Analysis Essay
Objective
This writing assignment requires you to make connections within a text. Through an analysis you can understand better the meaning of a text, a
writer’s purpose and the techniques a writer uses to achieve his purpose. In this assignment you will build upon your summary, critical reading
and response skills of WP 1010 to “break down” a text into “small parts” and then make more complex connections among them.
Prompt
In the fiction story “Babette’s Feast” by Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen), the main character spends all the money that she wins in the lottery
to prepare” a real French dinner” for the disciples although her choice means she will spend the rest of her life as a servant among strangers.
The two sisters find this decision “incomprehensible”. How do you understand Babette’s decision? If we consider the Utilitarian principle that
an action is morally right when it produces the “greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number of people”, does it justify ethically
Babette’s decision?
Analyse the text to show how the writer justifies Babette’s decision to spend so much money for the feast. Is the writer convincing? Why? Is
this an ethical choice?
Pre-thinking, Pre-writing questions:
What would you think if a woman who has lost everything spent 10,000 francs to prepare and offer a dinner to a group of relative strangers to
her without even sitting at the table with them? Is it an extravagant, eccentric act? Is it an act of generosity or selfishness? Is it a waste
of money? Is the high cost of gastronomy justified? What is the cost of Babette’s choice? How does she benefit from her choice? What new
meanings do the lives of all or most of the characters acquire? How are the conflicts both external and internal resolved? What do the contrasts
that run in the story signify? How do different symbols, language/style, metaphoric or literal images connect to the message the writer is
trying to convey? What are the effects of the feast on the guests? Why is it significant that the guests break their vow of silence? What is
after all the message the writer is trying to pass to the readers? Does she achieve her purpose convincingly?
Guidelines
Title: Make your own title. Be creative!
Introduction:
• Introduce the topic of food (as depicted in film and /or the idea of gastronomy, gourmet cooking) so as to set the context for the
article and draw your readers’ attention.
• Identify the text under scrutiny (author, article title, publication, date).
• Summarize the main events in the story. The summary must be coherent and focused. It will be in compressed form (50-100 words); however,
provide enough detail to let your audience understand what the story is all about. Do not forget to remind your audience this is a summary of
Blixen’s story! Repeat in varied ways Blixen presents ….. [X character] maintains that…
• Formulate a thesis statement. State how effectively Blixen presents Babette’s actions/choices and whether you think her decision to
spend all her money on one dinner is justified or not.
Example: In my view, the writer justifies… convincingly / does not justify convincingly Babette’s decision …because…the aftermath of the feast…
Body:
• Decide how you want to organise the parts of the analysis. Make sure your paragraphs have a clear focus, are unified and coherent.
• Start the paragraph with a topic sentence indicating what element of the text you will analyse and to what extent you think it adds to
the speaker’s claim and persuasiveness or not. It may be a comment on how effectively/not effectively the writer presents the conflicts among or
inside the characters or how the images convey or do not convey the theme clearly. Make sure the opening of your paragraphs connect to the
thesis of the essay and to previous points. Link paragraphs conceptually:
Example: Not only the metaphoric images, (images discussed in the previous paragraph) but also the symbols (to be discussed in the present
paragraph) showcase the …
• Support each topic sentence with evidence that illustrates the speaker’s points. Quote or summarize specific examples from the text you
are analysing to support your point. Use MLA in-text citations every time you do so: “….” (section X)!
• Finally, explain whether the element mentioned, analyzed, makes Babette’s choice more convincing or not and why.
Conclusion:
• Sum up the main ideas of your body paragraphs to explain to your readers whether you find Babette’s decision is justified or not and
why.
• Then bring your essay to an end smoothly by making a closing comment on the topic of food. It may be a recommendation, a prediction for
the future, an advice for your audience, encouraging them to become more involved, to take some kind of action.
In preparing the analysis essay keep in mind the following:
• Read the assigned text many times until you feel confident that you understand it.
• Annotate meaningfully and extensively.
• Use quotation, summary and paraphrase but resist getting carried away with
summary and forgetting the analysis.
Example: “the fact that Phillipa promises “not to utter a word” reinforces the theme of silence …Connected to her promise is … that Dinesen…”
• Aim for a coherent essay. At the beginning of each body paragraph use a connecting word/phrase/sentence to create a smooth transition
from the previous paragraph and through the topic sentence connect the ideas of the particular paragraph to the thesis.
• Remember, in an analysis you break down a whole (the text) into its parts only to put back everything together at the end so as to see
more clearly the “big picture”; that is, how these parts contribute (to a greater or lesser extent) to the author’s purpose. Persuade your
readers that your opinion about the effectiveness of the theme and the reasons for it are valid!
Citation: MLA style (7th edition)
Length: 1200-1300 words min.
Submission Details: Full, typed and polished Analysis Essay due on date and time as announced on BB (Blackboard>Assignments>Analysis Essay> BB &
TII submission + Hard Copy in class with prewriting). Remember there are penalties for late submission! Check Student Handbook for details!
This writing assignment requires you to make connections within a text. Through an analysis you can understand better the meaning of a text, a
writer’s purpose and the techniques a writer uses to achieve his purpose. In this assignment you will build upon your summary, critical reading
and response skills of WP 1010 to “break down” a text into “small parts” and then make more complex connections among them.
Prompt
In the fiction story “Babette’s Feast” by Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen), the main character spends all the money that she wins in the lottery
to prepare” a real French dinner” for the disciples although her choice means she will spend the rest of her life as a servant among strangers.
The two sisters find this decision “incomprehensible”. How do you understand Babette’s decision? If we consider the Utilitarian principle that
an action is morally right when it produces the “greatest amount of happiness to the greatest number of people”, does it justify ethically
Babette’s decision?
Analyse the text to show how the writer justifies Babette’s decision to spend so much money for the feast. Is the writer convincing? Why? Is
this an ethical choice?
Pre-thinking, Pre-writing questions:
What would you think if a woman who has lost everything spent 10,000 francs to prepare and offer a dinner to a group of relative strangers to
her without even sitting at the table with them? Is it an extravagant, eccentric act? Is it an act of generosity or selfishness? Is it a waste
of money? Is the high cost of gastronomy justified? What is the cost of Babette’s choice? How does she benefit from her choice? What new
meanings do the lives of all or most of the characters acquire? How are the conflicts both external and internal resolved? What do the contrasts
that run in the story signify? How do different symbols, language/style, metaphoric or literal images connect to the message the writer is
trying to convey? What are the effects of the feast on the guests? Why is it significant that the guests break their vow of silence? What is
after all the message the writer is trying to pass to the readers? Does she achieve her purpose convincingly?
Guidelines
Title: Make your own title. Be creative!
Introduction:
• Introduce the topic of food (as depicted in film and /or the idea of gastronomy, gourmet cooking) so as to set the context for the
article and draw your readers’ attention.
• Identify the text under scrutiny (author, article title, publication, date).
• Summarize the main events in the story. The summary must be coherent and focused. It will be in compressed form (50-100 words); however,
provide enough detail to let your audience understand what the story is all about. Do not forget to remind your audience this is a summary of
Blixen’s story! Repeat in varied ways Blixen presents ….. [X character] maintains that…
• Formulate a thesis statement. State how effectively Blixen presents Babette’s actions/choices and whether you think her decision to
spend all her money on one dinner is justified or not.
Example: In my view, the writer justifies… convincingly / does not justify convincingly Babette’s decision …because…the aftermath of the feast…
Body:
• Decide how you want to organise the parts of the analysis. Make sure your paragraphs have a clear focus, are unified and coherent.
• Start the paragraph with a topic sentence indicating what element of the text you will analyse and to what extent you think it adds to
the speaker’s claim and persuasiveness or not. It may be a comment on how effectively/not effectively the writer presents the conflicts among or
inside the characters or how the images convey or do not convey the theme clearly. Make sure the opening of your paragraphs connect to the
thesis of the essay and to previous points. Link paragraphs conceptually:
Example: Not only the metaphoric images, (images discussed in the previous paragraph) but also the symbols (to be discussed in the present
paragraph) showcase the …
• Support each topic sentence with evidence that illustrates the speaker’s points. Quote or summarize specific examples from the text you
are analysing to support your point. Use MLA in-text citations every time you do so: “….” (section X)!
• Finally, explain whether the element mentioned, analyzed, makes Babette’s choice more convincing or not and why.
Conclusion:
• Sum up the main ideas of your body paragraphs to explain to your readers whether you find Babette’s decision is justified or not and
why.
• Then bring your essay to an end smoothly by making a closing comment on the topic of food. It may be a recommendation, a prediction for
the future, an advice for your audience, encouraging them to become more involved, to take some kind of action.
In preparing the analysis essay keep in mind the following:
• Read the assigned text many times until you feel confident that you understand it.
• Annotate meaningfully and extensively.
• Use quotation, summary and paraphrase but resist getting carried away with
summary and forgetting the analysis.
Example: “the fact that Phillipa promises “not to utter a word” reinforces the theme of silence …Connected to her promise is … that Dinesen…”
• Aim for a coherent essay. At the beginning of each body paragraph use a connecting word/phrase/sentence to create a smooth transition
from the previous paragraph and through the topic sentence connect the ideas of the particular paragraph to the thesis.
• Remember, in an analysis you break down a whole (the text) into its parts only to put back everything together at the end so as to see
more clearly the “big picture”; that is, how these parts contribute (to a greater or lesser extent) to the author’s purpose. Persuade your
readers that your opinion about the effectiveness of the theme and the reasons for it are valid!
Citation: MLA style (7th edition)
Length: 1200-1300 words min.
Submission Details: Full, typed and polished Analysis Essay due on date and time as announced on BB (Blackboard>Assignments>Analysis Essay> BB &
TII submission + Hard Copy in class with prewriting). Remember there are penalties for late submission! Check Student Handbook for details!
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