I just made a little video to share my thoughts on Voice Thread, and on why I think we (humans) tell stories. After listening to me, tell me what you think. Why do people tell stories, and what is there importance?
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Cultural and International Perspective
Two types of work that I personally enjoy reading are traditional cultural stories and cultural perspective works. I enjoy these books because it helps me get a feeling for how other people think and live. The ones I have read most recently have been memoirs, but I quite enjoy well done fiction as well. I just wanted to share some of my thoughts on reading these kinds of works, and others, and what we should take into account when doing so.
When reading works that have a different cultural perspective, even if they are written by American authors, I think it is similar in some ways to reading foreign works. This can be a tricky area, since it is difficult to contextualize a culture with which we are unfamiliar.
"Lacking specialized knowledge, the foreign reader is likely to impose domestic literacy values on the foreign work, and even careful scholarly attempts to read a foreign work in light of a Western critical theory are deeply problematic." - David Damrosch, What Is World Literature?
The Damrosch quote is a little wordy, but it does present us with the immense challenges we face when doing this type of reading. Reading these types of books however, is something that I find to be very worthwhile, and important to a more global world. Often they can give us a window into a different cultural perspective at a point in history, or they can help to humanize groups of people that some tend to stereotype. Honestly, I only read Damorosch's introduction to his book, but I wouldn't recommend it to most people. While he has some great insight into international literature, what is included in that body, and how to go about properly translating and reading it, he has a tendency to be extremely verbose. For an academic interested in the field however, it could be quite an interesting read.
The important take away is that we have to be careful about how we go about analyzing and interpreting literature Something that we need to remember, is to take into account the outside circumstances. When was the work written, by whom, and who was the intended audience, what the was political climate at the time, or the religious one? Reading and analyzing a piece of literature is almost like qualifying a historical document. We need to take into account all of those elements and more. There author may be trustworthy source of information, their book may be authentic to it's time and local, but the narrator may not be as honest. Honesty can also be somewhat subjective. An honest view of colonial India from the perspective of a British gentleman would me markedly different than that of an Indian. Even if the Britt is trying to capture the other man's perspective. And the way we view things within the framework of the text is always going to be colored by our understanding of the setting, and our own life and world experiences. Ultimately, most works become somewhat foreign, but the way in which relate to them and their characters can make them familiar.
Literature doesn't happen by accident. We need to keep that in mind when we consume it, and ask ourselves why. Why did the author write this? Why did they choose the setting and mood that they did? Why did they choose the names that they did? Why am I reading it, and what can I take away from this experience.
The Damrosch quote is a little wordy, but it does present us with the immense challenges we face when doing this type of reading. Reading these types of books however, is something that I find to be very worthwhile, and important to a more global world. Often they can give us a window into a different cultural perspective at a point in history, or they can help to humanize groups of people that some tend to stereotype. Honestly, I only read Damorosch's introduction to his book, but I wouldn't recommend it to most people. While he has some great insight into international literature, what is included in that body, and how to go about properly translating and reading it, he has a tendency to be extremely verbose. For an academic interested in the field however, it could be quite an interesting read.
The important take away is that we have to be careful about how we go about analyzing and interpreting literature Something that we need to remember, is to take into account the outside circumstances. When was the work written, by whom, and who was the intended audience, what the was political climate at the time, or the religious one? Reading and analyzing a piece of literature is almost like qualifying a historical document. We need to take into account all of those elements and more. There author may be trustworthy source of information, their book may be authentic to it's time and local, but the narrator may not be as honest. Honesty can also be somewhat subjective. An honest view of colonial India from the perspective of a British gentleman would me markedly different than that of an Indian. Even if the Britt is trying to capture the other man's perspective. And the way we view things within the framework of the text is always going to be colored by our understanding of the setting, and our own life and world experiences. Ultimately, most works become somewhat foreign, but the way in which relate to them and their characters can make them familiar.
Literature doesn't happen by accident. We need to keep that in mind when we consume it, and ask ourselves why. Why did the author write this? Why did they choose the setting and mood that they did? Why did they choose the names that they did? Why am I reading it, and what can I take away from this experience.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Summary vs Analysis
Being a good reader is a misleading phrase. Indeed as Nabokov asserts, rereading is important. Even more important however, is the analysis we do after as well as during reading. This is something that is demanded of us for the writing of college papers, but is also pursuant to how we live our lives. It is important that we don't just read a book, or view a movie, but that we delve into it and immerse ourselves in the symbolism that they present us.
I personally do a lot of reading for enjoyment. I have read titles such as Maus and The Things They Carried, that are popular as assigned texts, not for a class, but simply because I chose to. I like this approach because I can read a text without having to rush to meet class deadlines. There is much that we can do to educate ourselves, and I am a big believer in doing so, both through reading, and through experiencing the world. "The basic faith underlying education is that an examined life is better, richer, and fuller than an unexamined life." -Greg Smith One can not live life merely through the lens of literature. But books open the world to us, and allow us to go to places and times that we otherwise could not. The most important element in reading is that we address a work as a medium for authors to speak to us about their thoughts on life, culture, political atmosphere etc. To do this we need to do what our English teachers demanded of us in essays: analysis.
It is easy to initially become confused between summary and analysis. A summary is a retelling of a story or certain elements of a story, it's characters, and setting. Summarizing only shows that you have read the work, it doesn't demonstrate that you have thought about it. Reading for enjoyment has merit, but reading for content can be even more rewarding. Analysis means that you dive into the literature and make your own assertions about what the authors intent was. Looking for symbolism, meaning , and intent can heighten the readers experience, and bring new insight to our lives and interactions with other people.
"Lots of things in our everyday world are there by accident. If I trip over a stone that causes me to bump into someone, that jostling encounter is probably not part of a higher design. It's just a random occurrence of the sort that happens all the time with no enormous significance in the real world. There is a temptation to treat a film in a similar manner, as if spontaneous things occur by chance. Nothing could be further from the truth." - Greg Smith
I challenge that we need to view literature in the same way that Smith asserts we should look at film. Indeed the two are very similar. I'm sure everyone can immediately call to mind more than one or two films that are based on books. Rereading, and re-watching can provide us with new insight. Comparing our ideas with others can be incredibly illuminating. It is difficult to abandon the notions we have developed about a text, but when faced with further information or insight, it might be necessary. Having preconceived notions about a work before reading it can be very dangerous for this reason. Life is not static, although a literary work is considered to be so, it can be re-edited, and can certainly change when it is translated. Let's assume that literature is primarily unchanging. The perspectives of different readers will always be different. Indeed the perspective of the same reader may even change. I read Shabanu and Haveli by Suzanne Fischer Staples when I was about 14 years old. I was incredibly moved by them as a young woman. I still have them in my collection, and am planning on reading them again soon, not only because I remember how much I enjoyed them, but because through my own life experiences and maturation I know I will have a completely new perspective on, and appreciation of them.
I really apologize for the video quality, but I wanted to include an example of the difference between analysis and synopsis, and why analyzing something is worthwhile, and important, and that it can be an ongoing process. I don't know what's up with my webcam, but the audio is good (and recording an 8 minute video without interruption at my house is a feat!)
Greg Smith. "'It's Just a Movie': A Teaching Essay for Introductory Media Classes." Cinema Journal 41.1 (Fall 2001). Web. http://www2.gsu.edu/~jougms/Justamovie.htm .Accessed 23 August 2012.
I personally do a lot of reading for enjoyment. I have read titles such as Maus and The Things They Carried, that are popular as assigned texts, not for a class, but simply because I chose to. I like this approach because I can read a text without having to rush to meet class deadlines. There is much that we can do to educate ourselves, and I am a big believer in doing so, both through reading, and through experiencing the world. "The basic faith underlying education is that an examined life is better, richer, and fuller than an unexamined life." -Greg Smith One can not live life merely through the lens of literature. But books open the world to us, and allow us to go to places and times that we otherwise could not. The most important element in reading is that we address a work as a medium for authors to speak to us about their thoughts on life, culture, political atmosphere etc. To do this we need to do what our English teachers demanded of us in essays: analysis.
It is easy to initially become confused between summary and analysis. A summary is a retelling of a story or certain elements of a story, it's characters, and setting. Summarizing only shows that you have read the work, it doesn't demonstrate that you have thought about it. Reading for enjoyment has merit, but reading for content can be even more rewarding. Analysis means that you dive into the literature and make your own assertions about what the authors intent was. Looking for symbolism, meaning , and intent can heighten the readers experience, and bring new insight to our lives and interactions with other people.
"Lots of things in our everyday world are there by accident. If I trip over a stone that causes me to bump into someone, that jostling encounter is probably not part of a higher design. It's just a random occurrence of the sort that happens all the time with no enormous significance in the real world. There is a temptation to treat a film in a similar manner, as if spontaneous things occur by chance. Nothing could be further from the truth." - Greg Smith
I challenge that we need to view literature in the same way that Smith asserts we should look at film. Indeed the two are very similar. I'm sure everyone can immediately call to mind more than one or two films that are based on books. Rereading, and re-watching can provide us with new insight. Comparing our ideas with others can be incredibly illuminating. It is difficult to abandon the notions we have developed about a text, but when faced with further information or insight, it might be necessary. Having preconceived notions about a work before reading it can be very dangerous for this reason. Life is not static, although a literary work is considered to be so, it can be re-edited, and can certainly change when it is translated. Let's assume that literature is primarily unchanging. The perspectives of different readers will always be different. Indeed the perspective of the same reader may even change. I read Shabanu and Haveli by Suzanne Fischer Staples when I was about 14 years old. I was incredibly moved by them as a young woman. I still have them in my collection, and am planning on reading them again soon, not only because I remember how much I enjoyed them, but because through my own life experiences and maturation I know I will have a completely new perspective on, and appreciation of them.
I really apologize for the video quality, but I wanted to include an example of the difference between analysis and synopsis, and why analyzing something is worthwhile, and important, and that it can be an ongoing process. I don't know what's up with my webcam, but the audio is good (and recording an 8 minute video without interruption at my house is a feat!)
Greg Smith. "'It's Just a Movie': A Teaching Essay for Introductory Media Classes." Cinema Journal 41.1 (Fall 2001). Web. http://www2.gsu.edu/~jougms/Justamovie.htm .Accessed 23 August 2012.
The American Plague
Yellow fever is something that many Americans seem to have forgotten, but it has played a huge role in the history of not just America, but also the world. The American Plague, by Molly Caldwell Crosby provides an in depth look at yellow fever, and how it is intertwined with American history.
The book is sort of a biography of yellow fever in the United States. This can make it a little difficult to follow in some parts, since we are more accustomed to following people through a story. The fever jumps from one place to another, and is present at different times, so the it can be confusing which outbreak is going on.
There are portions of this book that are very difficult to read. Graphic descriptions of the scourge that is yellow fever, and the effects it has on human beings. This is especially heightened when the author introduces us to historical figures, lets us get to know them and a little of who they were, and then reveals that they were victims of the fever. Especially poignant are the stories of nuns who devoted their time to nursing other yellow fever victims tirelessly until they themselves were infected, the reverend who read his own last rights, and the girl survived the fever and was found barely alive, and alone in her boarded up home with the rotting corpses of her entire family.
Later on in the book it follows yellow fever less closely and becomes more about Walter Reed and his work with the Yellow Fever Board. I found this portion especially interesting because I have heard of Walter Reed Medical Center, but didn't know why the hospital had been named after him. Although receiving credit within the medical community on his work leading the board that proved yellow fever's transmission was through the vector of mosquitoes (specifically Aedes aegypti). This book provides a great look at late 19th and early 20th century medical philosophy. Not only was the vector theory found by many to be preposterous despite the recent discovery of mosquitoes as malarial vectors, bacteriologists purported to have found the yellow fever germ. Yellow fever is in fact caused by strains of virus that are transmitted through the blood, and thus is primarily spread by blood to blood contact or through vectors.
The most shocking part of the book is that despite continuing research, there has been little progress as far as yellow fever. At the time of publication there was a vaccine available, but not widely used. The yellow fever vaccine is a live vaccine which means that it is more difficult to produce, and more dangerous to take. Yellow fever remains one of only three types of outbreaks that requires immediate notification to the World Health Organization (the other two being Bubonic Plague and Cholera.) Yellow fever is so sever and has such a high mortality rate that even a single case is treated as an outbreak.
If it's such a threat, why have more people not heard of yellow fever? Well, it's not really that interesting to a lot of people. In fact plagues of different varieties have shaped world history through the ages, but we don't seem to like to talk about it. Most people have read about the Bubonic Plague outbreaks of Middle Ages Europe, and quite a few know of the Cholera epidemics that affected American pioneers and early urban dwellers. But how many are familiar with the epidemic that wiped out approximately 90% of the population of the North American continent just before the pilgrims arrived? We kind of skip that one and go straight to the introduction of European small pox that wiped out a good number of those who survived the other. Yellow fever was native to Africa and was transported across the ocean during the height of the slave trade. It was an unexpected cargo on slave ships that quickly gained a foothold in South America, and became a perennial problem. If had a huge effect on the Spanish-American War, during which casualty rates from disease far out paced those of battle, and on the exodus of Napoleon from America and the resulting Louisiana Purchase.
While I obviously found this book incredibly interesting, I don't think many people will have the patience to wade through it. The most important element seems to be that although sickness and plague are uncomfortable topics, they are important ones and pertinent not only to our survival, but also to our understanding of history.
But what does the future hold? Are we doomed to a continual fear of the striped house mosquito and the virus it may carry? The same mosquitoes that carry yellow fever, can also transmit malaria and dengue. But let's not get too excited about this just yet. It so happens that there hasn't been an outbreak of yellow fever in the United States in quite some time, though there have been isolated cases as recently as 2001. Managing mosquito populations worldwide and use in high risk areas of mosquito bed nets have been long standing tools in the fight against these. And in an exciting new article in Science News, Mosquitoes Remade, Susan Milius shares with us that science has not forgotten about this concern. There has been work going on to actually rework mosquitoes to fight these diseases rather than transmit them. It's not a long article and I would highly recommend it.
 |
| Image from The Elmwood Cemetery website |
There are portions of this book that are very difficult to read. Graphic descriptions of the scourge that is yellow fever, and the effects it has on human beings. This is especially heightened when the author introduces us to historical figures, lets us get to know them and a little of who they were, and then reveals that they were victims of the fever. Especially poignant are the stories of nuns who devoted their time to nursing other yellow fever victims tirelessly until they themselves were infected, the reverend who read his own last rights, and the girl survived the fever and was found barely alive, and alone in her boarded up home with the rotting corpses of her entire family.
Later on in the book it follows yellow fever less closely and becomes more about Walter Reed and his work with the Yellow Fever Board. I found this portion especially interesting because I have heard of Walter Reed Medical Center, but didn't know why the hospital had been named after him. Although receiving credit within the medical community on his work leading the board that proved yellow fever's transmission was through the vector of mosquitoes (specifically Aedes aegypti). This book provides a great look at late 19th and early 20th century medical philosophy. Not only was the vector theory found by many to be preposterous despite the recent discovery of mosquitoes as malarial vectors, bacteriologists purported to have found the yellow fever germ. Yellow fever is in fact caused by strains of virus that are transmitted through the blood, and thus is primarily spread by blood to blood contact or through vectors.
The most shocking part of the book is that despite continuing research, there has been little progress as far as yellow fever. At the time of publication there was a vaccine available, but not widely used. The yellow fever vaccine is a live vaccine which means that it is more difficult to produce, and more dangerous to take. Yellow fever remains one of only three types of outbreaks that requires immediate notification to the World Health Organization (the other two being Bubonic Plague and Cholera.) Yellow fever is so sever and has such a high mortality rate that even a single case is treated as an outbreak.
If it's such a threat, why have more people not heard of yellow fever? Well, it's not really that interesting to a lot of people. In fact plagues of different varieties have shaped world history through the ages, but we don't seem to like to talk about it. Most people have read about the Bubonic Plague outbreaks of Middle Ages Europe, and quite a few know of the Cholera epidemics that affected American pioneers and early urban dwellers. But how many are familiar with the epidemic that wiped out approximately 90% of the population of the North American continent just before the pilgrims arrived? We kind of skip that one and go straight to the introduction of European small pox that wiped out a good number of those who survived the other. Yellow fever was native to Africa and was transported across the ocean during the height of the slave trade. It was an unexpected cargo on slave ships that quickly gained a foothold in South America, and became a perennial problem. If had a huge effect on the Spanish-American War, during which casualty rates from disease far out paced those of battle, and on the exodus of Napoleon from America and the resulting Louisiana Purchase.
 |
| James Gathany- CDC from Science News July 14, 2012 |
But what does the future hold? Are we doomed to a continual fear of the striped house mosquito and the virus it may carry? The same mosquitoes that carry yellow fever, can also transmit malaria and dengue. But let's not get too excited about this just yet. It so happens that there hasn't been an outbreak of yellow fever in the United States in quite some time, though there have been isolated cases as recently as 2001. Managing mosquito populations worldwide and use in high risk areas of mosquito bed nets have been long standing tools in the fight against these. And in an exciting new article in Science News, Mosquitoes Remade, Susan Milius shares with us that science has not forgotten about this concern. There has been work going on to actually rework mosquitoes to fight these diseases rather than transmit them. It's not a long article and I would highly recommend it.
Monday, August 20, 2012
An Introduction to Literature
I am currently actually enrolled in two college English courses simultaneously. The first is the ENG 102 course for which I created this blog, and the second is Major World Issues in Literature. Although it's fulfilling a requirement for me, I had the choice of a few different courses, and chose it because it seemed like it would be an interesting course. So far, the reading list is long, but exciting, and the professor has shared some very insightful information. I recommend reading this portion of his class introduction documents, as I feel like it sums up some of my approach to reading, and explains some very basic, but often overlooked distinctions in what we read. Although I don't agree completely with his philosophy, it's a great point of view to consider when approaching reading.
The stuff you read for pleasure is, by and large, easy to read. The majority (though not all) of romance,
science fiction, and mystery novels fall into this category. It is usually plot-oriented; that is, you
read it to see what’s going to happen next, and you enjoy it more if it builds
suspense and keeps your interest. It
entertains you. It doesn't require much
thought; no one needs to discuss it to discover its hidden messages –it doesn't
have any, and when you've finished it, you're finished.
This sort of reading rarely challenges your ideas about the world. In fact, it usually reinforces the things we'd all like to think are true: everything happens for a reason, the good are rewarded and the evil suffer, everything comes out okay in the end. You may have noticed that most of these books have happy endings. When they don't, you cry along with the characters, but their sad fates don't make you question the order of the universe. Those who die, die for a clear and logical reason.
Literature with a capital "L" is different. It demands more of you. It requires both your attention and your participation. It asks you to think, to analyze, to stop occasionally in the middle and ask, “Why did that happen?” or “What is he doing in this scene?” Many of these works make you uncomfortable. They make you question your biased and easy assumptions about the world and your place in it. And sometimes there’s not a happy ending.
In return, Literature helps you grow. It allows you to experience events emotionally and intellectually without having to suffer the physical danger. You get to experience Dark Age Denmark without worrying that you will be Grendel’s next meal. You get to visit Colonial Jamaica without catching malaria. You get to ride in an Indian cab with a murderer and not fear for your life. You get to look into the hearts and minds of the characters and take home for free what they teach you about yourself, your family, and the world.
Everything in this class is designed to enhance that experience--to help you learn to read more effectively, so that you can experience Literature more fully, and enjoy it more.
And any reader will tell you, that’s the point of all this: enjoyment. I can’t promise you that any of the information you receive in this class will ever make you a dime. I seriously doubt that any Human Resources director is going to look at your resume and say, "Oh! Here’s someone who's read Things Fall Apart! Let’s hire him!” Your gains will be less tangible: an enhanced ability to see things from other points of view, to detect patterns in people’s actions, to have a deeper understanding of the complexities of human motivation, to widen your knowledge of the world’s people and cultures. This might not put food on the table but is should feed your soul, heart, and mind.
Introduction to Literature
by: Professor Jason Whitesitt, Yavapai College
Let’s begin with a pop
quiz. Below are two statements. I would like you to please examine each and
then determine the most important difference between them.
I.
Two plus two
equals four.
II.
The tale of
Cinderella reinforces an androcentric worldview in which women are treated as
exchangeable commodities.
Think about this now –don’t
just speed ahead for the easy answer. In
fact, thinking for yourself is part of the quiz. Got an idea?
Think you know?
As you may have determined,
the first line is a statement of truth.
Two plus two equals four. This is
a fact. You can ask your math professor.
You can ask any math professor. You can ask your ten-year-old cousin. Modern science is predicated on this sort of
thing and there is really no room to argue.
Statement two, however, is an opinion.
It may be an educated opinion, an informed opinion, but it is still only
an opinion. This may seem elementary, but this is an incredibly important distinction to make before one
goes mucking about in world literature. Despite
what that one pompous or insecure English teacher told you, there is no single
answer to any given text. Too many
people think that this sole epiphany exists in every work and that if they
don’t get it, then they’re stupid. Yet,
interpreting literature is an art and not a science, and so there are multiple
avenues of approach and a number of ways of being right. How liberating! Indeed, it is so liberating that I want you
to stand up, right now, wherever you are and shout: LITEARATURE IS LIBERATING! Go ahead and do it. No, really.
This is important (the ghosts of eccentric professors past are watching
you). There. Feel silly?
Feel loosened up? Good. This is a nice start.
Literature is liberating and so you should be using
your own experiences, your own ideas, your own lamplight of reason to craft
interpretations. However, know that any
given interpretation is only as good as the textual evidence used to back it
up. You need to ground your theories in
the actual words of the work. If you
want to assert that Romeo was really a Medici spy trying to seduce the launch
codes for a Renaissance WMD out of Juliet . . . Well, I’m not going to say
you’re wrong. Instead, I’m going to ask
you to prove it. Comb through the play
and produce the evidence. Show me the
lines, point out the symbols, analyze the theme. In other words, do the work and you can’t be
wrong. How great is that?
Now that you are loose and
liberated let’s talk about the types of literature. If you’ve ever walked into a Barnes and Noble
or prowled the racks of your local library, you probably know that not all
books are the same. There’s the stuff
you read for information (mostly nonfiction, and not our concern in this
class), there’s the stuff you read for pure pleasure (literature with a little
"l"), and there’s the stuff you read in classes like this (Literature
with a capital "L").
This sort of reading rarely challenges your ideas about the world. In fact, it usually reinforces the things we'd all like to think are true: everything happens for a reason, the good are rewarded and the evil suffer, everything comes out okay in the end. You may have noticed that most of these books have happy endings. When they don't, you cry along with the characters, but their sad fates don't make you question the order of the universe. Those who die, die for a clear and logical reason.
Literature with a capital "L" is different. It demands more of you. It requires both your attention and your participation. It asks you to think, to analyze, to stop occasionally in the middle and ask, “Why did that happen?” or “What is he doing in this scene?” Many of these works make you uncomfortable. They make you question your biased and easy assumptions about the world and your place in it. And sometimes there’s not a happy ending.
In return, Literature helps you grow. It allows you to experience events emotionally and intellectually without having to suffer the physical danger. You get to experience Dark Age Denmark without worrying that you will be Grendel’s next meal. You get to visit Colonial Jamaica without catching malaria. You get to ride in an Indian cab with a murderer and not fear for your life. You get to look into the hearts and minds of the characters and take home for free what they teach you about yourself, your family, and the world.
Everything in this class is designed to enhance that experience--to help you learn to read more effectively, so that you can experience Literature more fully, and enjoy it more.
And any reader will tell you, that’s the point of all this: enjoyment. I can’t promise you that any of the information you receive in this class will ever make you a dime. I seriously doubt that any Human Resources director is going to look at your resume and say, "Oh! Here’s someone who's read Things Fall Apart! Let’s hire him!” Your gains will be less tangible: an enhanced ability to see things from other points of view, to detect patterns in people’s actions, to have a deeper understanding of the complexities of human motivation, to widen your knowledge of the world’s people and cultures. This might not put food on the table but is should feed your soul, heart, and mind.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Being a Good Reader
When we set out on an adventure, it is important to take the necessary tools with us. On this great adventure, the most important tool to have is the ability to read. I consider us lucky to live in a place and time where literacy is so common. Thanks in part to the public education system, and in part to charitable organizations and profit based support groups, most people in our country today are able to read. But there is more to reading than simply understanding the symbols on the page.
I recently read a selection by Vladimir Nabokov entitled Good Readers and Good Writers. (This is available in the public domain here along with some critical reading questions, but if you would like to purchase a copy to read, it is included in this book that is full of other worthwhile literature.) If you're not familiar with Nabokov, I suggest that you should be. He was one of the preeminent authors of the twentieth century.
Now that we've reviewed Nabokov's authority on this topic, let's take a look at his conclusions. He recommends that a good reader should display four primary qualities; having imagination, having a good memory, usage of a dictionary, and a sense for the artistic. Nabokov continues, and explains the way he would like readers to approach digesting his own work. This insight is invaluable, as the author's intent in his work is one of the most important things for critical readers to consider.
First and foremost, reading requires imagination. Even reading non-fiction, a reader needs to be able to conceptualize, and envision what it is that the author is trying to get across. A reader also needs a healthy sense of skepticism. This is key to both enjoying a mystery novel, and analyzing the information in, or credibility of a biography or scientific publication. This blend of imagination and scientific appraisal is exactly what Nabokov recommends. I don't completely agree with his assertion that we can not ever trust a work to teach us about a real place, time, or people however. Though we need to be vigilant in our skepticism while reading, there is much information that a critical reader can glean from a work. There are indeed "historical fiction" titles that are downright farcical, but there are others that are extremely well researched and provide a much greater authenticity. It is part of the readers responsibility to determine which kind of work it is that they are reading.
One of the most difficult elements of being a good reader is the sense of reality. We each have our own view of reality based on our cumulative knowledge and life experiences. With every person having their own unique perspective on the world it can be difficult to have a common point of view. Understanding the cultural and historical context both of a work itself, and of when and by whom it was created, goes a long way. I believe this is what Nabokov was getting at when he wrote, "everything that is worthwhile is to some extent subjective."
Finally, Nabokov suggests that truly good readers should indeed be re-readers. Reading once can be enjoyable, but it is only when we read things a second of third time, that we start to see more deeply into a work. I certainly agree with Nabokov's assertion that re-reading material brings new things to light. There are certain books that I have reread and continue to discuss with friends. Years later, we are still discovering new things and having new and different discussions. Sadly, there are so many books out there, and we have so little time, it can difficult for most of us to devote this kind of time to more than a choice few works.
When I read, I am not always what Nabokov calls a good reader. There are occasions when I am swept away by the story, and either through identification with the character(s) or fascination with them, find myself carried along, enchanted by the authors storytelling. In these cases I tend, as I challenge we all do, to miss some of the nuances. This is exactly why Nabokov recommends rereading so highly. I generally try to appreciate the underlying lessons in the works that I read. If you watched my welcome video, you probably noticed that I said I welcome other people's comments and input. This is one of the things that I think can help when we don't have time to reread for ourselves. The perspective of others is invaluable. Hopefully we can both become better readers together from reading and discussing Nabokov's perspective.
I recently read a selection by Vladimir Nabokov entitled Good Readers and Good Writers. (This is available in the public domain here along with some critical reading questions, but if you would like to purchase a copy to read, it is included in this book that is full of other worthwhile literature.) If you're not familiar with Nabokov, I suggest that you should be. He was one of the preeminent authors of the twentieth century.
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| Photo from Randomhouse.com |
Now that we've reviewed Nabokov's authority on this topic, let's take a look at his conclusions. He recommends that a good reader should display four primary qualities; having imagination, having a good memory, usage of a dictionary, and a sense for the artistic. Nabokov continues, and explains the way he would like readers to approach digesting his own work. This insight is invaluable, as the author's intent in his work is one of the most important things for critical readers to consider.
First and foremost, reading requires imagination. Even reading non-fiction, a reader needs to be able to conceptualize, and envision what it is that the author is trying to get across. A reader also needs a healthy sense of skepticism. This is key to both enjoying a mystery novel, and analyzing the information in, or credibility of a biography or scientific publication. This blend of imagination and scientific appraisal is exactly what Nabokov recommends. I don't completely agree with his assertion that we can not ever trust a work to teach us about a real place, time, or people however. Though we need to be vigilant in our skepticism while reading, there is much information that a critical reader can glean from a work. There are indeed "historical fiction" titles that are downright farcical, but there are others that are extremely well researched and provide a much greater authenticity. It is part of the readers responsibility to determine which kind of work it is that they are reading.
One of the most difficult elements of being a good reader is the sense of reality. We each have our own view of reality based on our cumulative knowledge and life experiences. With every person having their own unique perspective on the world it can be difficult to have a common point of view. Understanding the cultural and historical context both of a work itself, and of when and by whom it was created, goes a long way. I believe this is what Nabokov was getting at when he wrote, "everything that is worthwhile is to some extent subjective."
Finally, Nabokov suggests that truly good readers should indeed be re-readers. Reading once can be enjoyable, but it is only when we read things a second of third time, that we start to see more deeply into a work. I certainly agree with Nabokov's assertion that re-reading material brings new things to light. There are certain books that I have reread and continue to discuss with friends. Years later, we are still discovering new things and having new and different discussions. Sadly, there are so many books out there, and we have so little time, it can difficult for most of us to devote this kind of time to more than a choice few works.
When I read, I am not always what Nabokov calls a good reader. There are occasions when I am swept away by the story, and either through identification with the character(s) or fascination with them, find myself carried along, enchanted by the authors storytelling. In these cases I tend, as I challenge we all do, to miss some of the nuances. This is exactly why Nabokov recommends rereading so highly. I generally try to appreciate the underlying lessons in the works that I read. If you watched my welcome video, you probably noticed that I said I welcome other people's comments and input. This is one of the things that I think can help when we don't have time to reread for ourselves. The perspective of others is invaluable. Hopefully we can both become better readers together from reading and discussing Nabokov's perspective.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
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