People have been telling stories since the dawn of time. But, as much as some of us like to just kick back and ride a good narrative, storytelling has never been just about entertainment. Why are books written, then, if not for readers’ gratification?
The first thing we notice about books is the plot. And who doesn’t enjoy reading about a couple guys on a cross-country rager, or a spooky old haunted mansion with an ancestral curse. But just like a birthday cake and its icing, there’s more to a novel than its surface narrative. It’s the layers beneath the compelling plot that give a novel substance.
A novel’s symbolic language carries a message beyond simply what happens in the plot. But like luggage, it has to be unpacked. No matter how enjoyable a book may be, if you’re just reading for plot and an entertaining story, you aren’t even getting half of what it has to offer. So, here are a few forms of symbolic language to be on the look-out for the next time you pick up a book.
Book banning has been part of human history since ancient times. At different points in history, authors of banned books have been ostracized, jailed, exiled, or even threatened with death. During certain historical periods, possessing a banned book was regarded as a heretical act or considered treasonous, and therefore punishable. Here’s a brief timeline of book bannings, burnings, and other censorship tactics.
Words can be fun, like Mary Poppins taught us. Remember supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Well, that’s just a start... take a gander below.
