Big Two-Hearted River by Ernest Hemingway literary analysis

There are several ways to analyze a work of literature. Two of the most common are below:
1. A formal approach€“which examines one (or more) of the literary elements in a work and explains how it relates to the whole, thus contributing to a text’s overall meaning or significance. Possible elements to consider include plot, character, theme, setting, conflict, structure, point of view, genre, style, tone, imagery, symbolism, irony, narrator, foreshadowing, paradox, allusion, metaphor, rhythm, rhyme, etc.

2. A critical approach€“which examines a work by relating it to the historical, social, cultural, or political situations in which it was written to show how the author was influenced by personal experiences, events, prevailing attitudes, or contemporary values.

Each of these approaches requires careful reading of the primary text, as well as a debatable claim that will need to be supported or "proved" with evidence (direct references, quotations) from the text. Remember, writing about literature is a way to broaden your own understanding and to share your own reading experience. While the second option (a critical approach) will obviously involve some background reading, you should not be going to outside sources with the idea of creating a "cut and pasted" paper of others’ ideas. Your primary concern for either approach should be an examination of the work of literature you selected.

Your essays should be in MLA Style and approximately 2-3 pages (not including the Works Cited page). In the upper left-hand corner of the paper, place your name, the professor’s name, the course name, and the due date for the assignment on consecutive lines. Double space your information from your name onward, and don’t forget a title. All papers should be in Times New Roman font with 12-point type with one-inch margins all the way around your paper. All paragraph indentations should be indented five spaces (use the tab key) from the left margin. All work is to be left justified. When quoting lines in literature, please research the proper way to cite short stories, plays, or poems.