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CHAPTER ONE:�“READING THE STORY”

FAST FOOD OR GOURMET FOOD

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WHY BOTHER TO READ LITERATURE?

(paragraphs 1-2)

  1. Enjoyment and diversion
  2. Understanding, exploring and illuminating life.

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Picasso: “Art is a lie that leads to the truth.”

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EQUALS

EQUALS UNDERSTANDING

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ARTISTIC LITERATURE…

(paragraph 4)

  1. Must bring enjoyment.
  2. Must bring understanding.
  3. Must bring insights into some significant aspect of life.

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TWO TYPES OF FICTION

(paragraphs 6-9)

  1. Commercial Fiction:
    1. Written to make money and fame.
    2. Provides and escape from real life
    3. Is simple

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  • Literary Fiction:
    • Serious “artistic intentions” with “intention to broaden, deepen, and sharpen the reader’s awareness of life.
    • Makes reader dig deeper into real life.
    • Is complex

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SOME LITERATURE FALLS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TWO CATEGORIES

  • Where do these books belong??

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Commercial ------------------------------------------------Literary

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IS A LITERARY PIECE COMMERCIAL OR ARTISTIC?

(paragraphs 6-9)

  1. It is not determined by the lack or presence of…

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  1. Moral
  2. Facts
  3. Fantasy

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Commercial lit can present moral and have flat, shallow characters. Literary lit may have no moral but dramatizes the human experience.

A three dollar romance novel can be full of historical fact, and still be commercial.

A fantasy novel can reveal deep and profound truth through a fanciful tale..

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LITERARY LITERATURE

(paragraph 10)

  • Will “present and insight- whether large or small- into the nature of our existence.”
  • “It helps us understand our world.”

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This insight or understanding is what we will focus on finding for each work that we read. It is called the…

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SHORT STORIES ARE

(paragraph 11)

  1. Most often in the literary category.
  2. Less commercial than the novel form.
  3. Written with serious intentions.
  4. Written with brevity but depth.
  5. Of an “experimental genre” with authors seeking new ways to write them.

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WE MUST READ THESE TWO TYPES OF FICTION DIFFERENTLY

(paragraph 13)

  1. Commercial literature:
    1. We don’t want or need to think too much.
    2. We simply want to pass time and be entertained.

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  • Literary literature:
    • Will have some immediate pleasure.
    • Demand more in terms of “language, structure and complexity.”
    • Readers will come away with some enhanced understanding of life. A Universal Truth (Theme)

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COMMERCIAL LITERATURE EXPECTATIONS

(paragraph 16)

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  1. Sympathetic hero/heroine.
  2. Defined plot (exciting and suspenseful)
  3. Happy ending (usually)
  4. General theme or message

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LITERARY FICTION EXPECTATIONS

(paragraph 17)

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  1. A Unique style or angle
  2. Unsettling or unresolved end.
  3. Will challenge, examine, and change ingrained expectations.

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HOW WE HAVE TO READ LITERARY FICTION

(paragraph 19)

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Slowly

Deliberately Thoughtfully

This is not meant to be disrespectful. It’s just a good metaphor for how we must read this year. And we will all have someone to help us “cross the street.”

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LITERARY FICTION: READ DEEPLY

(paragraph 19)

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You will “gain a pleasurable experience and an understanding of the world and human condition.”