Literary Critique Methods for Dead Stars

Overview

This lesson explains how to critique a literary selection using several critical approaches and demonstrates them through the short story “Dead Stars” by Paz Marquez Benitez.

Target Competency

• Critique a literary selection using:
  • Structuralist/Formalist approach
  • Moralist approach
  • Marxist approach
  • Feminist approach
  • Historical approach
  • Reader-response approach

Parts of a Literary Critique

• A literary critique (critical analysis) usually includes:

  • Introduction
  • Summary of the literary work
  • Analysis (using critical approaches)
  • Conclusion

• In the analysis part, several critical approaches or “lenses” are applied to interpret the text.

Short Story Used: “Dead Stars”

• Title: “Dead Stars”
• Author: Paz Marquez Benitez (Filipino writer)
• Main character: Alfredo Salazar
• Plot outline:
  • Alfredo believes in true love and seeks ecstasy in love.
  • He first loves Esperanza; their families know each other.
  • After three years of relationship, they become engaged.
  • Alfredo is a lawyer, wants warmth and compassion.
  • Esperanza is principled, impassionate, and strong-willed.
  • Alfredo’s love for Esperanza fades when he meets Julia Salas.
  • Julia is the judge’s sister-in-law and is optimistic, enthusiastic, with her own dreams.
  • Alfredo is strongly attracted to Julia and hides his engagement from her.
  • He also keeps secrets from Esperanza about his feelings.
  • When Julia returns to his town, Alfredo plans to confess his feelings.
  • Julia already knows of his engagement and simply congratulates him.
  • Alfredo returns home and hears Esperanza talk about loyalty and faithfulness.
  • Esperanza reveals she knows about his affair and urges him to cancel the wedding.
  • Despite this, the wedding continues; Alfredo “surrenders to reason.”
  • Eight years later, Alfredo visits near Julia’s town for work.
  • He feels nostalgic, seeks Julia, finds her still unmarried.
  • He dreams of a new life with her but realizes things have changed.
  • Julia herself has changed and has “lost something”; feelings are no longer the same.

Overview of Critical Approaches

Structured Summary of Approaches

Structuralist / Formalist Approach

• Core idea:
  • True meaning of a text is found by analyzing its internal literary elements.
  • External factors such as author biography or historical background are not considered.
• Elements analyzed:
  • Literary elements
  • Literary devices
  • Structure (organization of the work)
  • Language (style of writing)
• Sample elements mentioned for “Dead Stars”:
  • Structure of the story
  • Narrator’s point of view
  • Foreshadowing
  • Types of conflict
  • Symbolism
  • Theme
• Purpose:
  • Show how these elements work together to reveal the total meaning of the story.

Historical Approach

• Core idea:
  • Understand literary works through the historical and cultural conditions of their creation.
  • Examines how time period and culture shape themes and characters.
• Application to “Dead Stars”:
  • Focus on historical and cultural context of the early 1900s.
  • Helps explain:
    • Courtship practices
    • Marriage expectations
    • Views on fidelity and loyalty
  • These social norms influence characters’ decisions and conflicts.

Moralist Approach

• Core idea:
  • Study literature to see whether it teaches a lesson or message.
  • Evaluate if it helps readers live better lives and understand the world.
• Focus:
  • Ethical implications of characters’ actions.
  • Moral consequences presented in the story.
• Example idea from “Dead Stars”:
  • Cheating can affect relationships and even marriage.
  • The story shows emotional and relational costs of infidelity.

Feminist Approach

• Core idea:
  • Focus on female representation in literature.
  • Pay attention to women’s points of view, concerns, and values.
• Underlying assumptions:
  • Western society is pervasively patriarchal:
    • Male-centered and male-controlled.
    • Organized to subordinate women.
  • Gender is socially constructed, not purely biologically determined.
  • Patriarchal ideology often shapes works considered “great” literature.
• Application to “Dead Stars”:
  • Esperanza represents “typical” women of the time.
  • She is portrayed as very dependent on men.
  • She cannot easily make decisions for herself.
  • Shows limited autonomy given to women in that period.

Reader-response Approach

• Core idea:
  • Meaning of a text depends on the reader’s response.
  • The reader’s reaction is central to interpretation.
• Features:
  • Reader’s personal experiences influence interpretation.
  • Different readers may derive completely different meanings from the same text.
• Application:
  • A critique based on this approach presents the writer’s own response and perception.
  • Emphasis on feelings, reflections, and personal insights after reading “Dead Stars.”

Marxist Approach

• Core idea:
  • Examine relationship between a literary work and its economic and social reality.
  • Focus on how class and power structures appear in the text.
• Key elements:
  • Class stratification:
    • Some tasks or roles valued more than others.
  • Class relations:
    • Authority based on property ownership.
  • Dominant ideology:
    • Commonly rich versus poor issues.
• Questions:
  • How do power, politics, and money shape events and characters?
  • How does class struggle appear in the text?
• Example text mentioned:
  • “The Necklace” (previously discussed story).
  • Analysis highlights:
    • Impact of social conditions on Mathilde’s character.
    • Struggle with money influenced by materialistic values of French society.

Writing a Literary Analysis: Format & Tips

• Required format when composing a literary analysis:
  • Write an Introduction.
  • Provide a Summary of the literary work.
  • Write the Analysis section:
    • Use one or more of the critical approaches discussed.
  • End with a Conclusion.
• Use of multiple approaches:
  • Analysis does not need to focus on only one approach.
  • A combination of different perspectives can be used.
  • Combining lenses helps:
    • Further interpret the text.
    • Evaluate it more deeply.
    • Appreciate its complexity.

Key Terms & Definitions

• Literary critique / critical analysis:
  • A written evaluation and interpretation of a literary work.
• Critical approaches / lenses:
  • Different perspectives used to analyze and interpret a text.
• Structuralist/Formalist approach:
  • Focuses on internal elements and structure of the text alone.
• Historical approach:
  • Focuses on historical and cultural context influencing the work.
• Moralist approach:
  • Focuses on moral lessons and their impact on readers’ lives.
• Feminist approach:
  • Focuses on gender, patriarchy, and representation of women.
• Reader-response approach:
  • Focuses on the reader’s personal reaction and meaning-making.
• Marxist approach:
  • Focuses on class, money, power, and social structures in literature.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Practice writing a literary critique using:
  • Introduction, summary, analysis (with approaches), conclusion.
• Apply at least one approach to “Dead Stars” in your own words.
• Experiment with combining two or more approaches for a richer analysis.