The Secret Garden Analysis

ANALYSIS OF THE SECRET GARDEN BOOK STEP I: WHAT IS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF THE LITERARY WORK?

1. What expectations or preconceptions do you have before you begin reading? When we saw the tittle of the book we thought that it was about a Korean TV series or we thought that the book was about a mysterious garden where unrealistic things happened. Do you have any prior knowledge of the author or this work or similar works? No, we do not know anything about the author but we had the opportunity to read another similar work such as “Oliver Twist” written by Charles Dickens, a book inspired in children life. Have introductory notes in textbooks or instructors' comments or study questions influenced your initial expectations? Yes, it has at the end of the book. The book has influenced us because the author tries to call our attention through these introductory notes and comments to follow the reading. 2. Do you enjoy reading this work? Why or why not? Yes, we really like this book. Because we considerate it was well written and it was not boring since we started to read it. And one of the most important points that the book taught us was about the mental change that people should have, it means to change negative thoughts to positive thoughts. What motivates you to read through to the end, or reread it (besides the fact that it may be required for a class)? One of the reasons that motivate us to read this work through to the end was the personalities of each character and the curiosity to know more about the secret that the house keeps without forgetting the way how children can see the world using their imagination.

3. What is your initial impression of the work's purpose? Is it entertaining, informative, didactic (teaching a lesson), philosophical, argumentative, or some combination of these? For us this book was a combination between entertaining and didactic because it gave us a moral to learn, as we said before, to keep our mind with positive thoughts. Do the title, division headings, and opening lines give precise indications of the purpose or subtle or symbolic clues, or misleading impressions of the whole work? Yes, the title, division headings, and opening lines help us to understand and give us clues to know a little bit what the book and the chapters would be. 4. Is this work difficult to read? If so, why? Yes, it was a little bit difficult because we did not understand some words, therefore we had to look up unfamiliar words in the dictionary. Have you looked up unfamiliar words in a dictionary? Do foreign words or archaic (outdated) words or unusual sentence patterns make reading difficult? Yes, there were words and phrases that were difficult to understand the book, for example the Yorkshire dialect which was the most spoken. Later decide whether it is "easy" or difficult to read for a good reason: does the simplicity or difficulty of the language contribute to the author's message or does it seem either boring or unnecessarily obscure and complex? We think that the expressions the author uses at the moment to write the book tries to show us the customs of people who lived in that place and period to know more about it through the Yorkshire language. 5. Do your first impressions change between your reading of the beginning and end? If so, why? Our first impressions didn’t change until the end because at the moment to read chapter by chapter it helped us to predict how the book would end.

STEP II: WHAT TYPE OF LITERARY WORK IS IT?

The genre of this literary work is the combination of narrative, novel, and drama because the author describes and tells the events. And the subcategories are fantasy and mystery into the house that would be revealed thanks to the children’s curiosity created by their imagination.

STEP III: WHAT LITERARY TECHNIQUES ARE USED IN THIS WORK? 1. Plot •

What are the actions or events of the narrative and how are they presented? Are there major and minor events in the story? How are they related? The actions are presented by an anonymous narrator. In some actions the narrator tells the story, but in other actions the characters play the role of the narrator. Yes, there are major and minor events. The major events in the book were the death of Mary’s parents, the death of Mary’s aunt, the discovery of the secret garden, the meeting between Mary and her cousin Colin. The minor event was the meeting between Mary and Martha’s mother.

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How does the passage of time function in the plot? Are the episodes in chronological order? If not, why not? The episodes go in chronological order because it explains since Mary arrived to the house.

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What elements create suspense in the plot? Where is the climax (most intense action or point of highest emotional interest)? The elements that created suspense in the story were the key at the moment to open the door of the secret garden and when Mary was walking on the corridors of the big house and heard the crying of her cousin. The climax of the story was in the garden.

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Does the plot depend on chance or coincidence, or does it grow out of the personalities of the characters? Do event seem realistic or unrealistic (romantic or fantastic)?

The event seems realistic but there were moments in which the children transport you into a magic world full of fantasy. •

What conflicts are dramatized? Are they internal conflicts (within the minds of people) or external conflicts (between individuals or between people and the world)? One of the conflicts in the book the secret garden was Colin’s situation about his illness and Mary’s case about her attitude. These are internal conflicts because both Colin and Mary had always negative thoughts in the face of adversity. Are conflicts resolved at the end of the story? Is there a surprise ending? Is the ending satisfying to you as the reader? Yes, there are one of them was the reconciliation between Collin and his father, another was when Colin could walk and enjoy the life and forget his false illness created by his mind. The ending was not a surprise for us because we could see the positive changes in Collin’s attitude for that reason we expected a happy ending without worries and bitterness.

2. Character •

Are the characters believable (round and complex, like real people) or are they flat stereotypes? (Remember that literary characters are always fictional creations; they can never be as complex as real people.) The characters are believable because they are humans like us and they show us their innocence and their feelings in each situation.

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Is there one protagonist (main character) or several? Does the story have traditional heroes or heroines (protagonists) and villains (antagonists)? There are two protagonist and they are Mary and Colin. In this book we consider Mary like a heroine of the story because she helped Collin from a miserable life. We did not find the traditional villains who did the impossible life to the protagonists from the beginning to the end.

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How does the author reveal characters–through direct description and authorial comment, through the comments and thoughts of other characters, or through the characters' own actions, words, and thoughts?

The author reveals characters through direct description for example when the author presents Mary giving a personal description and also the author show us another character for example Collin through the characters' own actions, words, and thoughts. •

What are the most important traits of the main characters? What is the author's attitude to characters? Are we meant to sympathize with the characters or criticize them? Mary: She is described as a selfish, queer, ugly, and ill-tempered girl. At the same time she was well known as the most disagreeable girl, not just for her looking, also for her attitude and the wrong way to talk and treat people. Colin: He is described as a miserable, hysteric and spoilt boy owing to his illness. And his greatest worry was that he will inherit the same hunchback as his father. People saw Mary and Colin as tyrannical children because they were victims of their own isolation owing to their standoffish and rude attitude. At the beginning of the story, we dislike the characters’ attitude but in the process of the story we began to enjoy the greatest changes in their attitude until the end.

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How do the secondary and minor characters function in the work? Do they provide parallels or contrasts with traits of the main characters? The secondary characters that caused a greatest impact in the life of the main characters: Mary and Colin were Martha and her brother called Dickon because they help them to change not just the change of their attitude also the way to appreciate the life with the wonderful things that our Father gave us like nature. There was a contrast between the main and the secondary characters because Martha and Dickon demonstrated a vital energy to see the world through the positive thoughts and behaviors. On the other hand the negative thoughts and behaviors of Mary and Colin did not allow developing their best qualities to face all the situations that they had.

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Do the main characters develop (change or learn something) in the story, or do they remain static (unchanging)? How? Why? Yes, Mary and Colin change in the process of the story thanks to the exemplary actions that their best friends Martha and Dickon show them because they feel a great satisfaction to change for themselves.

3. Setting

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What is the setting of the work? Is there more than one? (Consider historical period, season, time of day, geographical place, exterior and interior, urban and rural settings.) At the beginning of the story the setting was placed in India. Then the death of Mary’s parents the setting as placed in the moors of Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire, England. Also the big house of Mary’s uncle was the setting because it kept mysterious secret. And the most important was the secret garden where happened wonderful and magic things

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Why has the author chosen to emphasize certain details of the setting? Does the setting simply provide a realistic backdrop or does it contain symbolic details? Because the author wanted to call the attention of the reader using the nature as her main point of the events. The setting had symbolic details because in the house Mary discovered some secrets one of them was that her mother had her twin. In the garden a place where Mary’s aunt enjoyed it.

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Are the social class and occupation of the characters significant? Does the social, economic, political, or religious environment affect the lives of characters and help to shape the theme of the work? At the beginning of the story Mary despised to servants but by the time she did not worried about the social class. The social environment affected the life of characters. For example, when Mary lived in India she was accustomed in a culture where she had the authority to order to her servants but the change of culture helped her to see the things in a different way. This process was the beginning to form the theme of the book because it helped her not to make the social difference. What mood or atmosphere is created by details of the setting? (Gloomy, tense, cheerful, etc.) The house looked a depressing and a cold place to live. At the beginning the secret garden looked messy, death and empty place but with the help of children the garden survived again.

4. Point of View • From what point of view is the story or poem narrated? Does the narrator speak in first person (using "I") or in third person? The narrator speaks in third person from the omniscient point of view. •

What is the prevailing tone of the work? That is, what attitudes toward the subject are conveyed by the narrator's choice of words? Is the subject presented in a manner that is serious, satirical, playful, condescending, etc.? The narrator presents the subjects in a serious way because the author shows real humans emotions.

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Does the point of view change in this work? No, the point of view does not change.

5. Images and Symbols • What images (any details that appeal to the physical senses) are used in this work? Most of the images were reals for example: when the garden was messy and then when it was suffer the wonderful changes. Another was when Mary met her cousin Colin. And the portrait of Mary’s aunt. •

Are the images literal (e.g., a description of a real rose), or figurative (as in, e.g., the simile, "My love is like a rose," and the metaphor, "My love is a rose")? The images are literal because they are so real and describe it in each situation

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Are there repeated images, or groups of related images in the work (e.g., various kinds of light and dark images)? If so, what is the significance of these patterns? The garden is the only image that was repeated in the book from the garden was neglected until the garden was in perfect conditions. This pattern tries to show us the same change as Mary and Colin suffered about their attitude with the garden from a desolate to a beautiful place.

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Does any image or action suggest such complex abstract meanings beyond itself that it functions as a symbol in this work? The robin redbreast was one of the main symbols who helped Mary because it showed wise and a kind nature to see the entrance to the secret garden a place where amazing things would happen.

The flowers was another symbol while it grew up at the same time the Mary and Colin’s feelings and they began to love themselves and live a cheerful life. The key of the secret garden not just help to discover it also it was the beginning to discover many hidden secrets. •

Are the symbols conventional, familiar ones (e.g., a rose symbolizing love, a cross representing Christianity), or unusual, private symbols? (The white whale in Moby Dick, e.g., has many possible symbolic meanings suggested by Melville.) The images are unusual because they cannot understand easily. Children were the only ones who had the capacity to understand this kind of event.

6. Style and Language • How would you describe the choice of words and their arrangement (the style) in this work? Does the author call attention to the way he or she uses words, or is the style inconspicuous? The author use clear words and examples to the reader can understand. Yes, it does. The author calls our attention because the words that she uses it is about love, healing, bravery and secret places that makes that we can use our imagination. •

What are the various connotations (shades of meaning, or emotional suggestions) of key words in this work? For us it is that you can find beauty in the midst of ugliness if you try and make something of yourself.

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If dialect or colloquial speech is used, what is its effect? Is the level of language appropriate for the speaker or characters in the work? The effect is that the reader cannot understand some words or the idea that author want to say us. The level of the language is appropriate for the speakers because according their age and it depends of their social environment where they were.

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Are there statements or actions in this work that is presented ironically (that is, there is a discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between what is said and what is intended)? No there are not.

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Is the style consistent throughout the work or does it shifts to a different style (more formal or less formal, for example)? No, it is not. The style changes from more formal to less formal, for example: when Martha was formal at the moment to speak but it changed because they got confidence so for this reason they began to speak in an informal way.

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Is the style suitable for the subject and theme of the work? Does it contribute to the meaning of the whole or hinder the reader's understanding? Yes, it is. The style is part of their culture and daily speech. At the beginning of the story it is a little bit difficult because the reader does not know the meaning of some words. However, by the process of the reading book you will accustom with the lecture and understand better the words or ideas.

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If you are reading a translation of a foreign work of literature or a modern translation of an older English work, what limitations or difficulties are created by your lack of contact with the author's original language? We found some words that were difficult to translate because some words did not have the same equivalence in our language. STEP IV:

WHAT ARE THE THEMES OF THE LITERARY WORK? 1. Does the title indicate theme? No, it does not. Because it is short title that cannot express the central ideas and the meaning of the book. 2. Are themes revealed in direct statements by the author? No, there are not. Because they are presenting in an indirect way through magic events. 3. Are themes revealed in direct statements by a narrator in the work? Remember that the speaker's voice (or persona) in a story or poem usually should not be equated with the author's voice. The narrator may be unreliable or may express ideas quite different from the author's own values.

4. Are themes revealed through actions, dramatic statements or personalities of characters?

The actions are revealed through personalities of characters because they show their feelings the power is love and happiness that cure Colin, magic is also important. If characters convey conflicting values, which values does the whole work seem to be defending? They convey the love, the forgiveness, the perseverance, the positive thoughts.

5. Are there other symbols, images, and descriptive details in the work that suggest themes? Look for repeated words and images as clues to theme. The garden is a place of calm and peace where you can find yourself. 6. Are there characters or events or other details that seem to have no importance in the plot of a story? In good literature, these details are there for a reason; they probably have a special thematic significance. Ben Weatherstaff he was the gardener who had the same behavior as Mary for that reason Mary realized that she should change her behavior to feel better with herself. STEP V: EVALUATION AND REVIEW

A. Personal Reactions 1. Has your reading of this work been enhanced in any way by your personal experience, other readings and studies, or plays and movies you have seen? (What have you learned from this work that could enhance your own life and work?) We have learned that if we have any problem the solution will be positive and perseverant until finding the solution because all the problems are psychological. 2. Have you made notes (including underlining and marking in your own text) to help you remember and review important features of this work? Yes we have. We underline the most relevant information. 3. Do you agree or disagree with evaluations made by other readers of this work (students, professors, critics)?

Yes, we do. Because most of the critics understood what the author wanted express in her book. 4. Do you agree or disagree with the ideas or values presented in the work? Why? Yes, we do. Because in our society these exemplary values showed in the book are not put in practice 5. Has your enjoyment and appreciation of the work increased or decreased after analyzing it carefully on your own or in class? The appreciation of the work has increased because it helped us to understand and analyze better the themes of the book. 6. If you were writing a review of this work for a newspaper, what would you say to encourage others to read it or not read it? We would recommend this book to all people who like read books about friendship, healing, courage, loyalty and nature and those secrete places in our hearts and our imagination. B. Author's Accomplishment 1. Do the imaginative world and ideas of the work seem vivid and alive? The ideas seem vivid and alive because the author related the experience, thoughts, and feelings of these kinds of children to the real life. Does it present a mature and meaningful vision of reality that deserves serious reflection? For us, this work presents a mature and meaningful vision of reality because the author tries to realize us that the power of the human mind, love and perseverance can change the attitudes and actions of people. 2. Is the language of the work appealing? The language of the work is interesting because it shows us their way to express or communicate between the characters. So for that reason, the characters felt comfortable to express their feelings and ideas. Therefore, it was one of the author’s strategies to call the attention of the readers. What are the strengths and weaknesses in the literary techniques used?

3. Has the reputation of this work and its author changed since it was written? This work was success and the reputation of the author changed thanks to the children’s stories therefore she was well known. Does knowledge of the author's life enhance your understanding of the work?

(Avoid simplistic assumptions about the connections between authors' personal lives and characters or events in their writings) 4. How does this work compare to other works by the same author, and to works by other authors? (This is especially important in a survey course.) We did not read another book of this author but we had the opportunity to read a book from another author based on children´s stories called “Oliver Twist” by Charles Dickens. 5. How is this work representative of literary trends of its nation and period?

Does it reflect concerns related to the history, sociology, religion, etc. of its period?

Does learning more about the history and culture of the work's origin enhance your understanding of the literature or does the work have a universal message that is clear to any reader? The book has a clear universal message because we can find beauty and peacefulness in the middle of ugliness and the hope to believe one more time.