Thesis Statement james joyce
a literary analysis is an essay that explores and explains a critical aspect of a piece of literature. The thesis should state a specific argument about the piece of literature and how that argument will be supported. It should be expressed in one to two sentences. Be sure to focus on an aspect of the author's craft, the theme of the text, or another key component of the literature as you construct your argument.
Students may find details such as: The house was owned by a priest who left behind some tattered books . At the market, vendors sell pigs’ cheeks in barrels . The workers at the bazaar speak with English accents . Students’ essays should include details about housing, jobs, the educational system, and class differences in Dublin around 1900 . apply and create: Visual epiphany Students’ artwork will vary but should be related in some way to an epiphany represented in another of Joyce’s works . Read critically 1 . Evaluate the narrator’s description in this passage . Do his emotions seem realistic? Explain your answer . Many students will feel that the narrator’s emotions are very realistic—that first love can cause feelings much like this. 2 . Recall that similes are figures of speech in which two things are compared using the words like or as . Identify the two similes in the last sentence . What do they reveal about the relationship between the boy and Mangan’s sister? The two similes in the last sentences are the comparison of the narrator’s body to a harp and the comparison of the girl’s words and gestures to fingers playing the harp strings. The boy feels totally out of control of his emotions; Mangan’s sister is in a sense able to manipulate his emotions as a harpist might manipulate the strings to produce the sound she desires. 3 . Joyce uses religious references throughout this passage . Why do you think he chose to do this, and how do they relate to his use of epiphany? The religious references show the influence of the Catholic religion on all aspects of the narrator’s life. Joyce might have also wanted to depict the level of devotion the boy felt to his first love, indicating that the power of love is a kind of religious experience. Writing an autobiographical account Have students write an autobiographical account of a particular childhood event . The account can be realistic or embellished