)
Readings 101 (Close Reading)
Readings 101 (Close Reading)
It/
I lrr. l,Ot..rti0lr
( lost' lt',ttlitlll
setup
or story'
You may reasonably assume that in the early portions of a poem'.play'
Ionger work. This type of essay is specific because it focuses on the selectcd poem or passage. It is also general because you do not consider only a single topic such as the nature of a cl'raracter or the meaninS; of a particular
idea, but ratller deal with all the elements you think are important. If the
passage describes a person, for example, you might naturally want to discuss character. You might also want to stress the actions described in the
passage, or noteworthy ideas or expressions of emotic'rn, or descriptions of
the location of arr action, if you decide that tl'rese matters are irnportant. In
other words, the content of a close-reading essay is variable. Your passage
governs what you write.
and
the author is setting things in motion, introducing you to the characters
dealt
be
to
going
are
that
problems
and
situations
the
ideas, and explaining
with in the work. Thus, you should try to discover how such early ideas, characterizations, insights, and and descriptions are related to later developments'
Always assume tiat everything there is connected to everything else in the
work, and then find and explain that connection'
Expect a Midltoint Passage to lnclude
Anticipations of the Work's Conclusion
In a passage at the work's midpoint, the story or idea usually takes a partic.rluri.rrr'r-l"ither expected or unexpected' If the change is unexpectet'Iot
then
should explain how ihe passage focuses the various themes or ideas and
the
that
be
It
may
climax.
or
propet, them toward the forth"coming conclusion
meaning
different
a
*ort f"ut.r.es surprises, and the passalle thus acquires
while
on second reading. It maybe that the tp"ik"t has one set of assumptions
increasing
speaker's
the
the readers have others, and that the passage marks
which the pasself-awareness. In short, your task is to determine the extent to
(b)
the way for
prepares
sage (a) builds on what has happened previously and
a change
the outcome.
Expect Things to Come Togethet in a Passage
&t or Near the Conclusion
ending
Apassageatornearthework'sendisdesignedtosolveproblemsorbea
You will
focat p,l"ir-rt or climax for all the curnulative situations and ideas.
and
thus need to show how the Passage brings together all details, ideas,
in
described
themes. In a narrative work,ihatis happening? Is any actictn
everyHas
the passage a major action or a step leading ttl the rnajtlr actitln?
thing in th" purrug" been prepat"tl fot earlier, or are there any surprises?
in
tr, u po"*, #not iJnuppeningto the topics and ideas introduced earlier
the poem?
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W'iti'll .'t
,l
.r
l,'t.'r
9f
mulation of the main idea?
introduction,
l"yourwl-rich your use your centrat idea to express a len_
eral
vrew ot the poem,
^..rr!,tIc;!.r!r,ri:
essay wilr bear out. A close reading of
A'rold's "Dover Beach,,,, for example,
-,gnt bring out th";;;k".,s under_
standing that philosophical and ,"iigio.rr"."rtainty
have been lost and that
thcrefore people can find certainty onry
within trusti'g inairriauat reration_
slrips. In the followinq demonstrati.," essoy
<lescribing fi".J;;;;;;ne Man He
Killc.cl," the
central idea is that war is senseless.
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rr'l
lirrtl
l'(lr,nl rr \'()ur (r\\'n \\'ol(1.,, rvrllr rvlr,tlt'r't't lrrit'l tttttrrtlttt'tory l'rltr.tst'sytltr
n(,( (,:,:,.r \/,,rs rrr llrt',,t't orlrl lt,rr',rlt,tltlt ol tltt'lolltlwirrg dcllronstrative essay.
Nt'rl, t'rpl,rirr lltr' pot'ttt's tlt'vcltlpt]rcut clr growth in relation to your cenlr,rl itlt',r.( lroost' .t/ttnt rtrtttt orclcrctf discussion,dependingonyourtopics.Ycru
. lrorrltl, lrowt've r, kecp stressini your central idea with each new topic. Tl'rus,
vorr rnishI wish to follow your descriptionby discussing the poem's meaning,
()t ('\/('lt lry presentir-rp; two or more possible interpretaticlns. You migl-rt also
w,ish [o rcfcr to significant techniclues. For example, in Dudley I{andall's "Ball.rcl of [Jirmingham," a noteworthy technique is tl-re unintroduced quotations
(i.r'., cluotartions appearing without any "she said" or "he said" phrases) as the
lraf lircl writcr's means of dramatizing the dialogue between mother and "baby."
Yotr might also introduce unique topics, such as the understatements in
stanza two of "Ballad of Birmingham" that instruments of violence "Aren't
good for a little child." such a reference to the mother's language underscores
adult attempts to shield children from the poter-rtial violence of the outside
world, and it therefore makes the event described in the poem's conclusion especially ironic. In short, discuss those aspects of meaning and technique that
bear upon your central idea.
ConclusiLtn In your conclusion, you nlay rept'at your lniljor idea to reiniorce your essay's thematic structure. Becattse your essay reflelcts a general
but not an exhaustive reading, there will be parts of thc pttem that yotr will not
have covered. You might therefore mention what might be gainecl from a more
complete discussion of varic'rus parts of the poem (dtt not, htlwever, begin an
extensive discussion in your conclusion). The last stanza of Hardy's "The Man
He Killed," for example, contains the words "quaint and curic)tls" in reference to war. These words are unusual, particularly because the spcaker might
have chosen hntct'ul, scnse/ess, destructiue, or other similarly descriptive words.
why did Hardy have his speaker make such a choice? with brief attention tcr
such a problern, you may conclude your essay'
Demonstrative Essay
A Close Reading of Thomas Hardy's "The Man He Killed"'
t1l
"Ccntral idca.
rThesis sentencc.
hll
I !ttrIlr't
[5]
Because the speaker (and also. very rikery. the dead man) is sho*n us a
person embodying the virtues of friendliness and helpfulness. Hardy,s
poem represents a strong disapproval of war. clearly, political justifications
for violence as a political policy are irrelevant to the characters and
concerns of the men who fight. They, like the speaker, would prefer to follow
their own needs rather than remote and vague idears. The fairure of
complex but irrelevant political explanations is brought out most clearly in
the third stanza, in which the speaker tries to give a reason for shooting the
other man. Hardy's use of punctuation-the dashes-stresses the fact that
the speaker has no commitment to the cause he served when killing. Thus
the speaker stops at the word "because-" and gropes for a reasonlline 9).
Not being articulate, he can say only "Because he was my foe. / Just so: my
foe of course he was; / That's clear enough,, (lines 10_12). These short
bursts of words indicate that he cannot explain things to himself or to
anyone else except in the most obvious and trite terms, and in apparent
ombarrassment he inserts "of course" as a way of emphasizing hostility
oven though he felt none toward the man he killed.
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policy but
vit:wolthecentralandglaringbrutalityofwar-killing'Hardy,sspeakeris
is an
rrot able to express deep feelings; rather he is confused because he
averagesortWhowantsonlytoliveandletliveandtoen|oyadrinkinabar
is
with friends. But this very commonness stresses the point that everyone
victimizedbywar-boththosewhodieandthosewhokill.Thepoemisa
powerful argument for peace and reconciliation
for
and a.swering a number of ipecific questions, you can gathermaterials
shapingyorr.*ruy.onceyoucreateanswers,writethemintoaformthatyou
Tty to reach specific and focused conclusions'
car.adipt in your
"ttny.
I lt'tl'l' t
rr I
Lss;'ry
speaker? who is beirg, acrclrcssecl? wlrtrt does the speaker want? what ideas
are c.ntai^eci i'trre work?
wl'rat is the thematic co.tent of trre passage? How representative
is it of the
work as a whole? How d.es the passageierate to earrier and
later parts of
tr-re
the entire text? (To deal with this cluestion, you may assume
reader is familiar with the er-rtire work.)
tll
thit your
what noticeable
l2l
t3l
Conclusion Tb conclude,
PASSAGE FoR
Easy RuTuRENCE
B,dy Develop the body of the essay according to what you fincl ir-r the passage. For a passage of character description, onuly".
whaiis discloseci about
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r.r t i vc
l()]
NutrnEn rHE
)crrronst
+Thesis sentence.
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religious words lilll wrtllir) tllc vocabulary of or(lrrilry (lr:,(;u', ,rln .,rlroul :,lr
and punishmenl. hypocrisy, exhibition, devilislt nnlicc, lotrrtr:rtlr'rl,,tul
damnation.ln the passage, therefore, the diction accuratcly oonvoy:;
Jackie's vision of the oppressive religious forces which he dislikes and
fears, and which he also exaggerates. Readers follow these words easily
and with amusement.
[4]
lt is from Jackie's remarks that the comedy of the passage develops. Much
of the humor rests on the inconsistency between Nora's sisterly badgering
and her saintly behavior at the confessional. Since Jackie is careful here to
stress her "devilish malice" against him (sentence 4), readers might smile
at the description of her worshipful pose. But readers surely know that Nora
is not unusual; she has been behaving like any typical older sister or
brother. So there is also a comic contrast between her normal actions and
Jackie's negative opinions. The humor is thus directed more toward the
narrator than the sister.
tsl
t6l
Readers are more likely to smile at Jackie's remarks, however, than to oblect
to his adult character. The thrust of the paragraph from "First Confession" is
therefore on the good-natured comedy of the situation. For this reason the
paragraph is a successful turning point between Jackie's disturbing
experiences with his sister, grandmother, and father, on the one hand, and
the joyful confession with the kind and genial priest on the other. The child
goes into the confession with the fear of damnation in his thoughts, but after
the following farce, he finds the assurances that his fears are not justified and
that his anger is normal and can be forgiven. Therefore, in retrospect,
Jackie's anger and disgust were unnecessary, but they were important to him
as a child-so much so that his exaggerations make him the center of the
story's comedy. Jackie's bittersweet memories are successfully rendered and
made comic in this exemplary passage from O'Connor's story.
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:;lr',rlivt'(,ss(l_V (ls lrtrrttr,,ltt ottI irt Par.tgraPh l,ltttwcver, is th.rt the pirssagc rt'-fhe
cssay cloe's itr fact detrl with the sister's
llt,r,ls st'rriality ancl gooci rrrrture.
in the narrator's character, but tl-rese
problem
witl-r
the
atrcl
also
lrypot'risy
centra.l idea.
with
the
in
ntade
connection
are
points
In the body of the essay, paragraph 2 shows that the narrator's comrurents about his sister and his own spiritual condition add to the good nature of the passage. Paragraph 3 deals with the ievel of diction, noting that
the words i." upptop.iate both to the action and to Jackie's anger when recollecting it. Parigraph 4 explains the relationship between Jackie's remarks
and thc comedy teing played out in the narration. [n paragraph 5 the adult
narrator's unwitting revelation of his own shortcomings is related to the
good humor and comedy. The final paragraph connects the passage to the
latter half of the story, suggesting that the comedy that shines through the
passage is, comparatively, like the forgiveness that is believed to follow the
act of confession.
Because the essay is based on a close reading, its major feature is the use
many
specific details. Thus, the second paragraph stresses the actions and
of
some of Jaikie's comments upon it, while the third paragraph provides many
examples of his word choices. Tl-re fourth paragraph stresses the details about
Norais posturing and Jackie's comments about her. Paragraph 5 provides details of more of Jackie's comments and the limitations of character that tl-rey
show. Finally, the concluding paragraph includes the detail about jackie's entering the confessiorral.
1.
2.
3.