The Smithy of My Soul
"Welcome, O life! I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." James Joyce.
One of my favorite things about reading is observing how authors can use and manipulate language to create a feeling/sympathy in the reader. Language interests me so much. Actually, I think that in the past I have been a 'bad' reader in the English major sense. I skim over parts of books just so I can find out what happens. Sometimes I skip all the long descriptive passages because they are just too verbose and long-winded.
But recently I've been really sucked into the experience of language. This summer I read a short book called "A Separate Peace" and I was really drawn in by the words the author chose, and by the images that his langauge evoked. I had never experienced a lot of the things that the book described, but I still felt like I understood what was going on - I understood that there was depth in this story.
Similarly, I'm also interested in the lack of descriptive language, and what that does to a story. When I read Hemingway's collection of short stories "In Our Time", the most striking thing was not necessarily what he said, but what he didn't say. In his account of a young man who had just returned home from the war, it was clear from the simple style that the young man was having trouble assigning meaning to life. There was a void in his life. Hemingway demonstrated this so vividly, simply by choosing not to go into great detail.
I find it fascinating to think about what made an author use this specific description, what made this author write about this event.... Why did Dumas create the Count of Monte Cristo? And why did that character act in the way that he did? Why did C.S. Lewis choose to not mention his long-time mistress?
Language is such a powerful thing, capable of evoking such powerful emotions. Gosh, I could talk about this for hours.
I suppose another reason I love reading is being able to listen to what other authors have thoughts about the things that I think about everyday. Why was Dreiser drawn to socialism, and why did he admire Somerset Maugham's writings so much? What was it about their lives and experiences that made them reject or embrace a certain belief? What about capitalism made them dislike capitalism? What influence did the Catholic Church have on Evelyn Waugh's life, that he would write about it the way he did in "Brideshead Revisited"? (Do these examples make sense? Sorry for the incoherence).
Literature allows us to explore new ideas and possibilities. I am a Christian, but I don't want to only read things written by "Christian" authors. I want to know about other choices that people have made. I want to rethink my chosen opinions every day. Literature gives us a new perspective on things, new questions to wrestle with, new answers that could change our opinions.
What does any of this have to do with anything? We've been talking a lot this term about autobiography and drops of time. I think that, just as we write autobiographically, we read autobiographically as well. Reading other accounts of life, other opinions, other stories, help us to think about our own lives, our own accounts, stories, and opinions. Just as Montaigne is the subject of his book, I think he is the subject of his reading. There is something so valuable, so wonderful, in reading other people's stories (whether they are strictly autobiographical or not). I think Montaigne realizes the value of reading, since he uses quotes in his writing so frequently.
Hmmm, how can I tie this all together... I think I will end with an attempted explanation for the quote I started this blog with. Why did I quote James Joyce here? Partly because I love this quote, and I love the book it's from ("Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man"). But also because I think this quote exemplifies what autobiography is at its best. Autobiography isn't about experiencing something new and different. The power of autobiography can come from the every day and the ordinary. What makes things extraordinary is how we make them applicable to our lives, and how we make them applicable to our culture. I love the image of the "smithy of my soul" - the idea of creating something within ourselves that is valuable to all, because it is the experience of reality.
One of my favorite things about reading is observing how authors can use and manipulate language to create a feeling/sympathy in the reader. Language interests me so much. Actually, I think that in the past I have been a 'bad' reader in the English major sense. I skim over parts of books just so I can find out what happens. Sometimes I skip all the long descriptive passages because they are just too verbose and long-winded.
But recently I've been really sucked into the experience of language. This summer I read a short book called "A Separate Peace" and I was really drawn in by the words the author chose, and by the images that his langauge evoked. I had never experienced a lot of the things that the book described, but I still felt like I understood what was going on - I understood that there was depth in this story.
Similarly, I'm also interested in the lack of descriptive language, and what that does to a story. When I read Hemingway's collection of short stories "In Our Time", the most striking thing was not necessarily what he said, but what he didn't say. In his account of a young man who had just returned home from the war, it was clear from the simple style that the young man was having trouble assigning meaning to life. There was a void in his life. Hemingway demonstrated this so vividly, simply by choosing not to go into great detail.
I find it fascinating to think about what made an author use this specific description, what made this author write about this event.... Why did Dumas create the Count of Monte Cristo? And why did that character act in the way that he did? Why did C.S. Lewis choose to not mention his long-time mistress?
Language is such a powerful thing, capable of evoking such powerful emotions. Gosh, I could talk about this for hours.
I suppose another reason I love reading is being able to listen to what other authors have thoughts about the things that I think about everyday. Why was Dreiser drawn to socialism, and why did he admire Somerset Maugham's writings so much? What was it about their lives and experiences that made them reject or embrace a certain belief? What about capitalism made them dislike capitalism? What influence did the Catholic Church have on Evelyn Waugh's life, that he would write about it the way he did in "Brideshead Revisited"? (Do these examples make sense? Sorry for the incoherence).
Literature allows us to explore new ideas and possibilities. I am a Christian, but I don't want to only read things written by "Christian" authors. I want to know about other choices that people have made. I want to rethink my chosen opinions every day. Literature gives us a new perspective on things, new questions to wrestle with, new answers that could change our opinions.
What does any of this have to do with anything? We've been talking a lot this term about autobiography and drops of time. I think that, just as we write autobiographically, we read autobiographically as well. Reading other accounts of life, other opinions, other stories, help us to think about our own lives, our own accounts, stories, and opinions. Just as Montaigne is the subject of his book, I think he is the subject of his reading. There is something so valuable, so wonderful, in reading other people's stories (whether they are strictly autobiographical or not). I think Montaigne realizes the value of reading, since he uses quotes in his writing so frequently.
Hmmm, how can I tie this all together... I think I will end with an attempted explanation for the quote I started this blog with. Why did I quote James Joyce here? Partly because I love this quote, and I love the book it's from ("Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man"). But also because I think this quote exemplifies what autobiography is at its best. Autobiography isn't about experiencing something new and different. The power of autobiography can come from the every day and the ordinary. What makes things extraordinary is how we make them applicable to our lives, and how we make them applicable to our culture. I love the image of the "smithy of my soul" - the idea of creating something within ourselves that is valuable to all, because it is the experience of reality.
posted by Christine at 2:45 PM
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