Questions about technique
Plot.
What central conflicts drive the plot? Are they internal (within a
character) or external (between characters or between a character and a
force) or both? How are conflicts resolved? Why are events revealed in a
particular order? Does the plot follow chronological time, or are there shifts back and forth? Does the work begin in medias res (in the middle of things) like most epics? How and why do any subplots relate to the main plot?
Setting.
Does the setting (time and place) create an atmosphere, give an insight
into a character, suggest symbolic meanings, or hint at the theme of
the work?
Character.
What seems to motivate the central characters? Do any characters change
significantly (dynamic vs static)? If so, what—if anything—have they learned from their
experiences? How have they learned? Do sharp contrasts between characters highlight important
themes?
Point of view.
Does the point of view—the perspective from which the story is narrated
or the poem is spoken—affect our understanding of events? Does the
narration reveal the character of the speaker, or does the speaker
merely observe others? Is the narrator perhaps innocent, naive, or
deceitful? Is the story told by multiple narrators?
Theme.
Does the work have an overall theme (a central insight about people or a
truth about life that is unique to this work)? If so, how do details in the work illuminate this
theme?
Language.
Does language—such as formal or informal, standard or dialect, prosaic
or poetic, cool or passionate—reveal the character of speakers? How do
metaphors, similes, and imagery contribute to the work? How do
recurring images (or motifs) enrich the work and hint at its meaning? To what extent
do sentence rhythms and sounds underscore the writer’s meaning?
Questions about social context
Historical context.
What does the work reveal about the time and place in which it was
written? Does the work appear to promote or undermine a philosophy that
was popular in its time, such as social Darwinism in the late nineteenth
century or the women’s movement in the mid-twentieth century?
Class.
How does membership in a social class affect the characters’ choices
and their successes or failures? How does class affect the way
characters view—or are viewed by—others? What do economic struggles
reveal about power relationships in the society being depicted?
Race and culture.
Are any characters portrayed as being caught between cultures: between
the culture of home and work or school, or between a traditional and an
emerging culture? Are any characters engaged in a conflict with society
because of their race or ethnic background? To what extent does the work
celebrate a specific culture and its traditions?
Gender.
Are any characters’ choices restricted because of gender? What are the
power relationships between the sexes, and do these change during the
course of the work? Do any characters resist the gender roles that
society has assigned to them? Do other characters choose to conform to
those roles?
Archetypes.
Does a character, image, or plot fit a pattern—or archetype—that has
been repeated in stories throughout history and across cultures? (For
example, nearly every culture has stories about heroes, quests,
redemption, and revenge.) How does an archetypal character, image, or
plot line correspond to or differ from others like it?
