Well. This time around, I learned some new things I thought that were really cool. One of the things I learned was that, in literature, violence is almost never accidental. The death of a character can cause many things in the plot. It can be there to make action happen, cause complications in the plot, and put other characters under stress. Now that I have read this, I see how the violence in the books I have read affect the rest of the plot. For example, in Inheritance by Christopher Paolini, the final battle that takes place helps develop action in the plot. The death of certain characters put stress on other ones. This clearly shows how violence affected the plot in this text.
Another thing I learned is that almost everything is a symbol. But the symbols don't just have one meaning, they have different meanings for different people. There is no exact meaning to a symbol. But there is one, if it is an allegory. An allegory is a way to communicate one single idea and is straight forward. No ambiguous nonsense. So, after I got the difference between the two right, the author moved on. He gave examples of how the simplest most non-connected things, can have symbolism. The example I enjoyed the most was from A Passage to India, by E.M. Forster. The example of symbolism from the book is when they go into a cave. Adela, the main person in this scene, goes into a cave with a group of people, When she goes deeper into the cave, she thinks that something is happening, and runs out in fear. The cave seems to symbolize her darkest fears and anxieties. So, as we see here, symbolism can be found in many places.
As I continue to read this book, I think I will learn more and more about literature and the many things that affect its meaning. I hope that eventually, one day, I will be able to analyze and enjoy literature at a different, more deep level.
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