The Happy Prince
This post is in response to Kyle's comment/question on one of my recent blogs.
What was it about those childhood books that made them especially influential? Well, I think it was a variety of different factors: language, imagination, and personal experience.
Language. As I discussed in my last blog post, the ability of an author to create an experience or an emotion in the reader is an incredible talent. The books that influenced my childhood so much were books that used language that drew me in personally. They described interesting events, places, and characters that were real in my mind because of the language that they used. Their great talent allowed me to embrace the stories I read as my own experience.
Imagination. The way we interpret an author's language depends on, in part, our own personality. What made me connect so much with "The Hobbit" when another child might have found it to be dull? I think that I was born inquistive and imaginative (not in the sense of "I was such an amazing and imaginative child - I was definitely a child prodigy"). My imagination took these great stories and just ran with them, and that's what made reading these books so much fun.
Experience. The summer I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" was the summer I moved to Russia. It was such a crazy and strange summer... I sometimes wonder if that book would have been so influential if I had read it at any other time. Would I remember it so vividly if I had stayed in England and read it as a school assignment? I think that, on one hand, if an author is really talented their book will strike a chord with you no matter where and when you read it. But on the other hand there's no denying that our experiences play a significant role in our interpretation of stories and events.
In terms of content, it's hard to pinpoint exactly why a certain book was influential in my life. When I was younger I'm not sure I would have been able to put into words why I liked a certain book. I just remember being drawn to certain characters or events. I'm not sure that there was something specific about "A Wrinkle in Time," for example, that drew me in; I just know that it did, and I will always remember certain things about that story.
So there you go, Kyle. This is a drawn-out blog with the conclusion of "I don't know." I don't know exactly why these books were influential, but I know that they were. A vague and inconclusive answer, but there it is.
What was it about those childhood books that made them especially influential? Well, I think it was a variety of different factors: language, imagination, and personal experience.
Language. As I discussed in my last blog post, the ability of an author to create an experience or an emotion in the reader is an incredible talent. The books that influenced my childhood so much were books that used language that drew me in personally. They described interesting events, places, and characters that were real in my mind because of the language that they used. Their great talent allowed me to embrace the stories I read as my own experience.
Imagination. The way we interpret an author's language depends on, in part, our own personality. What made me connect so much with "The Hobbit" when another child might have found it to be dull? I think that I was born inquistive and imaginative (not in the sense of "I was such an amazing and imaginative child - I was definitely a child prodigy"). My imagination took these great stories and just ran with them, and that's what made reading these books so much fun.
Experience. The summer I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" was the summer I moved to Russia. It was such a crazy and strange summer... I sometimes wonder if that book would have been so influential if I had read it at any other time. Would I remember it so vividly if I had stayed in England and read it as a school assignment? I think that, on one hand, if an author is really talented their book will strike a chord with you no matter where and when you read it. But on the other hand there's no denying that our experiences play a significant role in our interpretation of stories and events.
In terms of content, it's hard to pinpoint exactly why a certain book was influential in my life. When I was younger I'm not sure I would have been able to put into words why I liked a certain book. I just remember being drawn to certain characters or events. I'm not sure that there was something specific about "A Wrinkle in Time," for example, that drew me in; I just know that it did, and I will always remember certain things about that story.
So there you go, Kyle. This is a drawn-out blog with the conclusion of "I don't know." I don't know exactly why these books were influential, but I know that they were. A vague and inconclusive answer, but there it is.
posted by Christine at 6:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home