Reflections in Short Story - Critical Approach to Literature
art of reading, I have been able to see a lot of changes. I
believe with knowledge comes responsibility for its
application. The knowledge that I have acquired in terms
of appreciating the short story genre of writing has
inspired my keener eye for details in any form of
rendition even beyond the written page.
I have also noticed a deeper interest in the appreciation
of the world around, with those who I must share my
days. As a reader I come to understand that the pre-
established norms and dictates of the world, are not
necessarily justified or noble.
I knew there was a time I read, because it was fun to
have a story that could amuse or interest me, however,
when I look at stories today, I look at the symbolisms
and it’s ability to convey a deeper and profound meaning
beyond the written texts.
I find that as a reader, I am becoming more and more
tuned to the injustices around me, and learning to
balance my interaction with the world based on an
indiscriminate and unbiased understanding.
For example, after reading Doris Lessings, and the Kate
Chopin stories, I found out how I had tried to
understand a world around chauvinistic approaches of
cultural norms, and why those understanding seemed to
clash with who I was.
I grew up around Christian doctrines, and so after,
reading Doris Lessings, and Kate Chopin, I was forced to
relate the scriptural text of Galatians, Paul, who is one of
it’s writers says,There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one .......
Growing up around doctrines like this and having to read
these texts from time to time helped me develop a
strong bias against inequalities, and the unfairness and
partiality it can breed.
However, I found out, that I either have to make a
choice to conform to established norms and dictates, or
simply appreciate the wisdom in my experiences to guide
my choices, and enjoy my own expression.
Reading Doris Lessings and Kate Chopin freed me totally
form the shackle of trying to balance the writings of Paul,
who classifies the roles of women in society under
mandatory subservience in one of his previous books
called Corinthians.
It was important I brought up the scriptural texts,
because reading them actually shaped my views of the
world in a large way. It is in its reading I also found my
total disagreements, and had to find the symbolisms
within its text that proved a rational answer to my
contentions.
Also after the loss of my dad, at the age of 12, I found
out how strong a woman can be against all odds, and I
learnt a different kind of respect and appreciation for
those who wielded its vessel.. I could no more use my
physical strength, to balance my superiority over the
woman, because I saw a tenacity in my mother, that
defied complete family home units. I believe this gave me
the ability to see myself as a complete man, if it can be
used without bias.
Other authors that have impressed me in their style of
writing is John Cheever’s, Five Forty Eight, which again
draws on a premise that could be quite similar to Doris
Lessings’. Fitzgerald, is also another writer I would read,
who has sentiments in his writings quite similar to
Cheevers’ and Lessings’
I would read this three authors any day.
This is my conclusion after reading all these works, and
choosing my most prolific authors: I am more tuned
towards the deconstruction critical approach to
literature. The Gender, psychoanalytical, and structural
critical approaches to literature are the other approaches
I favor respectively.
In choosing the deconstruction critical approach to
literature, I have been able to analyze my own path and
choices based on the readings of Doris Lessings and
Kate Chopin (In Week 5, 9/27 - 10/2).
If I were to write an one more essay on any story, I
would work from the foundation of how that story
relates to me, and understand how the extreme
opposites come to play in any one situation.
It’s like a friend of mine who says,” I am just playing the
devils advocate”, and immediately after that, I get really
wound up in our dialogue, knowing I may get no where.
Nevertheless, this critical approach of deconstruction,
allows me to see the rational between any two extreme
and opposing view, views so prevalent in our modern
world.
In writing that essay, I would do it employing the use of
the deconstruction critical approach, and then make use
of other approaches already enumerated, to the extent
that I can complement my objective or theme for the
essay.
This is the best English Literature class I have ever taken
as an adult, because it was not just a class, it was a
vehicle of liberation in it’s own very simple way .By
reading these authors, I have added depth in my
interactions to the world around me, that goes beyond
superficial day to day living. It has given me the impetus
to do something about the world around me, and not be
a spectator. It has given me a voice.
I believe I would be indebted not just to the class, the
lecturer, and the interaction of its peers, but to the art
of writing itself.
Copyright 2004 © Adebowale Balogun
