Instead of asking what this story means, in our reading responses, we ask: how was it made? What can we learn for our own writing from how this was made? This is not a class focused on teaching you how to analyze literature. This is a class focused on teaching you how to make literature. So the goal of the reading response is practical: how can we look closely at a piece of published work in a way that will help us become better writers. Choose from any of the prompts below which particularly compel you as they relate to a story assigned for this class. You can write your entire response on one question. You can write a response to more than one question. Be thoughtful. Look closely and avoid vague generalizations.
Do a line by line close reading of a passage. (1) Write out the passage. (2) Using footnotes explore implicit and explicit meaning. (3) How does this passage relate to the larger concerns of the story? (4) How does this passage point toward the story's climax and resolution?
What's the conflict? What does the protagonist want? What's in the way? Are the obstacles formidable? What are they? Chart the narrative arc: the rising action and turning point
How is the story a record of choices?
How is the story a record of change? (How does the protagonist change?)
What is the protagonist's problem rooted in character?
So what? Discuss the relevance of the story for you? How does it relate to our lives? Your life?
Analyze closely at any one craft feature you find compelling, and which provides a "path in" to discuss other elements of the story. Point of View, Characterization, Image, Setting, Atmosphere, Narrative Structure, etc.
How does this influence your own writing? (Be specific: what changes in your piece does it make you want to make?)
How does the story remain mysterious for you? What questions does it leave you to ponder?
In what way is the story ambitious? (In what way does the author take a risk in the writing/rendering of the story?)
Reading Responses should be at 1-2 pages, double-spaced, typed.