On the first day of class, Dr. Jacobs mentioned that one of the particular challenges of this class is thinking deeply and thoughtfully about familiar pieces of literature not commonly taught in English classes. I shrink from admitting it, but I am a lover of books who finds literary analysis a challenging and unnatural discipline, even of books more commonly taught in literature classes. This is an unfortunate position for a junior English major. Perhaps I am more guilty of using books for escapism than I'd care to admit.
With this in mind, I pulled my copy of How to Read a Book (which admittedly I have read little of) off the shelf. Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren have a couple chapters on how to read "imaginative literature" (and how not to). Their advice is to be sucked into the narrative, by "[participating] in its happenings" and letting the story move you and act on you. From there you should be able to "grasp the unity of the whole work" and how the various elements and details of the story contribute to the whole. An appreciation of the experience the book gives and an understanding of it are essential before attempting a critique of its beauty and truth.
I guess that's a bit helpful, but I still have uncertainties. How do you, fellow readers, allow yourself to be carried away by a good story and captivated by powerful, beautiful prose, yet still remain thoughtful and critical? What questions do you ask of the book? How do you determine what the unity of the book in fact is? Did Adler and Van Doren have good advice?
And just out of idle curiosity, does anyone else find it harder to be completely drawn into a book while at school than while on vacation?
Friday, January 22, 2010
Better late than never, I hope?
For the Christianity and Fantasy class I'm taking with Dr. Jacobs, we're required to contribute at least weekly to a class blog. (This is a nice idea, but I find it majorly intimidating. And perhaps it's overload considering the class already requires one of the heaviest reading loads of any class at Wheaton, plus a couple long papers?) Anyway, the following is a post I wrote for that blog and decided re-post here in hopes that you too might offer some advice:
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4 comments:
You could also try _How to Read Literature Like a Professor_ (Thomas Foster)- I thought it was pretty good and asked our tenth grade lit teacher to incorporate it- I think it helped my HS kids, but was probably a little above their level. It does kind of make literary interpretation more of a science, which is maddening. I used an another Adler piece as well- On How to Mark a Book.
But yeah, I agree that it's tough not to be just carried away- I rarely can find a happy medium between total engrossment in the story and total literary analysis.
Guilty as charged I am. Getting sucked into the story as you read (which should happen with good fantasy) may be like seeing a thought provoking movie. A certain episode comes to mind, talk about it to yourself or to someone else who has seen the movie, ponder its implications and you are reminded of another scene or dialog, then consider how that relates to the whole. Notice the artistry as you do this Does that help?
hmmm.
interesting.
so, can outsiders read your class blog?
So, I don't find it harder to get sucked into a book during school than out, but a lot of school books are less gripping...
To be quite honest, I'm usually not critical of a work the first time. If it weren't for the fact that I'm a fast reader, I don't think I'd be any use in an English department! I read once to enjoy, and then I read to critique. I can also critique in conversation after a first reading, but I am going back to what I remember and drawing on it to make arguments. I wasn't thinking those things while I read...if that makes any sense.
Very interesting post. Thanks!
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