Essay Writing Strategy for 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle'

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on literary analysis, symbol interpretations, and essay structuring methods outlined in the lecture.

Context, Response, Message Framework

An essay planning structure that analyzes the beginning (cultural/social context), middle (characters' responses to context), and end (the author's final message) of a text.

BME Structure

An essay planning method standing for Beginning, Middle, End, used to trace thematic progression across a text.

Cause, Response, Consequence Structure

An alternative term for the beginning, middle, and end essay planning framework used to analyze social preconditions, character responses, and ultimate thematic outcomes.

Food Symbolism in 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle'

Symbolizes female power and total extraction from the male capitalist system, depicted when Mary Cat and Constance shift from financial currency to a gift-based food economy.

Moon Symbolism in 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle'

Symbolizes Mary Cat's dream of total social isolation, achieved when she and Constance live completely detached from society.

Topic Sentence

The opening sentence of an essay body paragraph that requires three elements: a main idea, a full sentence link to the prompt, and author intent.

Analysis Block

A structured paragraph component consisting of three levels: literal evidence, symbolic analysis, and author intent.

Literal Level Analysis

The first step of an analysis block where quotes, examples, and textual evidence are directly cited and embedded in context (who, what, where, when).

Symbolic Level Analysis

The second level of an analysis block that unpacks what literal events or textual details represent, split into character analysis and detail analysis.

Character Analysis

A form of symbolic analysis that explains what an event or action reveals about a character's or group's inner thoughts, feelings, or motivations.

Detail Analysis

A form of symbolic analysis focusing on literary techniques (such as motifs, similes, or metaphors) to explain why a specific detail was constructed and what depth it adds.

Author Intent Analysis

The final level of an analysis block explaining the broader critique or message the author delivers to the audience through their arrangement of symbols.

Contemporary Analysis

A category of author intent analysis that connects the text's commentary to the specific historical era, culture, or social norms of the time the author was writing.

Eternal Messages

A category of author intent analysis focusing on universal observations about human nature or social dynamics that apply across all time periods and societies.