How to analyse fiction

When beginning to analyze a text of this sort – it may be helpful to ask yourself some questions beginning with wh-:
Where does the story take place?
When does the story take place?Who appears in the story?
What happens?
Why does this happen?

These questions will help you get started – but to get into the details and a thorough analyses you might want to use the checklist below.

Setting (time, place, social environment) Where and when does the story take place? Is it in the real or in an imaginary world? Does the setting/place change – is there more than one physical setting? Is there any indication of the social environment? Is it described in detail or is it hinted at? Does the setting create a particular atmosphere? Does it reveal anything about the character’s feelings? The time: is it flashback, chronological, flash forward, two events happening at the same time?

Characters How many characters are involved in the story? Who are they – and what do we learn about them (age, appearance, family situation, background, education, job language, thoughts and opinions)? Who are the main characters and who are supporting characters? Are they all introduced at once? Do the characters remain the same throughout the story – or do they develop? Are they flat (a certain character described from one point of view – and not in any complex descriptions) or are they round/complex (described from different point of views – both the good and bad qualities – and they are nuanced described)? What causes development or change? Direct or indirect characterization: direct is when the text describes in many details what the character is like – here you form an objective opinion. An indirect characterization is when you have to fill out the blanks in what the text does not tell you – you have to form