Please perform a Critical Ananlysis of the song “Whitey on the Moon” This analysis should be read through the theory: CRITICAL RACE THEORY for literary analysis. I will attach a photo of the song lyrics. Below are the steps to success (they are vague because they are direction prior to choosing a theory, but again this paper will be for Critical Race Theory literary analysis) if you have access to Peter Barry’s “Beginning Theory” 4th edition that would be best as a source for Critical Race Theory. Please no Plagerism, No Ai.
Steps to Success!
1. Choose the theory you want to work with from the list above. From this theory and your chosen
framework, decide on the 1-2 concepts that most interest you and that you would like to work with
in your essay fictional text. You’ll want to make sure to define and contextualize these concepts in
your essay; this is the way to work more deftly with literary theory in your literary analysis. “What is
intersectionality, and why is it a helpful concept for your understand of the text at hand?†Or, “How
does orientalism help us see Western assumptions about other cultures?†= the framework that will
help you write an essay using a theoretical concept.
2. Outline which elements of your fictional text you will analyze in your paper. If you’re working
with a poem, you might break your analysis up into sections on form, context, and larger
significance. If you’re going to analyze a scene in a novel or play, you might do something similar, or
you might organize your analysis around character, interactions, etc.
3. Organize the outside sources you have collected. Choose one or two quotations from each that
will support, contest, or complicate your own argument. Remember that you engage with outside
sources as deeply as with the theory and primary text; you never want to just include a quote from
someone else’s article without pausing to analyze and contextualize it.
4. Similarly to the first paper, you will close read your text through the theoretical lens you have
chosen. It will be easier to write your thesis statement, or your argument, after you’ve mapped out
your analysis; what are you trying to prove about the text, and how does your theoretical concept
help you prove it? What does the theory help us see that we wouldn’t have noticed without it? How
does the theory complicate or expand our reading of the text? And now, how have other scholars
written about this text? How have other scholars engaged with the theory you are interested in?
The Importance of Outlining
In a longer paper that juggles many different works, a strong outline will help you stay organized.
Outlines can be very flexible; you don’t need to map out the entire essay, but it is a good idea to
have a loose outline so that you can anticipate how to arrange and fit your close readings, theoretical
readings, and engagement with other sources. Here’s a sample of the first four paragraphs; you can
start with something like this, then fill it out as your drafting progresses:
1. Intro Paragraph
a. Hook opening
b. Introduction of fictional text
c. Brief introduction of your chosen theory
d. Statement linking the theory to the text
e. Thesis statement (will likely be 1-2 sentences)
2. Theory Background Paragraph
a. Background to your chosen theory
b. The concepts, terms, or tools you will be using from your theory
c. Why these concepts, terms, or tools are useful for literary study, and for your upcoming
analysis in particular
3. First Analysis Paragraph
a. Topic sentence
b. Contextualize aspect of fictional text
c. Quote fictional text
d. Provide observation about quote
e. Introduce theoretical concept in relation to quote
f. Analyze quote through theoretical lens
e. Explain how this analysis supports your thesis
4. Second Analysis Paragraph
a. Topic sentence
b. Introduce scholarly source #1
c. Relate source’s argument to your own
d. Quote source
e. Analyze quote from source in relation to your own argument
f. Anticipate how this source will connect to the next analysis in para. #3
Etc., etc.
Ticky Tacky Requirements
â– Please send me your chosen text by Sunday, April 13 (you can just email me the title and
author)
â– MLA formatting (For help with this, visit Purdue Owl MLA Formatting Page)
â– Include a Works Cited page
â– Yes, you can write more than 6 pages if you need to, but not too much more, please!
