Analytically Reading Literature

1. Name and define two techniques for analytically reading literature.

A. One technique is previewing. Previewing allows you to get a sense of what the story is about and how it is organized. Before I start any new book, I always skim through to see how long the chapters are. I also try to get a quick overview of the content and identifying the time and place of the story.

B. The second technique is close reading which requires an in-depth examination of the details. When I read a story, I will annotate it with details that will help to identify plot and characters.

2. Define imagery (include sensory images). Why would an author want to include images in a piece of literature?

A. The definition of imagery is descriptive

Men and women were seen to live in separate social class from the men where women were considered not only physically weaker but morally superior to men. This meant that women were the best suited for the domestic role of keeping the house. Women were not allowed in the public circle and forbidden to be involved with politics and economic affairs as the men made all the decisions about money. The role of women was they were responsible for the daily running of the household. The mothers’ chores included washing and folding the laundry, cooking the food and keeping the house clean. They also raised the children giving them the care and attention that was required, except for the discipline, which was the man’s responsibility. Although this was the ideal role for the woman to be married and to devote herself to her home and family, but the reality was that a great number of working class women had to work in domestic service, in factories or as seamstresses to be able to earn a

He describes his father's hands as being battered on one knuckle and extremely soiled. Fathers were supposed to be the breadwinners for their families. The role of his father was to work and provide everything that was needed for his family. The father had little to do with the running of the household and most nights after supper the men would go to the local tavern for a drink. They danced until they hit some pots and pans, knocking them to the floor. This made his mother mad and there was nothing that she could do because she had no say in what the father did. She had to put up with it until his father waltzed him to bed. In this poem the son is now grown and thinking back to his childhood that his father had to work day and night not only to support the family but to keep the house warm. On Sunday when it was the fathers’ day off, he would still get up early and start to work, just as any other morning and get dressed in the cold. He would go out into the cold and split some firewood in order to start a fire and get the house warming up. After the entire house was warm, he would call the rest of his family out of bed. He does not get any thanks for doing this, but that does not seem to