Interpreting Short Stories

Oftentimes people assume there is one and only one "meaning" that a story has. This is not true. Stories can have more than one meaning; however, this does not mean that stories can have unlimited meanings. The meaning of a story must fit the story: it must be plausible (probable/believable given what the story is about) and reasonable (arguable based on evidence which can be supported by the elements of the story).

Interpretations grow out of

• facts contained in the stories;
• the background, experience, history, and culture of the writer (his or her world views/world context);
• the conventions of literary texts; and
• the background, experience, history, and culture of the reader (his or her world views/world context).

An interpretation develops as the reader

• analyzes how the elements of the work individually function;
• analyzes how the elements of the work interact to create a single impression or to move toward a common goal;
• analyzes how the ideas contained in the work either contradict or reinforce the reader's ideas about the world;
• is challenged in his or her efforts to understand and appreciate the work; and
• is moved by the language and drama of the work.

Steps to writing the first draft of an analysis

• Begin by reading the work through once at a normal pace (like reading something for pleasure).
• Record your feelings after you finish and briefly describe what the work seems to be about.
• Then read it again, but slowly. Write out the work in "plain sense" words.
• What is happening?
• What is this about?
• What is important or at stake?
• Read the work again, making notes of
• things that seem significant,
• things you don't understand,
• things that are repeated,
• the use of various literary conventions (c.f., allusions, symbols, alliteration)
• things that reveal or connect to world views and world contexts (c.f., class issues, gender issues, historical references)
• Look for a pattern of relationships within your notes. How do the things in your notes fit together? Do they suggest a particular way of looking at this work?
• Make a list of all the things that seem to fit together into a particular way of looking at the work.
• Combine items on the list that go together, and list the items in an order that makes sense and helps you understand what the work seems to be saying. Convert these notes into an outline.
• Write out a draft that explains the meaning of the work following the outline you have written.
• Rewrite your draft to make it smoother, clearer, and grammatically correct.

Adapted from Kirszner, Laurie G. and Stephen Mandell. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. 3^rd ed. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1997. 1-35