Friday, February 19, 2010
responding to literature
Nothing beats the satisfaction you get from reading a good book. Not only do you feel a sense of accomplishment, but you also feel like you are broadening your understanding of literature. Well, that may not be the case for everyone who picks up a piece of literature, but for some people it can expand their knowledge. I think that people can respond to literature in many different ways, like crying at the end of a book, throwing the book across the room in frustration, or getting excited when something marvelous happens to one of the characters. However, not all people get fired up when reading a book. I just asked my mother how she responds to literature, and her reply was “with a yawn.” To some extent, I can completely relate to that. Sometimes, literature can be so utterly boring that you’d rather be “slapped for an hour” than read a crappy novel as my Psychology 101 teacher once said so truly. Forced reading has always been a pain in the neck for me because I’ve had such bad experiences with it (Paraclete’s idea of good literature is severely off key). Getting back to the topic; there are other ways of response to literature that are not physical reactions. One can emotionally respond to literature, be it a poem or a novel, by feeling what the character or the author feels; understanding the message hidden deep within the words and rhythm. Some people, when reading a book or poem, can get emotionally attached to the character or writer. This is a reaction that I am all too familiar with. As you know from reading my first entry, I love books more than air, and I know what it’s like to have such a deep understanding and passion for what you are reading. Literature provides us with fantasy, something we all know, love, and crave in our lives. Something as small as a romantic sonnet can send us reeling into a world of want; a desire for what the writer is conveying. By reading, we can expand our minds and open ourselves to new interpretations of the world. As English teachers in our past years of education have taught us, it is important to interpret and analyze what we are reading in order to fully understand it. In some ways, I do agree, but for the most part I find it to be a tedious task that only further confuses me; particularly when it comes to poetry. I think that if you don’t really understand or react to a poem, then you should just leave it be. Analyzing it can be so boring and I’d rather spend my time reading a poem that I understand and drawing some kind of emotion from it. Literature can change your perspective on life if you take it deeply into consideration. Books that make you think about yourself and how you react to the world around you are of the most important things we can learn from analyzing literature.
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I agree that there is almost nothing that is more satisfying than reading a good book, a good book can take you to any place your chose and sometimes it can seem more real than anything. I also feel that a book can make you feel a broad spectrum of different emotions and sometimes they are not always happy ones. Sometimes a good book can make you feel sadness or anger but I think at the same time that your feel such emotions you also understand that you just read a really great book because how many of us can say that a strangers words have moved us in some indefinable way. It’s true that sometimes you get attached to a character and can feel like they are really someone you know, I guess that’s why the invented the sequel. When you read something and it catches you by surprise, like coming across a passage that takes you by surprise because it expresses your exact feeling or belief. I sort of agree with your point of analysis and how sometimes it is a waste of time. Sometimes however analysis can expand your understanding and allow you to understand some aspects that might have passed you by with out the analysis.
ReplyDeleteI relate to you when you said you feel a sense of accomplishment when you read a good book. It makes me feel like I’m a little bit smarter and wiser. I just don’t get how someone could get so into a book that they cry or throw the book in frustration. Usually when I read books they are required by a class or course, and they are not interesting to me at all. This is when reading is a bore and I don’t fully get into the book and its assignments. For me when I read, the book has to be something I’m interested in or is recommended to me. I don’t know if you’re the same way, but by your quoted “bad experiences” of the off key literature from Paraclete, I think you understand what I mean.
ReplyDeleteAlso I liked when you contrasted both the physical and emotional responses people have to literature. You explained the responses you get when you said you have a deep understanding and passion for what you’re reading, when you went into the fantasy that people crave. I now understand a little more of the responses people can get from literature which I wasn’t in tuned to before.
I loved reading your blog this week Stephanie! I agreed with so much of what you said. I liked how you talked about the physical response that people can have to literature. It’s true that literature makes some people yawn with boredom, or even cry over the sad part of the story. Personally, I think that the emotional response to literature is definitely one of the strongest responses a person can have. I know I’m definitely guilty of becoming emotionally attached to a character in a book! When that happens, the reader feels as though they’re experiencing the story through the character, and that can be a really strong reaction.
ReplyDeleteI do feel opposite the way you feel when it comes to analyzing poetry though. There have been a lot of times where I didn’t understand a particular piece of poetry, and I always try my best to analyze it and make some sense out of it. Often, I’m so glad that I have! Some of my favorite poems are ones that I didn’t necessarily understand the meaning of right away, and have gone on to appreciate later. But, I’m also the kind of person who likes to try to understand everything I read. I’m stubborn that way! I do agree that analyzing can get tedious, but it can change your perspective on something in an incredible way.