Do you explain or do you interpret when you try to analyze what you read?

Answer 1

Analysis typically goes through stages. I would encourage you to first:

1. State the literal: without interpreting whatsoever just name what you see is going on. Who are the characters, what is the setting, what is the plot.
2. Explore the metaphorical or the symbolic: what do these characters mean, what does the plot symbolize, what themes can you glean from the plot.
3. Synthesize to make a theory: how do your interpretations work with or contradict each other? What does this tell us about the text? Is there any outside theory that can potentially be applied to create new insights into the text.