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    Writing Essays About Literature A Guide and Style Sheet Sixth Edition By. Kelley Griffith

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    Writing Essays About Literature A Guide and Style Sheet Sixth Edition By. Kelley Griffith

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    40 views15 pages

    Writing Essays About Literature Sixth Edition (Chapters-1-And-2)

    Uploaded by

    Andre
    Writing Essays About Literature A Guide and Style Sheet Sixth Edition By. Kelley Griffith

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    Writine Essays ABouT LITERATURE A Guide and Style Sheet SIXTH EDITION Kelley Griffith University of North Carina at Greensoro i (a2) THomson | HEINLE Strategies for Interpreting Literature Why Do People Read Literature? People read literature for many reasons but the two most likely reasons are for pleasure and for meaning. We read literature because its fan and because speaks tous about imporeant things. ‘When we read purely for pleasure, we do not wsually care what the work means. We just want to escape from the concern ofthe day andlet che work perform its magicon us. You may remember your Sst [ex reading experience, when you were so caught up in work that You were oblivious to everything ese. Reading just for pleasure is ke that We sit down with a book and say to ourselves, “I don’t want to think jase want enjoy” ‘But on a more choogheful level, reading fr pleasure and reading for meaning are related. Par ofthe pleasure of reading comes from the seating it gives us. On frst reading a Raymond Chandler detective nove, for example, we may be gripped bythe suspenseflploe. We ex ely arm pages jut to find out what will happen net. But upon ferending the novel, and possibly ending other work by him, we die ‘over themati and arti richness we may not have noticed before: how he uses conventions ofthe deecivestory—wise guy dialogue, in trigae, suspense, urban secings, stereogypical characters, melancholy hhero~to render amoral dimension to is fctional world, We notice his oes language, his mastery of tone his insights about American cies, shoot American obsessions, about high life and low life, wealth and Sri for Integrating Litera ‘poverty, innocence and crime. As we continue to read Chandler, we Inove Hom one level of enjoyment—reading for "eape"—t0 an- ‘ther—teading for meaning. Or, pot another way, we find ourselves reading not jst fr pleasure and meaning but for pleasure remor of this book we wil explore how to uncover the meanings of works of lierture, There inclede the themes of» work (ts comments shout the human condion) a wells the workings and effectiveness of such devices as characterization, setng, pot, and language. Athough fone can erudy the aestherc qualities of lieratare—the devices authors {We to ie us pleasure—for themselves, here we will consider chem as Integral to meaning. They are dhe means by which authors deliver idea, they inflence our response o these ewan dice spa fie aes from the ideas they embody. On the one hand, we Ike the ides in 2 ‘work because of is artiste devices; onthe other, we admire the devices ‘because we lke the ideas. Form and content, bean and truth—they can arly be separate, low do we discover meaning in works of literature? We do so through inerprection. What Is Interpretation? Lnterpretation i proces. 1s the process of examining the details of ‘works of iterature in order to make sense of them. John Els, the lter- ary theoret,desrbes the goals and process of interpretaon in this ‘ray interpretation “is «hypothesis abour dhe most general orgunica- tion and eoherence of all dhe elements that form a literary tex.” This “organization and coherence” emerges from a “symhess” berween 2 ‘work's themes and its deal. “The mos satisfying interpretation,” he ‘ays “willbe that which the most inclusive. The procedure of invest- tation willbe tha of any inquiry: continal move between general no- Sons of the coherence ofthe tent, and consideration of the function within the whole of particular pare of it. General conceptions will ‘change inthe light of pardeuarcbservaions and new particular obser ‘ation wll then become necessary inthe light ofthe changed concep- ‘ons” (202) Elis is saying here that at we read, we encounter deals of 4 work and bein to draw conchsions about how they relate to one an- ‘other, what they mean, As we continue to read, we encounter mare de- tals. These may confem our hypotheses or cause us to replace them ‘wth new anes. Once we have Snihed reading the work, we ean decide Whats Irprettion? 9 which hypotheses account forthe most details; those hypotheses, Elis ‘ys, conte the best interpretations ‘Many cries voday would disagree with Elis thatthe best iter- pretation “coves” or acounts for the most deal in work or chat i ‘rablishes “coherence” that nif the whole work For one thing, {shard to sy which imerprtation covers the most desl. For another, the most comprehensive interpretation may not be the most satisfying toa particular reader. We might, fr example, wan to focus on just one ‘aspezs of work, such asthe motivation ofa character or the influence ‘of seting. Many work, furthermore, stubbornly resist complete “co- herence But Elis is correct shout how the process of interpretation ‘works Interpretation is a quest for ides maniferted by a work's deals, ‘To be Udierable sid convining, dicrefney interpretations ct emerge from the details ofthe work: Ifwe encounter details that con- teadit our interpretations, we most ajust the interpretations to ac- commodate those deel. Interpretation is something we do with more than just iterate Ic is an unavoidable proces in any thinking person's life: Why is ‘Miriam angry with me? Why di Jonathan go to pices when he tok the west? Would this job be Deer for me than chat one? Hove wl my blowup with Lacy affect our relationship? Te dhe defendant gully? Should we legalize lae-term sborsons? What were the causes of World ‘War IP Do human beings have fre wil? Answering questions like these rom the trivial othe profound, requires inerpreation. 'A rime seene, for example, demands a similar interpretive pro- sss asa work of lteratare. You, the detective, have jus arrived at the scene ofthe crime. Asyou examine the details ofthe Seen, you formu late hypotheses about what happened and who is responsible. With the discovery of new evidence, you adjust your hypotheses unl having sifted through all the evidence, you decide who commited the crime-A ley difference berween crime scenes and work ofliterature, however, is shat literature as authors. Criminal may be “authors” of 2 sort they create the crime sne, bur they donot want us to know what they have done. Authors, in contrast, want co reach us. The following diagram represents this process of communication GD-GD-ED “Authors ve eas expres hem in works of rate and “send” he ‘works tos ther eaders. We read recive” the works As receivers, our allege sto understand author idea. Bu this challenge i complicated 10 Soi for Interpreting Literate by the mature offiteratr. Instead of just ling us what their ideas ar, authors ase “literary” dvices—metaphor, symbol, plot, conneraton, ‘rhyme, meter, and go forth—20 convey ideas. Such devices commmuni- ‘ate meaning indirect. They force us to igure ou author? dew. Is ‘fan author sys ow, “want to state my ideas about something, but Instead of saying them sight ot, wil ella ory and let you figure ‘out wha Fm eying to sy." Or the author sey, “The woman Tn in love wth wonderfl but instead of elling you directly how tis is 0, Tm going to sy, My love i ike aed, red rose” Most authors impose the tsk of figuring oe” on us, che readers. Sach a task requires inter- pretation. The erafe of interpreting iterature is called Itrary cto. ‘Anyone who interprets lierature a literary crise. How Do We Interpret? “Inerpeaion of works of iteratare isthe procese of thinking abou their dots inorder to see how the detail interconnect and what ideas they ‘convey Interpretation requires s tobe activ rather than passive read ts. When we read purely for pleasure, we are generally “pasive"leting ‘he work wath mse ne noe ying to igre tout. But when We interpret ‘we need to pay clove atention tO the potendal meaning of deta ‘Keeping in mind the model of author—>work-reader, we ean think of the authors using trary devices to manipulate our emotions and our baie. As interpreters, we should be alert to author? wile. Do we agre with dhe dess authors ty to fist onus? The following are sug- sestion about how tbe active, interpreting readers. 1. Get the facts sraght. The first, most fundamental step in iner- preting anything ito see clearly whats in the work, its facts.” For ome works, this easy wo d; the deals in them are accessible and Understandable. Bu for other work, geting the facts straight may fot be so exer. The poetry of seventeenth-cearry poets like John Donne and George Herbert is notoriously dense and requires else sty to understand, Modernist and Post Modernist authors such as TS. Blo, Virginia Wool, James Joyce, Thomas Pyncheon, and ‘Toni Morton employ innovative techniques that obscure the de- tails oftheir woes. The language of Chaucer and Shakespeare isnot {ute our language. To understand it we have to rely on glosses (Gefncons) tat editors often place atthe botomn of the page. In shot, we sometimes have ro work hard just o recognize the fae of| Hew De We intrpra? 14 literary works. When we rea, then, we should look up words we do not know. We should tack down allisions (co myths the Bible, i torical and biographical event), We should read works slowly and ‘more than once 3. Connect the work with yourself For each of us, the most impor nt mesing of works of erste wil ans fm our om ee Fence and belie This doesnot mean that the rezone people tale great author like Sophocles Ssppho, Vig, Dente Sake $peae, Goth, Endl Dickson and George Er ac nimporent Sch eons te par four clr erage Noro be nerd in them to deny ouree the widom of hat herage. Bren wore, tocare only about oor own “meanings isto cat ouslves of fom {herescof humankind. Bue, chats less we can connects work af err oor own experenes and interns, il notre forse "The “connection” egy ito actively project ourselves ato wors ofertas, epi ones tat seem scone rom ‘Wea, “How wool ive under thse cteomsances™ Take, for cxampl, the wings ofthe New England Portaen, wich may {eum rere and bidding If you use your inaginaon to pace Yourfn the Purkan wer you ean pare ts connecuon yout ie How wold you think and fel had you lived then-—about Your ful dhe wlderess around oo, the ifcly of seraping oat ie ing the hah winter the Ampere of your regions bee? ‘What woul your phological sat -emodonal onic nd tne Slone_—fave ben? Authors ike Nathaniel Hawthorne Gn hs oval ‘he Sarr Leer, 1850, Arr Miler Gh ply Tbe Cac, 1953); and Mare Condé Gn her novel, Tey Black Wf Salon 1986 ave done js hieprojaed hemes nto Part cule and produced highly ioginaive rethinking off AS ed tre can othe somes By king queso ke te following, we Can recover the pps of works of beret tt maya fist en Gane rom ov on ves 1 Flow are things inthe work characters, incidents, places) simile to things in our lives? 1 How does this wok challenge our beliefs? 11 What new chings does the work bring up for ws? How does thi work give us pleasure? ‘What is upeting or unpleasant about it? 12 SrmepafrInepreing Lee 3. Develop hypotheses 2s you read As John Elis says inthe passage ‘on page 8, when we read works of licrature, even for the frst time, we generate eas abou chem. The “hypothesis” strategy makes this section inenvonal and constant. As you read, rise questions about ‘what the deals mean: Why does a patcular character act the way She does? What ideas des a character espouse? Why does the author keep using a particular image? rhyme scheme? metrical pattem? As you rea, do ot fel dhat you have to give final answers to these ques ‘ons. Plan to come tack to them ltr. Such questions and tentative answers ge us thinking, help us pick up important details that pop up later, and make reviewing the work casi. 4. Waite as you read. Writing generates ideas and helps us think ex= atively. By puting concepts in our own words, we make them our ‘own and embed them in our memory. Ifyou own copies of works of Tieratare, write them: underline passages, circle word, draw ar- ‘ows fom one passge to another. Inthe margins, write questions, summaries, definitions, topics the author adreses, and tentative in- texpretations.Ifsomething is repeated in a work, note where i fist appears seepage nx”) and make comparisons ae. Such notcons help us generate Hess about what we are reading. When we review, ‘our markings highlight important places in the work and lead ws t0 synthesize decals 5. Learn from the interpretations of others. Although we read one, interpretation is most fru as shared activi, ‘we do with others Knowing what others think helpe us decide what ‘we think, One ere wrote that even blurbs on book jackets helped him gee his bearing in a work. By leaning from the insight and Inowedge of thers, we place ourselves in dialogue with them. We lsen, agree, dane, share, and thereby larfy what we believe n= terpreaions by professional rte are realy availble in books and arcs, But equally stimolating ae the ideas of people we know — frends, chssmats, teachers, colleagues. These people are often ‘nearby, ready eo share what they think. 6, Analyze works of literature. To anazisto examine the pars” of ‘something and discover the relationships among them. Analysis is 2 powerful necesary strategy for generating and communicating in terprettions of anthing, nor just lteratre If for example, you sell, ‘computers you willdo it beter ifyou can analyze them—Inow how they work and what hey can do, thus what they “mean” (how, for czample, they an help your customer). The same see for inter He De Weng? 13 brcting rrr. Being ale o ase lterare help see how each “part” contributes to the meaning of a work. 7 Inthe next chapter, we wil consider the pars” of iterture itself and how they contribute vo the meaning of works of iterature. Works Cited Elis, Jo. The Thay of Literary Cri: Lagi Ana Behe ‘U of California P, 1974. oo . What Is Literature? 4 Batman comic book “Uerarare”? What about a physics text= book? a restaurant mena? university catalog? a television stoom? a politica speech che leners we write home? Back about the middle ‘fthe twentieth century, cree thought they knew wha iterate was Sand thas the answer to such questions The so-called New Critics, who flourished in the United States from the 1920s und the 196, belived thacliteraire had cerain properties that people rained in the writing and sudying of teretare could iden. Some ofthese properties were to them mysterious even spirtal, and chs eo be intuted rather than rationally denied. Other properties, however, were objective and denifable—auch things as imagery, metaphor, mete, rhyme, irony, land plot. The New Cries confidently identified and evaluated works of Tieritur, elevating the “great” works ofiteratareto high status. Liter ‘ature for them consisted with bo fe exceptions of poetry, drama, and Seton and would definitely nt have included the kinds of writing ised atthe begining ofthis paragraph inthe 1960s however, cites questioned the concept of lteratre expounded bythe New Critics. The New Crises, they noted, seemed narrow in policing the Iiterary “canon,” that oficial callecon ‘of works dat ets deem worthy of admiration and study. The New Crie- {es were mes male and Eurocentric, and the works they admired were tuually by males who wrote within dhe European Uierary cadon. Largely eelded fom the canon were work by females, persons of color, and persons who Uved ouside Europe. Excluded, also, were the genes (Gnd) of “iteratre™ that such outsiders prefered, Because women, for ‘example, ofen lacked access to dhe means of publishing literstare, many 16 Wher Literate? ‘rot in genres that would not normaly be polished: ters, are, Journal, mot, auabiographes Why, cried, were these gen. ‘esnotlterture? Bersuse peope of coor wee on play ne. tire they wrote in gener One furcbered poll ends spect, duahogrape, say Why were thee not thought of Tice" ‘And Besse some people belonged to “tadena” carey thie se wt an mans Be penn writen, Wee hoe wks ‘As1 rok of uh questions and because of the emergence of new

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