Kayla's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

Informal, online, or multimedia sources

I used a picture on a blog that I had found that talked about the different settings and the impact that had on the Walls family. The picture was of the night sky in the desert. This blog was what initially made me think of going with ecocriticism. I also read an article called “Love, Somehow, Shines Through the Glass Castle”. This helped me realize the connection between familial connection and how it was affected by the outside scenarios. They helped me begin the paper and start my ideas so I could develop them further. 

Literary theory

Ecocriticism turned out to be the perfect theory to use with this book, but I never would have realized it without my pre-writing. It was fairly easy to blend into each section of the formal analysis. I feel I effectively discussed the novel and applied this theory well in talking about the desert, the mountains, and the city and each places’ effect on the Walls’ family relationships.

Writing process

The pre-writing has been helping my writing process much more than I expected. It helps me not to procrastinate and to get all my thoughts and ideas in order before I begin writing the paper instead of figuring it out as I go along. I still need to strengthen my deepening of my ideas and opinions on the topics but I feel like I effectively applied ecocriticism to the paper.

Caroline's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

Informal or Multimedia Source - I used both fanart and a YouTube Video for this paper.  I think the Fanart was really important for this paper because it has so much to do with a contemporary show and ideas.  The YouTube video connects a contemporary story with a historical event perfectly.  I really enjoyed how we were able to use informal stories.  They are important today and they do offer fabulous insights to scholarly literature.  I also learned how to implement informal sources in a scholarly way.  It is harder to find out who did it or why, but you are able to get many ideas from hundreds of comments and what not.


Literary Theory - I used the personal history from the two authors and archetypes to write my paper.  I toyed with a few of the other theories, but these two seemed to have the best connections between the two pieces and the most supportive of my thesis.  To understand both pieces it is important to understand both the histories of the authors.  I also enjoyed talking about the archetypes because they are follow and contradict common archetypes.

Writing Process - I really enjoyed writing this paper! It also led me to watching some of GOT again.  I had so many ideas, but it was hard to nail down my thesis.  Once I had that, everything came so easily.  I talked with my brother about the paper a lot and he had lots of ideas for me and we bounced ideas off one another.  I always enjoy talking to people about my papers.  Looking up the histories of two well known authors was also interesting.  I was able to understand more about Robert Frost's other poems also.

Eliza's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

Informal, Online, or Multimedia Sources
- I did use one song in my paper, the song "Rise Against" by Hero of War. This was just another source for me to draw upon when proving my thesis. But it actually proved very helpful because the ideas reflected in the song were similar to the idea I was trying to write about. I could have definitely explored more multimedia sources, and other informal opinions and writings of Owen's poetry, and war in general. I looked into a few pictures, and they definitely influenced the tone of my paper, but music is something that has always struck a chord with me. There is something about certain types of audio that bring a work of literature to life. Following this same idea, hearing the poem read aloud also had an impact on the way that I read the poem, and the way that I wrote about it as well.

Literary Theory
- Because the focus of my paper was the transitional affect that war had on Owen's writing style, displayed in the transition of the narrator in his poem, the biographical source study played a huge role in my paper. I had studied this poem before, but had purely drawn from the literary elements displayed in the poem. Adding a theory such as biographical added so much to this paper! I had never known how dominating World War I had been in Owen's life. It was through this biographical source that I learned and incorporated in my paper that Owen was eventually killed in battle. Source studies was another literary theory that I implemented. It is pretty easy to recognize the transition in Owen's writing style simply by looking at his poetry, but looking into his sources allowed me to realize that it was the people around him that influenced his decision to transition his writing, even if fighting in the war itself is what changed his mindset from romanticism to realism.

Writing Process
- This process was a little bit of a struggle for me in the beginning, honestly. I really struggled to come up with one clear thesis that could be supported in the way that the assignment allotted. However, after revamping my thesis, I was able to not only have an easier time writing, but was able to get more excited about it as well. I loved the research part of this! I loved especially looking into informal sources, such as the song lyrics that I mentioned above. The research also led to a few study tangents, which I'm sure some of you are all too familiar with. There are so many fascinating articles about human morality and war, and I learned a lot outside of what I used in my paper!

Alyssa's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

• Informal, online, or multimedia resources:

• This part of developing my paper is one that I hadn’t expected to be as useful to developing my argument, but turned out to be quite influential in the way that I wrote the paper. Looking at different portrayals and stage interpretations of Dr. Faustus helped me to see perspectives different from the one that I had developed after reading the script and stage directions. I enjoyed looking at the artwork of specific scenes in the play as well as the different approaches that different theater companies took in their performances. The main source that I used here was the Globe Theater’s production of Dr. Faustus, which I found to be a far more comical and symbolic interpretation than I had initially read in the text. The actors’ performances and interpretations of their characters had a great impact on how I wrote about the psychology of the titular Dr. Faustus.

• Literary theory:

• I chose to use the psychoanalytical approach to Dr. Faustus because it was different from the other approaches that I was more comfortable using, and I thought it would be a good exercise. As it turned out, this literary theory was just as helpful in highlighting the import of the soliloquies and the symbolic characters that I had chosen for formal analysis. Looking at these aspects of the play through a psychoanalytical lens helped me to make the connections between the form and my interpretation of it more clearly visible. Because the formal elements I was examining were indicative of the mindset of the character, using the psychological theory just made sense to use. 

• Writing process:

• My writing process has changed a bit since the beginning of the semester. Before, I would write when I could, and often spend too long self-editing the paper long before I ever finished it. Having a specific time to write, as we did for this assignment, was helpful for me to focus my thoughts and get the words onto the page that I needed to write down. Being accountable to someone else for the work that I did was also helpful, as it kept me focused on what I needed to do and made me less liable to getting distracted. I still needed to take a little extra time to write after spending perhaps too long on looking for good sources to support my argument, and I feel that this is where I can most improve in my writing process.

Ariel's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

• Informal, online, or multimedia sources
  When I was first trying to find out a thesis statement or claim to make during my prewriting, I really wanted to make a positive claim for Hamlet. The internet had many different memes and blog posts and other social medias that made him selfish but relatable, his jump to conclusions funny, and showed that most people who like the play Hamlet like Hamlet more than most of the other characters. I made an attempt to mention this informally in my introduction. Then, I used a blog post about tragic heroes to explain in simple terms how a tragic hero archetype works. This helped me feel more comfortable knowing the definition was clearer and not just my own internal definition, and I was able to cover key components of the tragic hero in more of a list format – something I didn’t originally think to do.

• Literary theory
  I felt like it was easier to incorporate the literary theory more than formal analysis, and I focused heavily on trying to define the genre of tragedy before diving into Archetypal theory so I could cover both. In this case, it was easy to blend the formal and theory together using genre primarily. However, I was unsure if I should have done more to explain the theory in my paper, or if my subtle references and defining of certain terms was enough. It’s easy to make a claim, but I felt like I should have added more evidence somehow. I just don’t know in what way I could have done that. It might have also been beneficial to dissect certain pieces of the play with more formal analysis, but besides getting into genre and archetypes and evidence insinuating tragic hero traits, I was unsure what else I could have done to really tie the two components together in a stronger case. Any other formal attempts felt like I was getting side tracked with words rather than the overarching of archetypes.

• Writing process
  Like I usually do, I started by plotting out what I wanted to say for each paragraph. Then, I usually work on a starting thesis statement, write the intro and conclusion, then the body paragraphs. With this essay, the introduction and concluding paragraph were the last things I wrote. It was much more difficult finding a solid thesis to work with this time so I wrote the body paragraphs first, then the intro’s first few sentences and the conclusion’s last few, then reviewed what I was saying before attempting the thesis. This was beneficial because I could see what I was doing and where I was leaning toward, then I could re-tune certain sentences to fit the same case, then finally work on a thesis. I think my biggest strength is being able to find or reach conclusions/claims from evidence provided by plot and characters, but my weakness is definitely trying to analyze form and theory together to find more evidence. I can jump to conclusions but using sources to back me up is still difficult.

Hannah's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

Informal Source
When I was in high school we studied A Streetcar Named Desire. I remember during the time that my friend who identifies as gay mentioned the influence that the play had on him. As I was writing this paper I remembered this conversation and asked him to send me a video explaining his experience reading and interpreting the play. This is what motivated me to approach Streetcar using queer theory and to understand the message that it conveyed concerning homosexuals and their struggles. I loved being able to have this kind of personal motivation to write this paper and to be able to connect it to somewhere who had personally experienced the struggles described in the play. At first I wasn't sure how to incorporate something so personal and so informal in my paper and so I ended up using a quote from him in my conclusion. I think this was able to solidify my argument and conclude my paper on a very realistic note.

Literary Theory
There were many different theories that I felt could help me analyze this paper, but I decided to use queer theory and some historical theory to support my argument. Because my claim and my theory were so interconnected it did not feel difficult to include both in my paper. However, I did struggle to synthesize the two throughout my paper, and found that at first I was separating my theory and my other analysis in to different paragraphs. After some revision, however, I was able to incorporate both to support each on of my paragraphs and claims.

Writing Process
Revision played a large role in this paper for me, perhaps more that it usually does when I am writing a paper. When I was writing this paper, I rearranged my paragraphs multiple times, focusing on meeting a specific claim in each paragraph with enough evidence to support that claim. I also found myself going back to my thesis after writing, too change it to better fit exactly what I was arguing throughout my paper. I also loved reading my paper out loud. As I did, I noticed different parts of my paper that were repetitive or unclear and was able to edit them. Without this part of the writing process I would have missed a lot of mistakes that were corrected pretty easily. One thing that I feel I need to continue to improve in my writing process is analysis of quotes. I think it would really help to break down the purpose of the quotes that I choose to include in my paper and why they contribute to the whole of my claim.

Jaidyn's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

• Informal and online sources: I felt pretty good about my use of online sources! I quoted directly from a syllabus I had found as an illustration of the universality of my literature. In addition, I was able to incorporate some images. One was from a film based on the book, and the others tied in with my literary theory of new historicism (two photos of the devastated Hiroshima). I wish I would have found something from social media, that would have added more depth and interest to my paper.
• Literary theory: The theory of new historicism was pretty easy to use with my paper, and I feel like it was easy to blend the text and the theory. I was a little worried that I made too many assumptions, twisting the text to be what I wanted it to be. But I think that on the whole, there were some good connections back to historical context. I definitely could have talked about more formal elements. 
• Writing process: So, I definitely saw what I need to improve about my writing process. For this paper, my rough draft was just a whole bunch of writing, which I then organized into cohesive paragraphs. After some frustration, I discovered that by making a very simple outline of my main points AFTER doing the bulk of the writing, it was easier to rearrange everything in an order that made sense. 

Rowen's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

Informal, Online, Or Multimedia Sources

The book, Sea of Rust, is fairly recent, so it was difficult to find a lot of actual conversation about it online. Much of the informal resources I relied on had to do with my school of literary criticism, LDS Criticism. I used lesson plans from the Churchofjesuschrist.org website and institute manuals to inform my discussions of Restored Church of Christ doctrine. I couldn't site it since I don't have it, but I did also use the introduction to Asmiov's I, Robot to inform some of my understanding of robot fiction. Not a lot of that actually made it into the paper though.

Literary Theory

The main focus of my paper was LDS Criticism, which was a really interesting way to read a book that was largely focused on something I can only term atheistic concepts of deity. It was interesting to see how the various aspects of LDS doctrine and philosophy could be applied to a (probably) completely disconnected work of fiction. I also focused pretty heavily on genre criticism. One of the main points of my paper was how this book both utilizes and strays from the traditional conventions of robot fiction, and how those choices connect to the LDS concepts I was focusing on

Writing Process

It's really easy for me to write about things I get excited about. I was so excited for the Ozymandias paper, and even though it still needs improvement, I felt like each part of the process was much more natural. I had a much harder time getting started and moving forward with this paper, and I think that also affected how well it came out. I wasn't as motivated, so I didn't put in the work I should have to really make it polished. So that's something I need to focus on going forward, making sure I force myself to put in the right amount of work regardless of my motivation, because there are some projects I just won't enjoy as much as others. I'm also really struggling with actual formalist criticism. I have a lot of fun talking about overall concepts expressed within novels, but smaller-scale things that happen on a more formal level are really hard to reach for me.

Maddi's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

• Informal, online, or multimedia sources
• I struggled a bit with this part of the essay. I found a lot of good content that influenced the way I wanted to write the book-- it gave me different perspectives and caused me to consider ideas that I hadn't originally noticed in "The Yellow Wallpaper". I felt that the material I found was very helpful and spawned original ideas, yet I wasn't sure how to incorporate them into my essay. The first thing I found was an art piece from Pinterest, depicting the woman in the text drowning, or being strangled, by the wallpaper. I loved this, because it was different from other pieces I had seen where she was trapped in/crawling out of the wallpaper. It showed that rather the wallpaper being a prison, it was more of a vice, and I inserted it into my essay to portray the hysteria I was referencing. Another I found was from a contemporary blog written by a teenage student, who found evidence within the text to represent an asylum-- and idea that I really loved! I wasn't sure how to use this in my text. Looking back, I wished I had used it early on to show how a modern take on the short story would look, however, I used it in my paper to outline these details, and then backed it up myself.
• Literary theory.
• I wanted to use a Historical/New Historical approach to the text, especially after looking at my informal source that brought up asylums. I wanted to use this a lot more in my text, but I found a hard time exploring it thoroughly while keeping to the word limit. However, I do think it ended up being effective, especially in showing the importance of recognizing hysteria within the text, and how it was used to create separation between peoples. It fit well with my formal analysis, as it usually does when looking at narrative or structure. In the future, I want to try to use a more complex approach to theory when blending it with my formal analysis.
• Writing Process 
• I spent a lot of time changing and developing my writing process. I started with a little bit of research to create an outline of the paper. I felt very excited and comfortable with it as I finished, however, upon further research, I decided to change my approach to the paper. Talking it out with my peers, and those in the class, really helped me to regain a comfortable approach to the paper. I decided to compare "The Yellow Wallpaper" to "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and use it as a way to bring the elements in "The Yellow Wallpaper" that I found to be significant. This helped a lot, and helped me to revise my outline. However, after my first draft, my paper didn't seem to have all the pieces I wanted it to-- it felt lacking and too wordy! I decided to go through and find quotes and arguments I wanted in my paper, that I felt should drive the paper, and created a new outline from there. I then went through and cut what didn't fit the mold! This last method really helped me to organize my thoughts and make a stronger argument throughout my paper. I feel that I need to better solidify my argument before/during my writing process and really stick to it. I found that my original argument wasn't fully formed, and it took me a few tries to refigure it. 

Sophie's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

• Informal, online, or multimedia sources

Informal sources gave me the original idea for my entire paper. I found the idea about climate change and The Handmaid's Tale in a blog post, and I was able to build on that through using other sources and critical approaches. In my paper, I used a lot of different blogs about The Handmaid's Tale and environmentalism; they had some great quotes and ideas that I really built my paper around. Additionally, I used the idea of the Hulu series about The Handmaid's Tale to gain a different/illustrated perspective than I had just from reading the book. 

• Literary theory

I did not know that ecocriticism was a critical theory, but when I found out about it, I immediately knew that I wanted to learn more. As a political science major, I'm super interested in environmental issues, and I think that viewing a text through an ecocritical lens can reveal some important insights that would not be obvious otherwise. On the other hand, though, ecocriticism was not the easiest theory to blend with formal analysis since it does not exactly lend itself to form, at least in The Handmaid's Tale. Once you start looking at a text through an ecocritical lens, though, environmental ideas seem to appear everywhere.

• Writing Process

I found reading my draft out loud to be very helpful in catching errors, restructuring organization, and aiding flow. I also thought that this time, I was a lot stronger in my drafting process than I usually am. Usually, I just write a draft and make minimal changes before submitting. This time, I reorganized my paper many times before submitting, trying to make sure it was the best possible organization. I feel that I could get stronger in knowing exactly what I am trying to argue and being more focused rather than using all of the information available. 

Dylan's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

• Informal, online, or multimedia sources: I ended up using a picture in my final paper as a reference of sorts. As I talked about how the character Dilsey is viewed by the rest of the family, I wanted to incorporate how Dilsey was represented in film and media as a means of looking at how a large majority of the population interpreted her.
• Literary Theory: Using a specific literary theory helped me to look at a more specific interpretation of the novel. Not only this, but it almost forced me to look at everything under a different light than I would normally do. Blending it with formal analysis was also not difficult as the text blended quite well with the analysis I was trying to do.
• Writing Process: In my writing process I tried to create more of an outline for my essay before I began writing. It wasn't exactly a very formal one, but more of a diagram for the flow of ideas in my essay. I found this helped me greatly with the structure of the essay as it grew longer. In the end, though, just sitting down and writing is the most helpful part of my writing process and I have gotten better at just writing what comes to mind and then editing it later. I feel I still need to improve at incorporating more formal analysis in my writing.

Annie's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

• Informal, online, or multimedia sources 
• Exploring these sources helped me to see what kind of influence the poem Deathfugue has had on other artists. Artwork, music, and books can all be traced back in one way or another to this poem. Looking at the works that have come out of it helped me to better develop what I wanted to say in my paper. They helped me to connect some of the dots in my thinking. I incorporated a painting from Anslem Keifer and analysis on the painting into my paper because it strengthened the connections I was making between the literary allusions in the poem and their relation to Germany and each other. I also listened to Paul Celan, the author, read the poem in German on youtube, and it helped me to get a better sense of the cadence of the poem--I could better understand why it was called Death "Fugue."
• Literary Theory 
• I focused on source studies which was first of all, I just enjoyed this approach because the research on the sources I used was really interesting to me. I think that source studies is valuable in examining how literature influences literature, how things can be recycled and rebranded in different time periods. Being able to look at Goethe's Faust through the eyes of the concentration camp prisoner's POV--there was just so much to explore there and I think that it deepened my understanding of the text and what Celan was trying to draw out for readers. I think that it was an easy enough bridge into formal analysis, especially because the two sources where very explicitly juxtaposed with each other in the poem. 
• Writing Process
• I spent a lot of time on the research process. I initially struggled with what I was trying to say and so after class on Monday I went back and rewrote everything I had written up until that point. Something that I realized is really important in my initial drafting stage is getting an outline, or just some kind of organization out on paper. Typing an outline is helpful but it wasn't until I got out a pen and organized myself on paper that everything really came together. I also spent a lot more time in revision and I think that helped me to feel more confident in the final paper I turned in. I enjoyed being accountable to others during this writing process--both to classmates and friends through different stages of my writing. I think that using the social aspect and relying on others to help me polish and work through what I am trying to say is something that I want to continue to work on because I haven't utilized it in the past and it was really helpful this time and I know I can do more with it. 

Matt's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

Informal, online, or multimedia sources
These informal sources helped me out a lot more than I originally thought they were going to. Mostly, they just gave me good ideas to roll with the writing my paper. For example, I was curious what other people thought a specific element of the setting meant in the book I wrote about. After some searching, I found some awesome discussions on GoodReads that really got my thinking and I ended up incorporating them into my final paper. 

Literary theory
This was difficult for me to incorporate into my formal analysis. After reading my paper I saw the value it brought to the paper, but it was difficult to know how much to put into the paper to make sure it was not the main focus of attention. I feel that I forced some parts into the paper that did not flow well that I felt I just had to put in to satisfy that part of the assignment. It was difficult, but I hope it aided the paper in the end. 

Writing Process

I think I need to do more prewriting for my paper. When I got stuck, I did not have anything to look at the get my juices flowing again. But if I did better prewriting then I feel like I would have more to talk about when I am actually writing the paper. I also feel that my revision process could be better. Sometimes though, I am so tired of reading the same paper over and over again that I get burnt out while doing the final revisions. I feel to strengthen myself as a writer I need to do more prewriting and do more focused revisions. 

Savannah's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

• Informal, online, or multimedia sources
• In my second literary essay I used a variety of informal sources. My most used sources were a variety of online news articles like New York Times and The Daily Beast. I also went to Pinterest to look for images of flappers in the 1920's, for images of Zelda Fitzgerald, and for famous New York architecture that was in the Art Deco form. I also went to the New York Public Library Digital Collections to look at images of French fashion in the 1920's. These sources were useful to my paper because they provided a lot more cultural insight to me than a formal scholarly resource would have provided. The images were helpful to me to visualize what exactly I was describing when I wrote about the various types of architecture and fashion. 
• Literary Theory
• I used mainly the post-colonialism theory but also a little bit of the sources theory as I discussed Fitzgerald's motives for writing what he did and for his descriptions throughout the novel. For my essay it was particularly easy to blend with my topic as I was discussing the architectural and fashion impacts of those times across cultures so it was a natural thing to discuss the culture and changes of those times. I think this was effective in my essay because it gave more insight to my topic and more background to the architectural descriptions given in Great Gatsby. 
• Writing Process
• This last essay I really tried to space out my writing which is fairly new for me. I usually power it all out the last day but it was super nice to be able to actually spend time editing and revising before I submitted a draft and to not have to stress the last day about writing five pages. I also tried to do most of my research before I began drafting which was very convenient because as I was writing I could just scroll down on my draft to grab the piece of evidence I needed instead of spending excessive amounts of time browsing for sources. I still think that I could do better in blocking out my paper by subject before actually drafting but that is something I can continue to work on. 

Magda's Reflection on Literary Analysis 2

- I looked through a lot of different sources but the ones that ended up being the most helpful for me were discussions. I ended up on reddit and started reading through discussions on A Midsummer Night's Dream. I found one that discussed why the ending to A Midsummer Night's Dream was troubling, which is something that I had thought about before. It brought up the idea about how the ending is not quite honest, and how the characters actually reveal who they truly are within the forest. That idea made me think about the id and how, according to Freud, the id is what reveals our true emotions and desires. The discussion thread made me want to dive deeper into a psychoanalytic analysis of the text.

- It was actually quite easy to look at this text through a psychoanalytic lens because of the reoccurring theme of dreams throughout the play. It was easy to connect the forest to the id because of the dreamlike qualities that the forest possesses. It was hard to find a balance between formal analysis and the theoretical approach, though. I tended to lean more towards just applying the theoretical approach rather than analyzing form. I really had to search for ways to incorporate both.

- This time through I really took to heart my classmate's advice and took a lot of time to write and rewrite instead of trying to get it all right the first time. I went through several drafting phases. However, I wish I had spent more time finding interesting internet sources and really finding ways to incorporate them into the paper. I used my one source to inspire my paper, but I think my paper would have been more concrete and interesting if perhaps I had found pictures of Athens and the forest in a performance of the play and done more of an analysis on setting. I think that would have helped me to find a balance between analysis and theoretical approach.