Writing a Paragraph Analysis—
Here’s the information from the book (if you need it) to help you write your paragraph analysis. Remember, these are due on Monday!
» In the body sentences, briefly describe the elements (character, plot, setting, symbols) of the story that reveal the theme.
» In the closing sentence, state the theme of the novel.
Sample Paragraph
Scrooge’s Awakening
In Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge,is a hard-hearted man who sees no meaning in Christmas.Flashbacks reveal that he has become more and more focused on his business, shunning contact with friends and relatives. Scrooge is a character living in a cocoon of selfishness, blinded to the world beyond his counting house. One Christmas Eve Scrooge follows his usual holiday pattern—refusing requests for charity, berating his employee for wanting to take Christmas Day off, and rejecting the holiday dinner invitation of his only nephew. But as darkness falls, the setting shifts to mysterious images of deceased acquaintances, lost youth, and a prophecy of Scrooge’s own cold and lonely death. What he sees horrifies him and brings him to his senses. Scrooge learns that Christmas is a yearly reminder about the importance of love and the rewards of generosity and kindness towards one’s fellow humans.