When you look at a new narrative, you should analyze how the author combined the elements into a complete story. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Is the story complete? Is it a cohesive whole? (In essence, you’re deciding if everything in the story works towards an intentional ending/resolution/message.)
- Are the characters believable? Why?
- Is the setting described with enough detail? (Not every story has as much detail as “The Reef,” but you should ask yourself “Is it enough?”)
- What’s the conflict? Is there an internal and/or external conflict? Is it resolved?
- What’s the message the author is trying to share? What’s the central theme(s) of the piece? hint: looking at what happens to the protagonist (main character) helps you understand what the author is saying.
If you can answer all these questions, then you have a pretty good understanding of 1) the quality of the story, and 2) how it’s put together (how the author used description, dialogue, and action to build the narrative).
Read the story below. You’ll take a quiz on it and afterwards, you’ll be asked to analyze the story (there’s an example provided), and to discuss the elements above.
When you finish reading,
- Take the quiz over the story. Once you’ve passed it,
- Click on Next Lesson; you’ll be taken to “Written Analysis: Midterm Assignment” where you’ll see an example analysis. Then, you’ll analyze “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury in similar fashion.
Good Luck!