Why study literature? Why read fiction? Why spend one’s life teaching it... What’s the point? Students do not take literature to learn only what constitutes a metaphor or a simile; they take literature because metaphors and similes say something. New insights are discovered and new meanings encountered with the accumulated knowledge of each literary device. Such substantive reading leads to substantive reflection.
Albert Einstein is literally the face of the STEM education society is so pre-occupied with these days. We see his likeness on countless numbers of brochures for science programs, camps, and fairs. Bearing this in mind, a lot of us would be shocked to discover that he championed a liberal arts education. Given (as the expression goes), when we look up “genius” in the dictionary we see a picture of Einstein, we should listen to what he has to say.
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.
Words can be fun, like Mary Poppins taught us. Remember supercalifragilisticexpialidocious? Well, that’s just a start... take a gander below.
