Sigmund Freud once famously claimed that “sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar,” making the point that some things can, and should, be taken at face value. High school literature, apparently, is not one of those things.
Overanalyzation is, in my opinion, one of the greatest pitfalls in a subject I am unashamed to call my favorite. English class has always been enjoyable for me; I have no problem with reading thick volumes in a short amount of time, or deciphering complex vocabulary. I even enjoy Shakespeare. My only real problem with the subject is when a great work (i.e. The Great Gatsby, Jane Eyre, Romeo and Juliet) is turned from a classic to nothing more than homework through a ridiculous amount of overanalysis.
Why is it that we can never seem to accept the fact that the author may have, in fact, used things such as colors and sounds without giving them some underlying meaning? Take a sentence such as, “The curtains were dark blue to match the drapes.” Now, of course, the author may have meant the color blue to symbolize the deep anguish and anxiousness that the main character was feeling, coupled with the recent death of his father. Couldn't they just be blue to match the drapes? If they had been red, would that change the overall meaning of the book?
Peter Ravenelle, a senior in AP English, believes that a gross amount of analyzation makes English classes difficult and unlikable- especially for younger students. “I think the upperclassmen can handle going into that much detail, because we’re used to it by now,” he stated. “But freshmen and sophomores should be able to enjoy the books they read, without analyzing them to death. Otherwise, they’ll never like English for the rest of their lives.”
Senior Emma Smith agreed with Ravenelle, and also pointed out that reading with analysis in mind causes kids to either read too quickly or too slowly for their own tastes. “I read fast,” she claimed, “but when other kids don’t get a small piece of the analysis, or don’t agree with the teacher, we have to go back and read it again, more slowly. It takes whatever fun there was out of reading.”
If all this analysis makes English so boring and difficult to deal with, is it really necessary to go into that much detail? Well, according to Anne Frost, a sophomore and senior English teacher, analysis is a critical skill not just for English class, but in life in general.
“For the rest of your life,” she claimed, “you’re going to need to know how to analyze things in detail. You get real-life experience from that, no matter what you’re reading. Plus, it’s a standard that students need to be well-versed in close analysis.”
According to Frost, having classes at mixed levels (aside from AS and AP) means that reading in class and reading slowly is necessary, as it makes sure all members of the class are on the same page. “Sometimes the language and style of the book is a barrier, or the material is too dry for the student to grasp. Analysis makes sure everyone is getting something out of the experience.”
Eliza Hunt said that in her past four years at Carlmont, she’s enjoyed the analysis she has done. “If a kid is predisposed to like reading and English,” she explained, “then of course he’s going to hate analysis. I like it, though. Reading books like The Great Gatsby is a lot more enjoyable when you actually know what the author was trying to communicate through symbolism and language.”
Frost pointed out that, “there will always be those kids who walk in saying ‘I already know how to speak English; why do I need to be here?’ They don’t find the work interesting so the point of the analysis, in my class and others, is to make it real for them.”
No comments:
Post a Comment