Analyzing Literature Reading Beyond the Surface Perrine’s pages 61-67 All quotes unless otherwise marked are from these pages Analyzing Literature

Why Read? For entertainment For understanding Some reading is just fun with but does not add to or refine our ways of thinking Some literature is fun to read but also leaves readers with a greater understanding of themselves or the world around them For understanding “Like all serious art, fiction of this …kind provides an imagined experience that yields insights into some significant aspect of life.” What books are just entertainment? Have you read something that would be considered “for understanding?”

“Art is a lie that leads to the truth.” Picasso What does this mean? How does it relate to literature?

Two types of literature Commercial fiction: best sellers, reading people do to escape every day life or for immediate pleasure Literary fiction: Serious literary intentions “to broaden, deepen, and sharpen the reader’s awareness of life” Makes the reader think more deeply Makes a lasting impression Do authors plan for one or the other?

Many works fall in the middle “Any fiction that illuminates some aspect of human life or behavior with genuine originality and power may be called ‘literary’.” Many works fall in the middle What works in school fit this category, out of school

The difference is not 1. Presence or lack of a moral 2. Presence of lack of facts 3. Presence of lack of fantasy How do the works we just listed fit? Before next slide-what do you expect from reading

How to read fiction Expect to be challenged by language & structure Expect to have “an enhanced understanding of life” Read through twice First to enjoy and understand Second to gain understanding Why was the story written this way? Why are certain things important to the author? 1. Which works did that?

Expect certain things Evaluate what you read A new style or vision An unsettled or resolved ending To need and open mind Evaluate what you read If you put your time and/or money into a book you should be rewarded

Plot and Structure Pages 103-111 “The sequence of incidents or events through which an author constructs a story” Not to be confused with the content of the story; plot is not the action but the way the action is arranged. Order is significant

Commercial Fiction Usually follows a standard structure Beginning Middle End Conventional 3-part structure

Both types of fiction use standard elements Conflict: “clash of actions, ideas, desires or wills” Protagonist-the central character in the conflict; there can be more than one in a work Antagonist-any force against the protagonist: “persons, things, conventions of society, or the protagonist’s own character traits” Good literary fiction uses several types of conflict: internal and external of various forces Know three terms: conflict, protagonist, antagonist

Two common devices of suspense: Suspense: “the quality in a story that makes the reader ask ‘What is going to happen next?’ or ‘How will this turn out?’.” In literary fiction most often the question is not what but why: Why is the character behaving like this? Two common devices of suspense: Mystery- “an unusual set of circumstances for which a reader craves an explanation” Dilemma- placing the protagonist in a situation where he/she must chose between to undesirable choices Why is suspense important? Why is why important? What is the difference between mystery and dilemma

Commercial vs Literary Fiction Commercial fiction must rely heavily on suspense to keep readers interested Commercial fiction is not usually re-read Literary fiction relies on other traits than suspense: character, style, questions it creates Literary fiction is often a better read the second or third time

For example, A story written about a man on a 17th story ledge could be commercial or literary. If commercial the reader wonders “What is going to happen?, Will he jump? Will he be saved?” A literary story of this man will make the reader wonder, “What brought him to the point that he crawled out on this ledge? How is this event going to affect other characters?”

Surprise is closely connected to suspense. Surprise ending-a radical change from the expected-more commercial than literary Commercially these endings often are meant to make up for weakness in the story In literary works these endings add to the meaning instead of reversing the expected outcome Judging surprise endings “by the fairness with which the surprise is achieved” “by the purpose it serves” Commercially-you get an ending you would have wanted but didn’t’ see coming to make up for not writing the beginning well

The Ending Commercial fiction most often ends happily Literary fiction most often ends unhappily but logically Two justifications for that are Many real life circumstances do not end with everyone living “happily ever after” and literary fiction “must acknowledge human defeats as well as triumphs.” “Its value in forcing us to ponder the complexities of life.” We question why things went that way, what would we have done. How many times win/lose If one wins how many lost? Isn’t life that way-we ponder what may have happened Cinderella vs. Hester/Janie

An indeterminate ending Some real life problems are never solved. The same is true of fiction with an indeterminate ending; there is no definite conclusion These endings leave readers to ponder the dynamics of the story as they relate to human relationships There must be artistic unity, though, to have a good plot.

Artistic unity Plot manipulation is when an author has an unjustified situation in the work The plot cannot rely to heavily on chance or coincidence. “Chance is the occurrence of an event that has no apparent cause in previous events or in predisposition of character.” “Coincidence is the chance occurrence of two events that may have peculiar correspondence. Too m uch of this and the story loses its power

Characterization pages 161-166 Literary writers are usually more interested in complex characters; character is more important than plot Literary characters may be unsympathetic; good and bad like real people; memorable; allow us into their inner lives Commercial writers must have a main character who is attractive or sympathetic Literary vs commercial characters-think about those

Definition of characterization Direct characterization-author or other characters give information about the character; good writers use sparingly Indirect characterization-author shows the character through his/her actions or words Principles of good characterization Behavior is consistent Motives are believable/understandable Characters must be plausible/lifelike Know direct vs indirect

Types of characters Flat-one or two predominant traits Stock characters or stereotypes that reoccur Round-complex, multi-sided Static characters remain basically the same person Developing (dynamic)-distinct/significant change in personality, character or outlook; has an epiphany Have clear understanding of these types-activity with story characters

Literary characters must meet these conditions Be consistent with the story Be motivated by the character’s circumstances Have sufficient time for a change to be believable Are the characters in the story meeting these

Who tells a story and how it gets told Point of View 227-233

First person A character tells the story There is no direct interpretation by the author This allows for dramatic irony Differences between these types of points of view

Omniscient third person Narrator’s knowledge is unlimited This POV is most flexible This POV is most easily abused Narrator may get in the way Narrator may break down coherence and unity

Third person limited One character tells the story Readers must remain in the mind of this character which limits the field of observation and may create bias since readers are limited to this character’s thoughts Offers an unifying element Stream of consciousness-random thoughts joined by psychological rather than logical links Pros and cons of stream of consciousness

Objective point of view Narrator records as a camera only action and dialogue Another name for dramatic point of view Reader must infer thoughts from actions and words

Theme: pages 188-195 Theme is the controlling idea or central insight in a piece of fiction Theme is a unifying generalization about life Theme exists only when the author has attempted to record life accurately or reveal some truth about it Theme exists only when the author has deliberately introduced a concept as an unifying element

Theme is usually the purpose of literary fiction, but not as important in commercial fiction Theme may be expressed in one sentence and elaborated upon in an entire essay; in one sentence readers have to choose the insight that unifies the most elements of a story and relates them to each other Theme is usually implied rather than stated directly

To determine theme, Determine the purpose of the story: what life view does it support Commercial fiction usually represents life as we would like it to be not as it is Literary writers look for deeper insight into life which means they may develop more serious truths

The word theme is better than the word moral A story is not a sermon Theme keeps readers from overworking a story for a saying about life

The ability to state theme come from understanding of the story How has the main character changed or what has he/she learned Explore the conflict and its outcome Five principles to keep in mind: Must be expressed in a complete sentence(s) Should be stated as a generalization about life Avoid making over generalizations Avoid the words every, all, always Use some, sometimes, may as more accurate

Theme is the central and unifying concept of the story It accounts for all the major details of the story It is not contradicted by details of the story It must rely on facts of the story, either stated or clearly implied, not by supposition

There is NO ONE WAY of stating theme Avoid stating a familiar, even trite, saying

Symbol, Allegory and Fantasy Pages 274-285 “The most successful stories are characterized by compression. The writer’s aim to say as much as possible as briefly as possible.” (274) Symbol, allegory and fantasy are three methods to “achieve compression.” What is compression

Symbol Something that means more than what it suggests on the surface May be an object, person, situation, action or other element Name symbolism Symbolic use of objects and actions Name some Don’t “run wild” looking for symbols in every part of the story

Use these cautions The story must furnish the clue that a detail is symbolic Signals include emphasis, repetition or position The symbol’s meaning must be established and supported by the entire context of the story A symbol may have more than one meaning The symbol must suggest a meaning different in kind from its literal meaning Don’t say is a symbol of if is an example of fits

Allegory A story with a second meaning beneath the surface A story that gives a “cluster of characters, objects or events [added significance.] A story that often relates the literal item[s] to a corresponding abstract idea or moral principle It’s different from symbolism in that it puts more emphasis on the meaning than the literal

Fantasy Nonrealistic story Stories that require what Samuel Taylor Coleridge called “a willing suspension of disbelief.” Magical realism: “fantastic and magical events are woven into mundane and ordinary situations” Ghost stories, fables and science fiction

Humor & Irony Pages 334-338 Humor and Irony are often used to achieve compression and impact Irony is a form of humor which involves some sort of discrepancy to convey a truth about human experience Sentimentality is contrived or excessive emotion which works trying to elicit unearned emotions

Forms of irony Verbal-says the opposite of what is meant; not sarcasm which is used to ridicule Dramatic-difference between what the character says and what the reader knows to be true Situational-discrepancy is between appearance and reality or expectation and fulfillment or between what is and what would seem appropriate Know these three

Sentimental writers Try to get emotion through words rather than situation (plot) Editorialize-telling us how to feel Poeticize-use heightened language to get emotion Make excessively selective use of details which point in one direction or simplify reality Rely on stock responses from stock materials (babies, puppies)

Read 370-374 and take notes as you see fit