Flash fiction is interesting to analyze because every word counts. The power of flash fiction happens when the reader feels a story is being revealed sentence by sentence, one unexpected turn after another, like a series of curtains being pulled back. For this essay, you will read Following the notes and analyze it for meaning. Write a paper, identifying one or more themes in the story as a whole. The theme is the lesson, the moral, or the main idea the author wants you to understand from the story.
How to go about it: Reading & Analyzing
Read the short story, doing your best to suspend like/dislike-style judgment.
Think about what you notice in the story. What in the story do you find interesting? Strange? Revealing? Moving? Ask yourself why you think these parts stick out to you? What do they mean?
Look for and note patterns of repetition, contrast and for anomalies. What repetitions, strands, binaries or anomalies feel important and why?
Ask yourself questions about the story and then do your best to answer them, drilling down deeper into meaning.
