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Chapter 12 introduces you to literary analysis and the differences between reading literally and literarily, with the goal of demonstrating that analyzing literature doesn't have to be mystifying or arbitrary. The chapter guides you through a process for responding to a piece of literature as you read in ways that will prepare you to produce an effective closed-form essay about a short story. By the end of the chapter, you should understand the following: 1. Reading literally differs from reading literarily in several ways, including your relationship to the "truth" of the text, as well as its meaning. 2. When you read literally, you are trying to find meaning; when you read literarily, you are attempting to make meaning. 3. Literary texts provide various signals that invite us to read them literarily; they open themselves to multiple interpretations. 4. Good literary questions call attention to problematic details of the texts under analysis and encourage readers to return to the texts to reconsider those problems. 5. Such formal features as plot, setting, character, point of view, and theme provide you with opportunities to ask specific questions that will help you analyze a short story.
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