When I initially signed up for this class, I wasn't aware that we were reading Their Eyes Were Watching God. I read this book a year or two ago during the summer, mainly as a means of studying for quizbowl. I was just going through it to try and pick up on major plot points, just in case I had to use that knowledge for later. What I'm realizing now is that I completely missed the rich and immersive storying that Hurston uses in her writing.
I've found out that English classes at Uni, and particularly this class, have helped me to slow down in reading books and take a look at some of the finer details of what a novel has to offer. Typically, I read a book without really thinking a whole lot about it. I'm just looking for a fun trip from the front cover to the back. If I step back and look at what other implications the novel has to offer, it's almost never of my own volition. For that reason, I tend not to reread books. All I really get out of it is the story, and there's no point in going through it if you know the story already.
That was a mistake with Their Eyes Were Watching God. Now that I'm coming back to it, I'm seeing how much I missed.
I don't remember a whole lot of what the narrative of the book is like (aside from the plot, so I'll try not to spoil everything). But I do remember that the book moved at a very slow and deliberate pace. At the time, I thought it was just flowery writing. But after the discussion we had in class on Tuesday, I can start to see some of the reasoning behind the deliberation in the narrative. It had never occurred to me that the book had a big folklorish style of storytelling, but now I don't see how I managed to miss it. I'm getting a feeling that is much more enveloping than before, if you know what I mean. It makes me feel like I can see everything in the book, which is something that I couldn't do just reading it originally.
Now that I'm rereading the book, I'm starting to grow attached to its style. It feels like the book is trying to paint a large picture in your mind, trying to immerse you in the world of Janie. I never experienced this immersion when I read it the first time. I never considered going back and looking at the first chapter again, to think about its broader meanings within the context of the novel. It's not often that I read books like this, with such a rich storytelling style embellishing everything. Now, I can't wait to continue reading the book and seeing what I missed. If it's anything like what the first three chapters offer, then trust me, it's going to keep getting better.
Granted, this probably won't change too much of my reading habits in general, but now I'll have to read books knowing that I might be missing something important. Do you guys usually read deep into books, or do you have a mindset like me?
I've found out that English classes at Uni, and particularly this class, have helped me to slow down in reading books and take a look at some of the finer details of what a novel has to offer. Typically, I read a book without really thinking a whole lot about it. I'm just looking for a fun trip from the front cover to the back. If I step back and look at what other implications the novel has to offer, it's almost never of my own volition. For that reason, I tend not to reread books. All I really get out of it is the story, and there's no point in going through it if you know the story already.
That was a mistake with Their Eyes Were Watching God. Now that I'm coming back to it, I'm seeing how much I missed.
I don't remember a whole lot of what the narrative of the book is like (aside from the plot, so I'll try not to spoil everything). But I do remember that the book moved at a very slow and deliberate pace. At the time, I thought it was just flowery writing. But after the discussion we had in class on Tuesday, I can start to see some of the reasoning behind the deliberation in the narrative. It had never occurred to me that the book had a big folklorish style of storytelling, but now I don't see how I managed to miss it. I'm getting a feeling that is much more enveloping than before, if you know what I mean. It makes me feel like I can see everything in the book, which is something that I couldn't do just reading it originally.
Now that I'm rereading the book, I'm starting to grow attached to its style. It feels like the book is trying to paint a large picture in your mind, trying to immerse you in the world of Janie. I never experienced this immersion when I read it the first time. I never considered going back and looking at the first chapter again, to think about its broader meanings within the context of the novel. It's not often that I read books like this, with such a rich storytelling style embellishing everything. Now, I can't wait to continue reading the book and seeing what I missed. If it's anything like what the first three chapters offer, then trust me, it's going to keep getting better.
Granted, this probably won't change too much of my reading habits in general, but now I'll have to read books knowing that I might be missing something important. Do you guys usually read deep into books, or do you have a mindset like me?
Yeah I totally get your mindset, when I read on my own I'm not usually thinking about a lot of the deeper implications of a book. But I do like slowing down and seeing the details, or having other people to talk about the book with who might see it differently (this is why people have book clubs?). Maybe this second reading will get help you get some good powers in quizbowl (this class already got you one lol).
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you about having to slow down to catch everything, especially for "Their eyes were watching God." Even while just trying to read the firs chapter I had to go back over and over again to pick out everything that was going on. I also got the sense that it was a very visually oriented book. I feel like you're right to say that when you're completely immersed in Janie's world you catch more of the complexities and you can appreciate the style of the book more.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I completely agree with you about reading books for the story and not so much for the style of writing. If the book tells a good story I tend to like it regardless of how perfectly it is written. However, I have found books where I actually noticed the writing and really liked it. I feel like this style of writing is another that stands out to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you - usually I just read novels for the plot, but also I’ll add that I usually don’t read books with the knowledge of the literary context they were written in. I think reading any of the Harlem Renaissance literature with a hazy background is a completely different from reading book after book written in the same time period. So many of our discussions, especially in the beginning of a novel, center around comparing/contrasting the novel to others we’ve read, and I can’t really imagine what I would have thought of a book like say Invisible Man without the context of Native Son.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to so much of what you're saying here. I never analyze anything I'm reading unless it's for school, but I think part of that may be because I don't usually read, books that are commentaries on society or that have a larger overarching meaning. I've never been in a situation where I've read a book for fun (?scholastic bowl) outside of school and then discussed it in a class, but I can imagine that that would be super interesting to go back and notice all the things you missed. Especially with Invisible Man-- I'm like 99% sure that if we hadn't discussed it in class I would have just been like wow what a fun book I liked the yam part. Sorry this is kind of a mess of a comment.
ReplyDeleteAnd also I just really like your line, "I'm just looking for a fun trip from the front cover to the back." Nice post!
This is a really interesting perspective! I'm the same in that I very rarely reread books, and if I do it's because I've forgotten the plot. I never stop to think deeper about the books I read - I've always felt like analyzing books was kind of useless, like maybe authors write just to write and there's no deeper meaning behind their words. English class though has made me realize this is almost never the case. Doing so has helped me to appreciate books that I wouldn't normally read.
ReplyDeleteI relate completely! I feel like it wasn't until this year that I started to sort of think about the text that we read in class. Typically, I just read a novel and let myself be taken to another place, sometimes thinking about the plot of the text. Also, the novels that I typically read are mostly straightforward and I have to think too deeply. However, I kind of like thinking about deeper meanings of the novel. Also, its kind of cool that you've read the book before, but now you can look at the novel in a different light. Great post :)
ReplyDeleteUni English classes do get me thinking. Usually I'm very focused on the story itself and the plot, but when you discuss in class and look deeper into the text, you can find some pretty awesome things. Hurston was clever in that she moves the story at a slower pace, because it gives not just the characters time to develop themselves and their personality, but it gives the reader the chance to get a good sense of who they are following in the novel.
ReplyDeleteHonestly Uni has had the exact opposite effect on me. While most students that go here are wind readers, I myself have never been one to quickly turn the page. Uni made me have to pick up the pace in my reading in order to keep up. However, the English classes do make me think a little about what I've read. I didn't really think about that until I read your post. 😊
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