Your assignment requires you to find literary criticism of the text you've chosen. When looking for literary criticism of a novel, short story, or poem, the text's title and the last name of its author will often suffice. In databases that offer multiple boxes for your search terms, type the title in one box and the author's name in another. In databases that offer a single box, type them in the box with the word "AND" between them, like this:
Dear John Wayne AND Erdrich
If you're looking for literary criticism that focuses on a specific aspect of a novel or story, try searching using the work's title and a word or two that represent the chosen aspects of the work. Separate your terms in separate boxes when they're available, or connect them with "AND" in a single box, as described above. For example:
Dear John Wayne AND colonization
Some of the texts you read for class are rather new, and literary criticism of them might not have been published yet. In these cases try substituting the author's name for the title of the text, and look for literary criticism that discuss that aspect of the author's overall body of work or that examines their body of work through the theoretical lens of your choice. For example:
Erdrich AND post-colonialism
You could also try combining terms that represent the theoretical lens you've chosen and the aspects of your text that interest you, and look for literary criticism that discusses those issues in the writing of other authors. For example:
Native Americans AND post-colonialism
These databases contain literary criticism. They will help you find analyses and interpretations of the story you're researching.
If you don't find enough information in the above databases, try these.