Critical Lenses & "The Things They Carried": Home

Formalist:

A formalist critic examines the form of the work as a whole; how each individual part of the text (the individual scenes and chapters), the characters, the settings, the tone, the point of view, the diction, and all other elements of the text  join together to make it a single text. 

After analyzing each part, the critic then describes how they work together to give meaning (theme) to the text. This approach examines a text as a self-contained object; it does not, therefore, concern itself with biographical information about the author, historical events outside of the story, or literary allusions, mythological patterns, or psychoanalytical traits of the characters.

Questions to ask:

• What is the setting of the work? What is the basic tone througout?

• How is the work’s structure unified? How is the way a story or novel is put together influence the way we read it?

• How do various elements of the work reinforce its meaning?

• What recurring patterns (repeated or related words, images, etc.) can you find? What is the effect of these patterns or motifs?
• How does repetition reinforce the theme(s)?
• How does the writer’s diction reveal or reflect the work’s meaning?

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Formalism/New Criticism

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Biographical:

A biographical approach takes the stance that the author and their history are important to the meaning of a text.  These critics look at when and where the text was written, and try to understand the social, political or cultural influence of the time period and its effect on the author.  They research the author’s life and times and relate that information to the work.  Biographical theory suggests that the work is a reflection of the author’s experience or feelings.

Questions to ask:

• In what ways does the book reflect the experiences or feelings of the author and the time that he or she lived in
• What is the background of the author? How does this affect their world-view? What role does this world-view have in the text?
• How might characters in the book reflect the lives of real people who lived during the time period or events in the book? How are their perspectives represented or examined in the book?

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• Biographical Criticism

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Historical:

A Historical lens analyzes a work in its historical context. This lens seeks to understand the time period, social and political context of the time, and how the events of the time affect the author and the characters of the text.

Questions to ask:

• What time period was the work written, and what time period is the literary work taking place in? Is there a connection?
• Were major historical events taking place? What were they? How does the text reflect this?
• Are the characters a product of their time? 
• Are any of the characters a voice for change? What message is the author trying to convey through them?

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• New Historicism, Cultural Studies

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​​​​​​Feminist/Gender:

This lens xamines how gender roles and/or sexuality are characterized in the work. This approach is not limited to issues involving women.  

Questions to ask:

• What is the author's gender identification? How do they connect with the text?
• Are there traditional gender roles? Do characters follow these roles? How would they view a character that did not follow traditional roles?
• Are women minor characters in the text or do they take on a prominent role? What roles do they have? Does it relate back to the gender of the author?
• How does the author define gender roles?
• What role does society/culture play in gender roles/sexuality within the text?
• Would an LGBTQIA character be accepted in the text? Why or why not?

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• Feminist Criticism

• Gender Studies and Queer Theory

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Character/Psychological:

Based originally on the theories of Freud, the psychological lens looks at how a character's behaviors are influenced by their unconscious thoughts and fears. When using this criticism focus on the subconscious and how it affects and influences the conscious mind. Often, this theory is applied to the author and what the text is telling us about their psychology; however, it can be applied to characters as well.

Questions to ask:

• What does the text reveal about the author? What message is the author trying to relay? 
• What attitudes appear in the text? How do they change or progress through the piece?
• What kinds of family dynamics are happening in the work? 
• Perhaps a character shows signs of mental repression, what events have influenced this? How does it affect their daily life? How does it affect relationships with family and/or friends?

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• Psychoanalytic Criticism

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