“The Street” Logical Chunks Assignment
In expository essays, effective body paragraphs present chunks of logical insight in a coherent manner.
Ineffective body paragraphs present bits and pieces of ill-conceived, often superficial thoughts in a
disorganized manner. This assignment is designed to promote analytic thinking and to help you build
effective body paragraphs.
The prompt for the critical essay on the excerpt from "The Street" is a typical critical essay prompt; it
tells you to “write an essay analyzing how Petry uses literary devices . . . to establish Lutie Johnson’s
relationship to the urban setting.” Like most prompts, this prompt tells you to discuss how the
language of the work conveys the meanings of the work." Thus you'll need to identify some specific
literary elements in the poem that demonstrate “Lutie Johnson’s relationship to the urban setting.”
Imagine that this is your THESIS:
The personification of the wind as an adversary and the excerpt’s desolate, unpleasant imagery
convey the conflict between the vulnerable but determined Lutie Johnson and the cold city.
Now imagine that this is one of your TOPIC SENTENCES:
The wind is personified as an antagonistic force for most of the excerpt.
And imagine that this is another one of your TOPIC SENTENCES:
The images of debris and the dilapidated sign emphasize the harshness of the setting.
Your assignment is to create two chunks, one for each of the two topic sentences above. To be
clear, you are not writing whole paragraphs, but logical chunks. Here’s what a good chunk will
include:
Concrete Detail/Textual Evidence
1. Text - Quote the word, phrase, or sentence that is of
particular interest. Quotes should be integrated into your
sentences.
Commentary
2. Identification - Identify the literary element by name. You
can do so in the concrete detail/textual evidence sentence above
or the commentary sentence below.
Commentary
3. Explanation / Effect - In a sentence or two, explain how the
element works and/or its immediate effect. In other words,
deconstruct the device.
Commentary
4. Relevance / relation to theme - Briefly explain how it
contributes to or is relevant to the poem/passage's meaning? In
the case of the "The Street" prompt, explain how this particular
literary element reveals something about the relationship between
Lutie Johnson and the setting.
Logical Chunk Sample
Here a sample here's what your logical chunks might look like (example chunk from "A White Heron"
analysis. NOTE: numbers in this paragraph are for explanation purposes only):
1. Sylvia reaching the top of the tree is a sublime moment made even more dramatic by the image of
the “dawning sun making a golden dazzle.” 2. As dawn indicates the beginning of a day, the
"dawning sun" here symbolizes newness, and since gold is a highly valued substance and the word
“dazzle” denotes something visually spectacular, the phrase “golden dazzle” heightens the
magnificence of the moment, 3. a moment that is made all the more important by the suggestion that it
is a symbolic turning point in which life appears glorious to the little girl.
Sentence 1 – Concrete detail (Textual Evidence):

The primary function of this sentence is as a vehicle for the quote itself. The original words in front of the
quote act as both a ramp to the quote and as commentary on the quote since they assert that the quote adds
drama to the passage.
Sentence 2 – Commentary (Identification / Explanation):

First, the identification part: the word “symbolizes” in this sentence identifies “the dawning sun” as a
symbol. There is not necessarily literary identification for the phrase “golden dazzle” since the writer is
merely pointing out their connotation and denotation (respectively), although you’ll note the use of the verb
“denotes.” A discussion of the connotations and denotations of words falls under the broad category of
diction, but there’s no need to force the word “diction” into the sentence.

Now the explanation part:
o First, note that the textual evidence consists of two phrases that this writer deems important, so this is a
two pronged concrete detail. Since the phrases “dawning sun” and “golden dazzle” occur together in the
passage and create a unified effect, it makes sense to discuss them together. In your chunks you are NOT
required to have two-pronged concrete details. However, if you quote something of stylistic merit, then
you should comment on it; otherwise, don’t include it in your quote. This particular chunk could have
merely commented on the phrase “dawning sun” and left out the phrase “golden dazzle.”
o Second, note how these sentences logically explain the writer’s assertions: the phrase “as dawn indicates
the beginning of day” may seem obvious, but it acts as the foundational premise for the assertion that “the
dawning sun symbolizes newness.” Similarly, the two phrases “since gold is a highly valued substance”
and “the word ‘dazzled’ denotes something visually spectacular” are fundamental explanations of why the
whole phrase “golden dazzle” is particularly effective. These fundamental phrases provide a logical basis
for this writer’s assertions. Without them, the commentary would look like this: “The ‘dawning sun’
symbolizes newness, and the phrase “golden dazzle” heightens the drama of the moment.” While this is
not horrible commentary, it seems a bit empty, as a critical reader might legitimately ask, “How does the
sun symbolize newness?” and “How does the phrase ‘golden dazzle’ heighten the drama of the moment?”
See how the commentary provides both assertions and explanations about the words in the narrative?
That’s exactly what the prompt asks of us: to write an essay analyzing how language creates a given
effect.
Clause 3 – Commentary (Relevance): Note that sentence 2 doesn’t directly refer to Sylvia or the tree except at the
very end with the word “moment.” Clause 3, then, explicitly connects the assertions in sentence 2 about literary
techniques to the passage itself. The phrase “symbolic turning point” refers to the symbolism of “dawning sun,” and
the word “glorious” refers to the connotations/denotations of “golden dazzle.”