This is how you get to a good analytical thesis:
1. Ask a good question
* Why is the author doing this?
* Why is this character here?
* Why do these characters disagree?
* Why is the narration like this?
* Why is there so much _____ in this story?
OR
Notice things
* Repetition: words, things, types
* Word choice
* Character's actions, style, relationships
* Things
* Setting
* Sound, tone
* How you feel when you're reading
THEN
2. Brainstorm
* Write down all of the details (yes, quotations!) that fit your observations or your question.
THEN
3. Take a stand!
* Answer your question or identify a pattern
* You may feel uncertain... this is a good thing! It means that your thesis is not obvious
THEN
4. Write your thesis in one clear sentence
How to test your thesis (is it analytical? is it good?)
* Can you imagine a reasonable person who has read the text saying, "I disagree"? (you want them to be able to disagree)
* Can you inderline the part of the thesis that requires proof?
* Is the thesis taking sides in an argument?
* If the thesis is in the middle, is it highlighting the complexity of the argument?
* Can you prove the thesis?
* Does it matter? (is there a "so what"?) [I often run into this problem while writing]
* Can anyone who reads the text see your argument just from hearing your thesis? (too simple or observational)
Example of good and bad thesis statements:
GOOD (analytical):
* Sherman Alexie uses the motif of food to demonstrate and explore the struggle between love and hate that many of his characters experience.
* Gish Jen uses the differing attitudes of the mother and the father to show that the struggle between old and new is not limited to a generational divide.
* The narrative style of Omelas creates a discomfort in the reader that LeGuin hopes will mirror her own discomfort with the gap between privilege and oppression.
* In Walker's Everyday Use, the mother's inner ambivalence is more painful than the outer struggle between her two daughters.
BAD (non-analytical):
* Sherman Alexie uses food as an important motif.
* In Gish Jen's story, The American Society, the mother and father have differing views about the struggle between old versus new.
* The narrator in LeGuin's Omelas creates a sense of discomfort in the reader.
* In Walker's Everyday Use, the mother is ambivalent as to which of her daughters should keep the family quilts.