Chapter 1 Reading the Story Vicky Neal Comp II

Reading the Story Fiction whose sole purpose is to entertain requires no serious or intensive study. A story must expand or refine our thinking on a significant topic or quicken our sense of life or its value is not greater than a video game or crossword puzzle. A story written with serious artistic intentions must yield not only enjoyment but also understanding.

Commercial Fiction Is written primarily to make money. Examples: o Legal thrillers o Romance Novels Helps people to escape the tedium and stress of their lives Takes us away from the real world Helps us temporarily forget our troubles

Commercial Fiction Has the reader’s immediate pleasure as its object

Literary Fiction Written with serious artistic intentions With hopes to broaden, deepen, and sharpen the reader’s awareness of life. It plunges us into the real world Enabling us to understand life’s difficulties and to empathize with others

Literary Fiction Hope to provide a complex, lasting aesthetic and intellectual pleasure rather than a simple, escapist diversion Its object is to offer pleasure plus understanding

Commercial & Literary Fiction These two categories of fiction are not clear- cut The terms “commercial” and “literary” should be applied to novels or stories themselves, not necessarily to their authors. The differences between commercial and literary fiction do not necessarily relate to the absence or presence of a “moral,” “facts,” or an element of fantasy.

Commercial writers are like inventors who devise a contrivance for our diversion Literary writers are more like explorers; they take us out into the midst of life and say, “Look, here is the world in all its complexity.” They take us behind the scenes, where they show us the props and mirrors and seek to dispel the illusions.

Any fiction that illuminates some aspect of human life or behavior with genuine originality and power may be called “literary”. Such a story presents an insight into the nature and condition of our existence. Gives us a keener awareness of our humanity Helps us understand our world, our neighbors, and ourselves.

Different Way of Reading Literary: Read it at least twice 1. read the story the first time simply to enjoy and familiarize yourself with it 2. read the story a second time, more slowly and deliberately, in the attempt to understand its full artistic significance.

Different Way of Reading Commercial: We come to the book with specific, fixed expectations and will feel frustrated and disappointed unless those expectations are met. 1. a sympathetic hero or heroine—someone with whom the reader can identify and whose adventures and triumphs the reader can share.

2. A defined plot in which something exciting is always happening and in which there is a strong element of suspense. 3. A happy ending that sends the reader away undisturbed and optimistic about life 4. a general theme, or “message,” that affirms widely held, conventional views of the world.

Fiction Come to a novel or story with literary intentions o Expect the unexpected o End in an unsettling or even unresolved way o Keep an open mind o Stay receptive Fiction is an equally indispensable source of knowledge

Summary 1)Differentiate between commercial fiction and literary fiction. 2)Explain the purposes of literacy fiction. 3)Review the different types of short stories. 4)Describe the best way to read a short story for the purpose of serious study. 5)List the differing expectations we bring to the reading of commercial and literary fiction.