1. Literary Criticism:
An Overview

2. Basic concept of literary criticism
Literary Criticism is the evaluation, analysis, interpretation or description of a literary work.
Since literary criticism is examination of the language used in a particular work, it is crucial that we determine what is language?
Basic concept of literary criticism

3. Linguistic philosophy
Ideologies - the set of beliefs which we have come to think are natural or normal but which are not
All language (words) are SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS : they were produced by society and based on created beliefs, understanding, values and attitudes
Things that we do or say, that seem “natural” in fact are not
They often hide or disguise where the power actually resides in any given society
Therefore, meaning is not reflected in language but is produced by it – essentially, what we communicate is not necessarily what we think, nor what we experience
Linguistic philosophy

4. Who controls the creation of language?
Our knowledge of what words mean is not God-given
It is socially learned and socially acquired
Political, religious and commercial institutions create the meanings of words

5. Can a person think for themselves?
NO – an individual can only think using language that as preconceived concepts and assumptions built into them
We cannot help but use contaminated language
So why bother with literary criticism?
By understanding that language is socially produced, we can now look at literature and challenge and explore society’s values and beliefs by looking at the language used in the work

6. Deconstruction Overview Widely attributed to Jacques Derrida
“deconstruct” = to take apart
Stems from the notion that all words have more than one meaning; there are multiple “layers”
Therefore there are multiple readings and meanings present in every work
the reader is unable to arrive at any ultimate decision about what the work means
Readers will forever be trying to master a text that has no boundaries and cannot be totalized
“deconstruction is not a dismantling of a text but a demonstration that it has already dismantled itself”
Deconstruction

7. Open vs. Closed texts
Open texts:
Closed texts:
Things to consider when looking at meaning (from a deconstructionist perspective):

8. Consequences of Deconstruction
Feminist Theory, Cultural Studies, Reader-Response and Historical Theory all arose from the notion of deconstructionism
Early feminists and civil rights activist used “deconstruction” to take apart the language used in laws
Consequences of Deconstruction

9. Questions central to deconstruction theory
Do you find any contradictions in this story?
How would you interpret it? Do you think we can all agree on one best interpretation?
Does it matter how the author intended us to interpret it?
Questions central to deconstruction theory

10. Revisiting “The bet” Original Theme Statement:
The quest to gain material possessions imprisons society and true wealth is only gained by removing ourselves from societal expectations and focusing on the acquirement of knowledge
From a deconstructionist perspective ….
The lawyer only receives items from the banker
The “knowledge” and enlightenment that he supposedly gains is controlled by the artifacts the banker provides him
Therefore the “knowledge” and “insights” the lawyer supposedly experiences comes from a character who symbolizes the financial power structures in society
The lawyer is never “removed” from societal expectations
Revisiting “The bet”

11. Items that have multiple meanings in the story
“It was decided that the lawyer must undergo his imprisonment under the strictest observation, in a garden wing of the banker’s house.”
The garden as a reference to the Garden of Eden = religious ideologies are what is really imprisoning humanity?
The selection of character: absence of female characters in the story
The resolution: the ending is ironic and open-ended
Who did win the bet?
Items that have multiple meanings in the story

12. Human beings will always be imprisoned in some form or another and any attempts to escape those forms of imprisonment are ultimately futile
opposing theme

13. Brown, Christopher and Greig E. Henderson. “Glossary of Literary Theory.” web 31 March
References

14. Archetype - "a typical or recurring image, character, narrative design, theme, or other literary phenomenon that has been in literature from the beginning and regularly reappears"
Frye sees archetypes as recurring patterns in literature; in contrast, Jung views archetypes as primal, ancient images/experience that we have inherited.
Believed that language is made up of patterns, codes, systems that can be analysed
See Reading – Four phases and fives visions
Connects literary texts to a larger structure (genre, universal narrative structure) or intertextual connections

15. Only novelty in text can lie in new structure;
Therefore, there is structure in every text and it is easier for experienced readers to interpret text because aware of existing patterns
Only novelty in text can lie in new structure;
Uninteresting to point out traditional archetypes; the focus should be what variations of the archetype is present in text with similar structures = new structure
Language and advertising is a prime example of the blatant manipulation of language by a powerful institution that goes unquestioned and is accepted as natural in our society (page 271)

16. CRITICISM of STRUCTURALISM
Ahistorical – does not place importance to social or historical context study of literature on a scientific, objective basis.
Deterministic; reductive – the text can be decoded by looking at the patterns.
DIFFICULTY: lies in the impossibility of locating a model of the human mind (Claude Levi-Strauss)
Not interested in the beauty of language or use of figurative language – Structuralists concentrate on structure HOW words are used, WHERE/WHEN they are used/placed....this utilitarian approach is interested in the way reality is revealed through organization
CRITICISM of STRUCTURALISM

17. Archetypes: Setting: “full summer day”, “flowers blooming”, “small town”, “grass rich and green” = positive story, excitement, happiness Character Names: both are ironic and symbolic Mrs. Delcroix = of the cross but choose the largest stone Old Man Warner = wise but called people who do not follow the “lottery” a ‘pack of crazy fools’ Mr. Graves = death (in charge of the black box) Mr. Summers = happy persona but he is in charge of the “lottery” Tessie Hutchinson = innocent /childlike
“THE LOTTERY”

18. theme Symbols: Black Box: worn down, splintered = tradition
Takes traditional archetypes and destroys them
Why? Consider the theme of the story
theme