Summary v. Analysis
What is a Summary?
A summary is a brief description of a movie, book, story, or poem. A summary answers the basic questions; what, when, where, who, and how. It can be used to help organize thoughts, plots, characters, and time lines. Summarizing helps you to comprehend the text or film you are reading or watching. When you summarize you are basically reducing the context to reveal the basic meaning and plot significance.
Example of a Summary...
Stranded in a life boat, sharing limited space with a vicious Bengal tiger, a young man must come to terms with the loss of his beloved family and find the will to survive. "Life of Pi", written by Yann Martel, tells the drama of a 16 year old Piscine Patel as he and his family move from India to Canada. Mid-way through their ocean voyage the ship that carried the Patel family and various animals from their zoo began to sink. Pi and a large Bengal tiger named Richard Parker found themselves to be the only survivors lost at sea in a life boat. Through faith and desperation Pi trains the tiger and soon they learn to cohabitate. After being washing up on the shore of Mexico, Richard Parker and Pi go their separate ways. Pi is then saved by the locals, and questioned by the authorities about the sinking of the ship. The authorities don't believe Pi's fantastical tale and must placate them with a horror story that resembles the previous stories with the key actors that are human. Piscine Patel then makes his way to his final destination in Canada.
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What is Analysis?
Analysis is a summary broken down into it's individual parts. The characters are dissected, the plots explored, and the themes are identified for further research. Questions are pondered, while the answers are turned into arguments. It isn't necessary to have the right answer, just that you have enough evidence to prove your point. To truly understand and critically assimilate what you have read you must analyze your text. Appreciation comes with knowledge and understanding.
Example of Analysis...
Piscene Patel, the main character in "Life of Pi" written by Yann Martel, is a very strong in his his faith. Actually, I should say faiths because he actively practices Hinduism, Muslim, and Christianity. His faiths are tested when he is shipwrecked with a 450 pound Bengal tiger by the name of Richard Parker. After 227 days lost at sea; near death from dehydration, starvation, and the the constant threat of the tigers jaws or the circling fins of the ever present sharks; his survival is definitely a miracle. Faith of his Gods gave Pi Patel the sure will power to live, even when he has already lost everything.
A little Summary in your Analysis..
It may be important to add a little story summary in the opening paragraph. It gives the reader a foundation to understand what your analysis is about. Your other paragraphs should include your arguments and the evidence that support them. Then your conclusion will finish leaving your reader actively questioning whether or not they agree with you.
"A summary answers the basic questions; what, when, where, who, and how."
ReplyDeleteThe last remaining question would then be "why," which is how I approached this assignment. Why does the what, when, where, who, and how matter? This applies to both the infrastructure of the piece being analyzed and how it can be applied to the real world. I like the example you chose, though now I know the basic ending to that story. Glad I could learn from it at least!