write a literary analysis of a story you’ve chosen, focusing on specific elements using terminology from The Art of the Short Story textbook and the Elements of Fiction.
1. Choose a Story: “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway.
2. Analyze the Following Elements:
• Setting: Describe the story’s time period (contemporary or historical) and the physical location. Also, explain how much time passes within the story from start to end (the “imaginary time”).
• Point of View: Identify the story’s narrator and the point of view (e.g., first-person, third-person). Discuss the narrator’s reliability if it’s a first-person narrative.
• Characterization: Determine if there’s a protagonist (main character) and antagonist (opposing character or force). Identify which characters are well-developed (round) and which serve a specific function (flat). Mention any stereotypical or common characters (stock characters).
• Plot: Analyze the plot structure by identifying:
• Whether there is an exposition or if the story starts in medias res (in the middle of things).
• The rising action and source of conflict.
• The climax or high point of tension.
• The falling action, if present.
• Whether the ending is a closed or open denouement (resolved or unresolved), and if any character experiences a moment of realization (epiphany).
3. Avoid Summarizing: Don’t just retell the story. Focus on how these elements contribute to the overall meaning of the narrative.
4. Discuss how a character’s motivations influence their actions within the story, or how their traits drive the plot.