Writing the Novel Analysis

Our campus has a number of Institutional Student Learning Outcomes, and this assignment fits Critical Thinking. All of the Institutional Student Learning Outcomes are listed in the Welcome to ENGL2160 Mythology section of the Course Content as "Chattanooga State Student Learning Outcomes." Critical thinking is defined campus wide as

Critical thinking is a habit of mind characterized by the comprehensive exploration of issues, ideas, artifacts, and events before accepting or formulating an opinion or conclusion. It includes a systematic process of exploring issues, objects, or works through the collection and analysis of evidence that results in informed conclusions or judgments and includes the suspension of judgment until evidence has been gathered and weighed. Analysis is the process of breaking complex topics or issues into parts to gain a better understanding of them. Synthesis involves the ability to see connections between diverse kinds of knowledge, both within and between fields, the ability to see the larger whole and purpose. Students demonstrate their skill through problem solving and the application of the critical processes relevant to their chosen field of study.

It is important for each of you to explain the theories you are using and to give sufficient details from the novel to support your arguments. Write your essay for someone unfamiliar with all of these approaches, and unfamiliar with the novel.

As you apply a critical approach, first define and explain the approach. Then be specific in how the novel fits the approach you are applying.

For instance, when applying Jung's primary archetypes, identify and define the archetype and then give details from the story that illustrate how it fits. For instance, a student applying the Shadow to Darth Vader might do the following:

Carl Jung argued that dreams might contain symbolic content that was universal to all humans, what he called the "collective unconscious." Jung identified a number of archetypes or first types that he felt were common to dreams--and also to literature. One of his four primary types is the Shadow, a figure that represents the instinctual side of human nature, much like Freud's id. Jung believed that people needed to integrate the Shadow into their personality. If they failed to do so, the Shadow might overwhelm their personality. This can be seen in Star Wars with Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, over time, is influenced by the Emperor and eventually gives into his anger, striking out against those around him. In this way, he gives into the "dark side of the Force" and becomes Darth Vader, a figure of darkness, driven by his desires, primarily for destruction and revenge.

When applying the monomyth, use ONLY the 11 stage version and not Campbell's original version. Be sure to identify and define each stage and then show exactly how it applies to the story. For instance, in applying the 11 stage monomyth to Star Wars, you might write the following:

Joseph Campbell identified a pattern of events in the life of a hero which he called the monomyth. The Office of Resources for International and Area Studies, UC Berkeley, has created a simplified 11 stage version of Propp, which Mr. Stifler has modified. In this version, the second stage is the "Call to Adventure" where "the hero is led into the adventure by some messenger." In Star Wars, Luke intercepts Princess Leia's message for Obi-Wan Kenobi when he is cleaning the droid R2-D2, which leads him to take R2-D2 and CP30 to "crazy Kenobi."

Follow a similar pattern with Lord Raglan's 22 typical incidents, numbering and naming each incident and then explaining how it applies to the story.

With Propp (or Hastings' abbreviated version of Propp), give the numbered point, the explanation of the points spelled out, followed by the details from the story that fit. This is the pattern we will use in the novel analysis. Ditto with applying the female divine archetypes--identify which theorist and which specific goddess type of that theorist, explain the goddess type, and then show how the character fits the type.

As you apply these theories, be very specific about how the theory fits. As you apply a critical approach, first define and explain the approach. Then be specific in how the novel fits the approach you are applying.

For instance, when applying the Italian stock characters (Note: These are not archetypes although they share similarities with archetypes), identify and explain the type and then show how it applies to the character.

As you apply general archetypes, do not include those that focus on people. Instead, use our studies of the Male/Female Divine Archetypes, which are more specific and detailed than the general information on archetypes. Where Guerin will be most useful is in applying the archetypes related to water, the sun, colors, circles/spheres, the serpent, the garden, the desert, and immortality. Instead of using Guerin for tree archetypes, look at those using the axis mundi.

When applying Carol Pearson's Six Archetypes, first explain the Pearson archetype, then give Pearson's definitions for the goal, fear, and fall, then show how those fit the character. Also, people in the past have searched for Pearson on the web. ONLY USE the Six Archetypes given in the Course Content. For instance,

Carol Pearson in her book The Hero Within: Six Archetypes We Live By, identifies six character archetypes that she argues people often must deal with in their lives. Each type has a goal that the character hopes to achieve, a fear that the character must face, and a task the character must complete in order to grow. These archetypes can also be applied to characters in myth and literature. One of Pearson's archetypes is the Wanderer. The Wanderer insists on autonomy, the right to make his or her own decisions about his or her life. This emphasis on autonomy is a response to the character's fear that he or she will conform to the behavior of others, whom the character judges as unworthy. However, what the Wanderer must finally face is the task of identity, realizing his or her true worth and position in society. In Lord of the Rings, Aragorn/Strider best fits the wanderer (his name Strider means wanderer). Aragorn, the rightful king, fears being like the previous kings, who failed in their duties. Instead of serving as the rightful king, Aragorn chooses anonymity, appearing as the mysterious character Strider, a Ranger of the North (Ranger, one who ranges, another synonym for Wanderer) who protects the people from danger (which is one of the roles of a king). In effect, Strider is fulfilling one of the major roles of king without accepting the role and title of king. He chooses to protect his kingdom, not as king, but as a Ranger and warden. As a member of the Fellowship, Strider begins the task of becoming the rightful king. One indication of his readiness is when he accepts the fealty of the dying Boromir. Another is when he takes the broken sword and has it reforged. His final act that indicates his full acceptance of his role as King occurs when he accepts the fealty of the dead, after which he is no longer known as Strider but as Aragorn. Although he is not crowned until later in the story, Aragorn has accepted his role--and responsibility--as king, and the reader realizes that Aragorn's resistance to this role has been due to his unwillingness to allow others to die on his behalf as king--the true dilemma of leadership.

Do not neglect the trickster archetypes explained in chapter 5 of Mythology: Reading Myth by the River and in Module 5 or rituals explained in Modules 3 and 5. Module 1 also has useful information for applying Freud, Levi-Strauss, and others.

Sample Analysis of The Call of the Wild with an explanation of my thinking process

As you work on your novel analysis, you will need to decide which approaches are most useful in discussing your novel. Some approaches may not apply or only apply superficially. You are required to apply at least one plot approach, at least one character approach, and at least one other approach. Think about how the various approaches you see fitting the novel relate to each other in relation to the theme or central conflict in the novel. If you haven't already done so, read the analysis of Jack London's The Call of the Wild that I have posted in our course. Below are some comments on my process.

I had read The Call of the Wild years ago, numerous times, so when I first started working on writing about The Call of the Wild by Jack London, I recognized that Levi-Strauss's approach to binary oppositions forming the basis of the conflict in telling a story applied to the novel, with the obvious conflict between the call of the wild and the call of civilization. But as I read the novel again and worked on the analysis, I realized there were other oppositions that paralleled this, like the North/South opposition in the novel.

Plot Approaches:

I immediately could see how Hastings' version of Propp would apply, and I thought I might be able to use Propp's 31 functions, but while Waller Hastings' abbreviated version of Propp fit, Propp's 31 functions did not. I thought that some of the 11 stage monomyth would apply, but I was surprised as I worked on the novel analysis as I realized that I could apply all 11 stages to the monomyth--once I thought about the metaphor of the monomyth as the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

Character Approaches:

I was worried about applying character approaches, and these were some of the last approaches I worked on (The paper follows a different order than how I worked on it. I will explain why at the end of this email). But as I read about Buck's dreams about the hairy man sitting around the fire, I recognized that this figure illustrated the id. From there, I was able to tie in Freud, connecting it to the binary oppositions between nature and civilization that I had already been working on. As I read about Buck's struggles to stay alive by breaking the rules he had learned at the Judge's by stealing food and later by his efforts to undercut Spitz's authority as lead dog, I saw the trickster. The references to Buck as Evil Spirit and ghost dog at the end of the novel helped me think about Buck as a shaman figure. Rather than refer to them as the male divine archetypes (which they are), it made more sense to tie them back to their original source in the writing of Jung, since this was a story about a dog. I thought about applying the characteristics of the Homeric hero to Buck, but only arete fit, and Buck did not follow the progression of the Greek hero into tragedy (arete leading to hubris leading to ate leading to nemesis), so I skipped that approach. I had hoped to apply the Pearson archetypes to Buck, but, while I could force some aspects, like the Orphan, the Warrior, and the Magician, I didn't feel like they actually fit because none of the characters could be tied to the Goal, Task, and Fear of each of those archetypes, so I could not use that approach.

Other approaches:

Claude Levi-Strauss suggested itself immediately. As I thought about the novel, I realized that the behavior of the dogs toward their roles in the sled team also suggested ritualistic behavior and an almost spiritual sense by the dogs toward their roles. Applying Eliade and Van Gennep were the last approaches I used to discuss the novel. I thought that I might be able to use some of the general archetypes in discussing this novel, but there just was not enough material in the novel to use them.

Putting it all together:

The 250 word summary serves as introduction to the analysis. I actually wrote it before writing about Levi-Strauss and Van Gennep, so it was the next-to-the-last thing I wrote even though it was logical to use as the starting point for the analysis (and should be the beginning of the paper for all of you). As transition to the analysis, I listed all of the approaches I was using in the order they were presented in the paper.

I began with the monomyth because it was the most detailed analysis of the plot and followed that by Hastings. I skipped all details from the novel that did not fit the two approaches, and summarized details that did.

I debated doing Levi-Strauss next, since my application of Freud also used binary oppositions, but decided it would make more sense to present Freud and then Jung. The same is true for including Eliade and Van Gennep next, despite the fact that the sacred/profane is another binary opposition. Since my focus in applying those theories was not primarily on the oppositions, I felt it made more sense to present them in that order.

I presented Levi-Strauss last, which serves both to analyze the theme of the novel and feels more like a summation of the novel (even though this was the first section of the paper that I actually wrote).

Final Comments

I chose The Call of the Wild for several reasons. First, it doesn't fit the typical novel that would be used for this assignment although I realized that a number of the approaches would fit. Also, it is a very short novel, and sometimes students have argued that their novel was too short to use. The Call of the Wild is only about 120 pages in length, shorter than any of the novels on our reading list, but I was still able to write 3840 words in the analysis, well over twice the requirement. Finally, it is a well-known story.

I do not require internal citations and a works cited for this assignment. One reason I do not is that, although the mythology course is a second year course, many students take it before or at the same time as ENGL1010 Composition 1. Since the assignment requires students to only use materials contained in the course, I decided to waive documentation requirements in the interest of simplicity. However, that makes it even more important to include the running acknowledgement that gives a thumbnail explanation of the critical approach being used:

Example of Running Acknowledgement: Vladimir Propp was a Russian structuralist who identified 31 functions or actions that appeared in a variety of fairy tales. These 31 functions can also be applied to the study of myth and novels influenced by myth. A simplified version of Propp has been developed by Waller Hastings.

Finally, I wanted students to understand that the paper should be organized around the critical theories, even if this means repeating some materials from the stories. Students who organize their paper around the plot of the story usually end up just summarizing their novels and treating with the critical approaches superficially. Be sure that, between the various theories, you cover all of the novel even though you may not cover every detail in the novel. Part of the grade is based on demonstrating that you have read the entire novel.

As you write your novel analysis, be sure to be explicit in explaining the approaches you are using and give only the details that support the approach. Be absolutely sure that your paper meets the minimum requirements of approaches and length. Failure to meet the minimum requirements will result in a failing grade. Remember, the goal of this assignment is to demonstrate your understanding of the various approaches to myth that we have studied by your ability in successfully applying those approaches to your novel. Think, also, about how the various approaches that you are applying relate to each other and the meaning of the novel.