Stypula 1

Harrison Stypula

Dr. Laura Patterson

SEL 312

12/5/22

Reflection on Theory

Thinking back to the beginning of this semester when I was unsure what exactly literary

criticism meant, I recall being very uneasy about what I was getting into. I imagined it would be

more complex and arduous than other forms of writing and analysis I’ve performed in the past,

but I’m glad to say after experiencing this semester that those fears were not true. 

One of the biggest strengths I believe I’ve cultivated this semester has absolutely been

my ability to apply the theories I choose to certain works of literature. It’s a new aspect of

writing for me taking a text as a whole into consideration to apply a theory to it, but I believe

I’ve come pretty far since the start of the class. My first essay in which I applied psychoanalytic

theory to “The Swimmer”, I was particularly proud of and felt very comfortable being able to

incorporate some of my background in psychology to help me in doing so. Likewise, I also feel

that I’ve come to get a very strong grasp on other theories that I’m more aware of, including

Marxist, feminist, and queer theory, as well as others I’m not as familiar with like

poststructuralism or existentialism. When writing the most recent essay three, I feel I’ve grown

very comfortable with the terminology and concepts of existentialism, which I was only familiar

with in a philosophical sense prior to this. I’ve found that by applying these more complex

theories to stories I would normally give a surface level reading to, it’s given me the opportunity

to find bits of the story I never would have thought of otherwise. 

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When it comes to the areas I’ve struggled with, one of the biggest places was probably

keeping similar concepts between theories organized in my head. When writing the essays, in

particular essay three, I had to often look back to the book to find where I was examining the

differences between modernism and postmodernism, and likewise often double checking to make

sure ideas I put in the paper where from a theory I was meaning to apply, and not from others. As

far as this struggle goes, I’m much more comfortable now than I previously was with this,

especially after heavily studying the theories I considered using. Besides this one of my biggest

struggles was with the second essay, in determining what theory someone else used in a piece of

criticism. Throughout I had to constantly stop myself from putting in my own two cents and

analyzing the story and its content, rather than the piece of criticism itself. This was one of the

hardest papers I’ve had to wrap my head around, but the challenge itself was still refreshing

because it’s new for one and finding a way to grow comfortable with this new form of writing

felt wonderful as well. Knowing I can feel at least a little more confident in this type of meta-

criticism is certainly a good thing for me, and I hope that I will be able to use it further at some

point. 

As far as how I imagine theory will come into play in my life, given that I only have one

semester left before graduation I’m sure it’ll come in handy during my college career some, but

not for very long. Even beyond that though it’s opened my mind to deeper ways of

understanding literature and culture. I find myself now when reading, or watching a show or

movie, thinking about how I could apply certain aspects of theory to uncover deeper aspects of it.

It’s a strange feeling as before, I could easily find or assert a meaning of a text through close

reading or assessment of the words themselves, but I feel like theory opens it up so much further

to be able to find much more impactful pieces of creative work. The interdisciplinary aspects of
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it alone with almost being a type of philosophical way of thinking only makes me want to engage

with it more, and I honestly don’t see a way that I could stop myself from viewing literature or

media in this way in the future.