idk who needs to hear this but when your english teacher asks you to explain why an author chose to use a specific metaphor or literary device, it’s not because you won’t be able to function in real-world society without the essential knowledge of gatsby’s green light or whatever, it’s because that process develops your abilities to parse a text for meaning and fill in gaps in information by yourself, and if you’re wondering what happens when you DON’T develop an adult level of reading comprehension, look no further than the dizzying array of examples right here on tumblr dot com
this post went from 600 to 2400 notes in the time it took me to write 3 emails. i’m already terrified for what’s going to happen in there
k but also, as an addendum, the reason we study literary analysis is because everything an author writes has meaning, whether it was intentional or not, and their biases and agendas are often reflected in their choice of language and literary devices and so forth! and that ties directly into being able to identify, for example, the racist and antisemitic dogwhistles often employed by the right wing, or the subconscious word choices that can unintentionally illustrate someone’s bias or blind spot. LANGUAGE HAS WEIGHT AND MEANING! the way we communicate is a reflection of our inner selves, and that’s true regardless of whether it’s a short story or a novel or a blog post or a tweet. instead of taking a piece of writing at face value and stopping there, assuming that there is no deeper meaning or thought behind the words on the page, ask yourself these two questions instead:
1. what is the author trying to say? 2. what does the author maybe not realize they’re saying?
because the most interesting reading of any piece of literature, imho, usually occupies the space in between those questions.
One of the things that I most value from my English Literature classes in college is how familiar you become with rhetoric. Being able to sit and watch a politcal debate or a news broadcast and be intensely aware of how word choice, phrasing, metaphors, subject avoidance, etc. all affect what a person is saying is so helpful.
It helps you know when a media outlet is manipulating a story based on how they choose to phrase things. It helps you know how to tell when a political candidate doesn’t want to answer a question, or when their answer to a question is just them repeating themselves. It helps you understand the nuances of how people talk about social and political issues, and helps you be aware of how you communicate.
If you care enough to pay attention, understanding rhetoric can help you become a much more educated and self-aware person.
