Understanding the Literary Argument Essay

The Literary Argument Essay is one of three essay types on the AP Literature and Composition exam. This essay asks you to form an interpretation of a literary work by making a specific claim about how an element of the text contributes to its meaning as a whole. Your job is to convince the reader that your interpretation is valid and defensible through careful analysis of the text.

Breaking Down Our Sample Prompt

Let's examine our prompt step by step:

Prompt:

Key Components of the Prompt:

1. Context Statement: "In many works of literature, characters experience a sense of displacement..." This provides the general literary phenomenon you should focus on.

2. Task Instructions: "...analyze how the character's experience with displacement contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole." This tells you exactly what your essay should accomplish.

3. Warning: "Do not merely summarize the plot." This reminds you that analysis, not summary, is required.

Key Terms to Understand

• Displacement: The condition of being removed from a familiar environment, position, or situation. This could be physical, emotional, social, or psychological.

• Contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole: This requires connecting your analysis of displacement to broader themes, messages, or purposes of the entire text.

• Analyze: Break down how and why something works, not just what happens.

Our Sample Text: "The Great Gatsby"

For this prompt, we'll use F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby." Here's a brief overview:

• Set in the summer of 1922 on Long Island and New York City
• Narrated by Nick Carraway, who moves to West Egg next to mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby
• Gatsby has spent years trying to recreate his past with Daisy Buchanan, who is now married to Tom Buchanan
• Themes include the American Dream, wealth, social class, and the impossibility of recapturing the past

Identifying Displacement in "The Great Gatsby"

Let's identify some possible examples of displacement to analyze:

How to Approach the Prompt

• ☝️ Identify the specific character and form of displacement you want to focus on.
• 🤔 Consider how this displacement functions in the text. Does it:
  • Reveal character development?
  • Highlight thematic concerns?
  • Create dramatic tension?
  • Reflect broader social or historical issues?
• 🤝 Connect to meaning: Determine how this specific example of displacement connects to the work's larger message or purpose.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• ❌ Plot summary without analysis: Simply retelling Gatsby's story without analyzing how his displacement creates meaning.

  • ✅ Instead: "Gatsby's lavish parties represent his attempt to bridge the displacement from his humble origins, reflecting Fitzgerald's critique of social mobility in America."

• ❌ Focusing only on the character: Analyzing Gatsby's displacement without connecting to the novel's broader themes.

  • ✅ Instead: "Gatsby's social displacement reveals Fitzgerald's commentary on class barriers in the supposedly egalitarian American society."

• ❌ Generalizing without textual evidence: Making claims about displacement without specific examples from the text.

  • ✅Instead: "When Nick describes Gatsby as having 'paid a high price for living too long with a single dream,' he illuminates how Gatsby's temporal displacement ultimately destroys him."

• ❌ Misinterpreting the prompt: Writing about something other than displacement (like general character development).

From Prompt to Planning

After understanding the prompt, you should:

1. Choose a character and specific form of displacement to focus on.
2. Gather textual evidence of this displacement.
3. Develop an interpretation of how this displacement contributes to the novel's meaning.
4. Begin formulating a thesis statement that makes this connection clear.

Up next, we'll focus on developing a strong, defensible thesis statement using our understanding of the prompt and "The Great Gatsby."