I
enjoyed being an English major back in the late 1980s but one thing that stuck
out was how professors relied on breaking books down by an almost formulaic
manner. They would focus on things like
irony, metaphor, foreshadowing, and symbolism, which makes sense but I always
thought books as a whole are greater than the sum of these specific
pieces. Books are not mathematical
puzzles or scientific papers – they are bursts of creativity, emotion, insight,
and vision. But as I came across a list
of literary elements, writing techniques, and a glossary of terms for reading
literature, I was thrust back in time to where teachers would emphasize things
like form, imagery, and protagonist. It all
seems too mechanical.
Sure
books are composed of words of the English language and generally follow the
rules of grammar. Yes, many books can be
broken down by certain techniques and elements – there are plots, themes,
narrators, characters, setting, climax, dialogue, etc. Bu aren’t books more than a collection of
such devices? Symbolism, tone, turning
points, allegory, hyperbole, satire, and paradox may all be present – but they
don’t do the entire book justice.
The
science of deconstructing books can overanalyze things and put too much
emphasis on the wrong things. Even
though there’s great value in studying works of literature through some kind of
diagnostic checklist, we must be careful to look at the big picture before we
surf in the micro world of books.
How
do we tend to examine books today?
We
still teach literature in schools, universities, and grad school programs and
use things like Spark Notes and other tools to dissect classics. But what about casual or social reading – who
is analyzing books? Do book clubs,
usually formed by neighbors and friends, really know how to put a book under a
microscope? How about book reviewers? Do we read books as adults the way we read
them as high school and college students?
Wouldn’t
it be interesting if we could read books while in our 40’s and 50’s, not only
with life and book reading experiences under our belts, but with the help of a
teacher or guide who can examine a book the way teachers tried to do when
students lacked perspective and a big enough exposure to a variety of
literature?
I
enjoy the books I read today and am glad I’m not being given a test afterwards,
but I do miss having class discussions about a book. Maybe I need to attend Adult Ed classes.
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Brian Feinblum’s views,
opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his
employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him
at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the
third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015
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