Personal Exploration Essay: “Falling for Fiction”

Falling for Fiction

             I am truly blessed to have grown up in a household and community where reading was highly regarded. Over the course of my entire life, novels have transported me to towering castles, underground civilizations, and even the cold depths of outer space. Surprisingly, learning to appreciate literature as a form of entertainment made the transition to appreciating literature as an analytical art-form rather difficult. Throughout my life, as well as the beginning of this class, I have learned the sheer value of text; finding deeper meaning in literature has allowed me to break down the division between reading for “school” and reading for “fun,” as well as understand the various elements of fiction and view them across multiple works.

            I have always been a bit of a nerd. I was one of the few kids in my elementary school who was excited to read, engrossing myself in children novels and writing juvenile stories of my own. Looking back, my enthusiasm for literature is surprising, only because I have since lost that same spark of wonder. As I grew older and settled into hobbies, homework, and hanging out with friends, reading became less about enjoyment and more about completing the required reading assignment. I believe this feeling first came to light when my high-school freshman English class read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. It was with this book that I was introduced to very deep analysis of text; I was not a fan. Not only because I did not enjoy the book at the time, but also because I figured if we spent so much time reading it, why take even more time writing annotations and analyzing the literature? This transition was not a welcome one for me, and it took me a while to start actually enjoying the books we read in class. Fortunately, my feelings first started shifting upon reading J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye. I knew that it was a very polarizing book, and I ended up being in the camp that was absolutely fascinated by it. I thought it was a powerful coming of age story, but more importantly, it was a novel that made me excited to read again. Because of that book, I now approach all pieces of literature with an open mind; knowing full well that while I may not enjoy a given book from time to time, I can appreciate the story being told and elements of fiction being employed.

            Coming into this class, I was not entirely sure what to expect. It would be my first English class at a collegiate level, excluding the AP courses that I took in high school, and I was afraid that we would read many pieces that I found boring. Thankfully, I have enjoyed every piece that we have read so far; they have worked wonder to expand my knowledge on the elements of fiction. Take, for instance, symbolism. I have enjoyed finding the contrast as to how symbolism can be employed, looking at Chinua Achebe’s “Dead Men’s Path” and Tobias Wolff’s “Hunters in the Snow.” In Achebe’s story, I viewed symbolism as taking more of an outward approach, while Wolff’s story required to think more critically. In Achebe’s story, the flowers that Michael Obi plants outside of the school are a symbol of his attempt to add beauty and progression to a school he believed to be left in the past. This point is further emphasized when the villagers stomp on these flowers as a sign of protest, as they were upset with Obi for attempting to attack their long-withstanding ideals. Obi’s attempt to modernize the school ended up bringing a “‘tribal war situation’” (Achebe 251) to the town. As for Wolff’s story, I found it more difficult to come across a specific and powerful symbol, but eventually came across one through deeper analysis. When Frank and Tub are in the diner, Frank asks a waitress to bring Tub a large stack of pancakes, which may seem confusing. However, this is a symbol of Frank attempting to make Tub indulge his secret sin, as well as make Tub accept Frank’s dark secret. I found it fascinating that the same symbol can be employed in such different ways, and hope to it see it used even more creatively in the future.

            One element of fiction that I had always found hard to find meaning in would be point of view; I believed that, with the right writing, any piece of literature could be told just as powerfully through any point of view. However, I believe that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Minister’s Black Veil” proved to me that point of view is a very important and intentional element of fiction. Through third person omniscent narration, readers are able to view the story from the perspectives of anyone and everyone that Hawthorne intended. The townspeople’s voices are heard as direct quotes are taken from civilians expressing their dislike of the minister’s veil. “‘He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face,” muses one civilian (Hawthorne 48). In addition, the narration style allows us to hear from the minister himself. “Mr. Hooper smiled to think that only a material emblem had separated him from happiness, though the horrors, which it shadowed forth, must be drawn darkly between the fondest of lovers” (55). This quote is taken from a passage directly after Elizabeth’s exit; if the story were told from Elizabeth’s perspective, for example, readers would not have been treated to this characterizing quote. Hawthorne’s expertly crafted literature made readers feel the confusion and fright that was instilled in the townspeople due to Hooper’s black veil, as well as the inner torment of Hooper himself. Additionally, we were able to receive much background information regarding Hooper’s reputation without having to explain it through dialogue. Hawthorne’s third person omniscent narrator almost put us in the position of one of the townsfolk, watching the story unfold just as everyone else did. It made me realize that point of view is an integral element to storytelling, and it made me think back to how different certain novels would have been, had they been told from a different perspective.

            I believe that, in terms of this class, we have only scratched the surface on what we will learn. I cannot wait to analyze such fantastic pieces of literature, learning to appreciate the stories we are being told. Finding the same zealousness for literature inside of me that I had when I was a child is truly inspiring.

 

Works Cited

Achebe, Chinua. Dead Men’s Path. Fiction: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2014. 248-251. Print

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Minister’s Black VeilFiction: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2014. 47-59. Print.

Wolff, Tobias. Hunters in The SnowFiction: A Pocket Anthology. Ed. R. S. Gwynn. 7th ed. Boston: Pearson Education, 2014. 335-49. Print.