Answer:
B. to establish the central idea of the literary analysis essay.
Explanation:
This is the main purpose of a thesis statement in a literary analysis essay. In an essay of this type, the thesis statement is particularly important as it allows you to establish what your main claim is. It is important to establish what your main claim is because the rest of the essay is going to be dedicated to defending this argument. A strong thesis statement makes the essay easier to write and more intuitive and interesting to read.