Today in my AP literature class we discussed stories by Flannery O'connor. Well, the class toiled and sweat to find what secrets, what mysteries every little clue and quote held. It has been the same throughout high school. So often we seek to find hidden meanings in books and try and find what the author really meant, meticulously searching with a manginfying glass. Then we think we have found why the author uses irony or sattire. WE connect it to all these great ethics, morals, beliefs, etc. We guess for the author and assume we know. Then we feel so proud of ourselves after we have "decoded" the messages. We are just as happy as a child who has found hidden eggs on Easter.
For years, I went along with it. Trusting the teachers, attempting to find what it was that the author really meant. Then one day, my science teacher said something that hit me. I was talking about how Mark Twain used irony and sattire, about his genius in condeming society wrong, and about how I have a bunch of homework that night to prove Twain's beliefs and techniques were used to bring out social change. Has it ever occured to us the author write just because they want to, because they want to write a weird encoded story that doesn't make sense?
To laugh at those centuries who come and sit puzzled by theauthor's "genius". My science teacher said that Twain and many other authors didn't have a "goal" to bring about social change in mind. They simply wrote. They didn't plan out an elaborate maze to change the world and offer hints at social change. Now there is something to think about. Think outside the box.
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Interesting post and very good point. It is still fun to try to find the answer to the question that was never asked. I just wish you would use paragraphs or something to break it up and make it easier to read.
Keep thinking, your good at it.
all truths are easy to understand once discovered; the point is to discover them ~galileo
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Thanks for the advice tgunnegan! I will try to remember your advice and make my blogs better!
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^
That's what I never understood about my AP English class. We spent most of the time "interpreting" it. My classmates would come up with these elaborate explanations and I would be sitting there like "maybe he just wanted to write about a swamp he went by all the time and there really is no 'deeper meaning'?"
-- quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
Exactly. Thank you for understanding. But you know what's ironic? If you bring this point up in class people will look at you like your stupid. They would be like "This is AP. We actually think in here." So anyways, theres not much we can do with this post except keep the opinion to ourselves. I find it interesting that a scientist said that though. I totally understand why he would. Science is based on facts. They don't make up elaborate explanations like the English teachers. Maybe the english teachers just want their job to sound just as exciting.
Oh!! Are you talking about Walden?
i agree with you. humans make all these elaborate explanations for things. they see an ocean that's only a pond.
Yeah. Its because it makes us feel more important. It boosts our ego as humans, that WE can solve a riddle. It gives us a sense of purpose. But don't tell english teachers this. All they do is analyze. If you do, they will probably feel that they lost their meaning in life. But seriously, I am wondering. has anyone told this to a teacher? What was the response? Maybe I should bring it up on Monday. DO you think I should?
That kind of depends on your teacher. My English teacher said that there is a type of interpretation that is more literal. The interpretation generally depends on the way you think and how your mind works. I had one classmate that would find these meanings in poems that I'd look at and go "where the hell did you get that from?! He doesn't even mention anything remotely close to that in here!"
-- quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
That's interesting. I guess it doesn't matter as long as those interpretations apply to you and have some sort of meaning to you. AS long as its not a scavenger hunt for hidden meanings and patterns, or a competition for who can get the "deepest" interpretation at which point the class will OOOHHH and AHHHH and applaud the "smart" kid who was WAY off the mark and off the point the author was or wasn't trying to make
I can agree with that. A lot of authors do find it interesting that, while they were writing what came to them with no ulterior motive, people come away from their work having discovered something the author didn't intend. Many though, are ecstatic when one comes away from the work having analyzed what it meant and found some meaning that he or she could identify with, rock with, etc. So maybe the answer is instead of making the class analyze to come to the same conclusion, students should be encouraged to analyze from a personal standpoint. When the writing says something to you personally, you gain a lot more than you do when herded like sheep toward the same conclusion. I've never seen an author say "That wasn't the point, you imbecile!" but I've seen many say, "I'm happy that you discovered something in my writing with which you could relate."
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~Fallon~
"Do not be too moral. You may cheat yourself out of much life. Aim above morality. Be not simply good; be good for something." Henry David Thoreau
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I totally agree. People in AP english class are trying to find a pattern in the authors work and draw conclusions from it. I was sitting in class today thinking "what are they doing? NOt all stories connect in the same way." And so they beat themselves to the pulp trying to find a theme the author has in all of her stories., The fact is that its just not there. It would be so much more beneficial to us, like you said, to draw our conclusions and see how it impacts our life. What lessons WE can learn, instead of overanalyzing.
After watching 'Thank You for Smoking,' I had finally found a quote that sums up how I feel about AP classes, "BS, if I may, is what questions like the one your teacher posed, are made for." Amy Tan is one example of an author who has stated that her books presented no ulterior motives, no complex and existential metaphors, no deeper meaning other than what is felt on the surface. AP classes are about honing your skills in bullsh** and utilizing them to their full potential. It's actually extremely useful to practice.
On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur: L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Once again, I totally agree. I would like to know more about this Amy TAN. WHat books would you recommend?
All of her books are amazing, in my opinion. They focus on Chinese and Chinese-American culture and identity. The Joy Luck Club is the best known, but I personally love The Hundred Secret Senses.
On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur: L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Thanks. They are all fiction right? I don't know if I would be able to enjoy and understand the books though. I know absolutely nothing about the history, background, or culture of the chinese people. I would be so lost.
It's fiction yes, but you don't have to understand chinese culture at all to read the books. Part of the intensity of the book is the fact that the subject is often something different than what the reader's used to, so it's almost like culture shock.
On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur: L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Thanks. Lastly, can you please explain what your quote means at the bottom of your comment? And why is it such a trend for everyone to post quotes at the bottom of everything they write?
It was a feature when I signed up, and I think it's a quote that carries significance in everything that's said. It means: "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur: L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
INteresting. I like that quote. Thanks.
and should say something about the poster or what he or she likes.
If you find a quote, or make one up, that means a lot to you, you can add one by going to 'my account' (a button on the right), then chosing the 'edit' tab on the top. You should see an area were you can type it in...be sure to give the author credit.
~Bandwagoneer
all truths are easy to understand once discovered; the point is to discover them ~galileo
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Thanks!
and I don't care if the author did not mean to bring about anything or whatever
That is what I love about any form of art, people take what they want from it
and I have to say that this is one of those things that made me hate my English AP classes on the whole they were a waste of my time and I ended up wasting so much time on stupid projects and assignments than actually reading and understanding and gaining something from the books i was reading
"Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right."
http://www.progressiveu.org/231615-this-is-a-muslim-girls-plight
http://www.progressiveu.org/090204-dont-miss-this-chance
Another thing, do you realize that most of Shakespeare's plays are better off without the epilogue? Many complain about the epilogue saying he should have just ended in a certain spot. But he has a moral in every play.
DISCLAIMER: I am not being rude. I'm stating my opinion. No personal attacks are meant. Please give some leniency on how you take my words. imagine me saying them with a smile. ^__^