Literary Lenses
Ways to look at stories
(so that you appear to be smarter)
Literary Criticism…
is a way to approach what you read beyond
reading it on a surface level
lets you get at the underlying meaning of a
book so that when you are asked by
someone, “What did you think of the book
you just read?” you can answer with
something better than, “It was good.”
Think of Literary Criticism as a “lens”
through which you can view a story
Different Types of Literary
Criticism
We are going to study the following theories:
Feminist
Psychoanalytic
New Criticism
Which one is better?
It depends on you and what you are reading!
The point isn’t just to “guess” which one is the “right” one
The point is to think critically about what you are reading
Think of Literary Criticism as a “lens” through which you can view a
story
You can use each theory to help you understand something new about
what you are reading
Theory # 1
Feminism
What is Feminism?
Feminism means:
the advocacy of human rights on the grounds
of equality of the sexes
What is Feminist
Literary Theory?
It does the following:
Encourages a female tradition of writing
Seeks out previously written (but ignored)
texts written by women
Looks at texts in terms of sexual politics
(how women are portrayed and who has
the power)
Questions to Ask When
Using a Feminist Lens…
1. How are the female characters represented?
2. How are they different in dramatic purpose
(their role in the story) from the male
characters?
3. How are they a reflection of the story’s
historical period (either when the author wrote
it or when the author choose to set it) or a
reflection of the author’s attitude toward
women?
Feminist Theory Example:
Romeo and Juliet
Juliet…
1. How is Juliet represented in
the play?
Young, attractive, desirable to others, an
indulged “only child”, traditional (until she
meets Romeo)
Willing to die for love (instead of marrying
the very worthy Paris and “moving on”)
Becomes emotionally unstable after she
enters into a relationship with Romeo
2. What is her dramatic
purpose?
Gets “second billing” in the credits
The female romantic lead (hard to have a
romantic tragedy with only Romeo)
Serves to bring out the best in Romeo—
gives him direction, conviction, maturity,
and focus
Contrasts to the other women in the play
(the Nurse, Lady Capulet)
3.
How is she a reflection of the historical
period and/or author’s attitude?
intended as a moral warning to young
people to “Always obey your parents”
people did not marry for love, particularly
noble or wealthy girls (Juliet was getting off
easily with Paris)
Shakespeare sometimes creates strong
female characters but more often, they are
there to support the men
How about the other
women?
Lady Capulet
The Nurse
1.
How are the female characters represented?
2.
How are they different in dramatic purpose (their role in the story) from the male characters?
3.
How are they a reflection of the story’s historical period (either when the author wrote it or
when the author choose to set it) or a reflection of the author’s attitude toward women?
Theory # 2
Psychoanalytic
Psychoanalytic Literary
Criticism
Freudian
Jungian
Freud (1856-1939)
Human beings all have the following unconscious aspects
to their personalities:
Id (selfish desire for gratification—usually sexual; seeks
pleasure and to avoid pain)
Superego (the force that keeps the Id under control and
strives to act in a socially appropriate manner=
conscience)
Ego (moderates between the two opposing forces; it
seeks to please the id’s drive in realistic ways that will
benefit in the long term rather than bringing grief)
“Freudian” Questions
to Ask:
1. What is the character’s “id” all about?
2. What is the opposing “superego” telling the
character to do? Why is this happening?
3. How is the character’s “ego” trying to please the
‘id’ in a socially acceptable way?
Example: Amir’s father
from The Kite Runner
What is Babba’s “id” all
about?
He physically desired his loyal servant’s wife and
satisfied his “id” by having sex with her thus
resulting in Hassan
He preferred (selfish desire)his legitimate son,
Amir, and so he denied Hassan as his son
What is the opposing “superego”
(conscience) telling Babba to
do?
Treat Hassan kindly
Give him gifts, pay for his facial surgery
Behave honourably for the remainder of his
life
Defend other powerless people (eg. the
young woman in the truck)
How is Babba’s “ego” trying to please
the id’s drive in realistic ways?
He often “favours” Hassan’s efforts over that of his son,
thus causing conflict
He chooses Amir’s version of the theft over Hassan’s
He is a harsh and unforgiving father to Amir when he is
growing up (emotionally detached)
Feels subconscious guilt for dishonouring his friend,
being unfaithful to his own wife, fathering an illegitimate
and disfigured child, feeling an affinity to Hassan over
Amir, killing his wife through childbirth
Other Psychoanalytic
things to consider:
The following elements of a story appeal to the selfish “id”:
1. “Acts of Communion” via meal scenes
2. Vampire-type characters
3. Violence
4. Sexuality
5. Politics
(Numbers 2,3,4 and 5 can also be viewed through a feminist lens)
Acts of Communion via
Meal Scenes
Sometimes, a meal is just a meal. Often though, whenever people eat or drink
together, it’s communion = intimacy, connection, fellowship between people.
All over the world, breaking bread together is a sign of sharing and peace – it says
“I like you, we form a community together.” (unless you’re eating dinner with a
mafia don, or a villain in a James Bond film, that is.)
Not usually religious
An act of sharing and peace
A failed meal carries negative connotations
What are the characters consuming?
(Pay special attention to “communion-type meals”)
Is the food nourishing?
Is it comfort food?
Is it visually appealing?
Does it smell good or bad?
Does it make the characters feel better or worse?
Is it symbolic in any way?
This applies to alcohol and drugs as well
Who is sharing the meal?
Breaking bread should be a sign of fellowship and peace:
•Is the character eating with someone they trust?
•Do the characters like each other?
•Are the characters getting along?
•Is this the Mafia don’s final meal for the man he is about to
kill?
What are the characters
talking about?
What characters talk about can reveal the nature of the
experience:
•Is the conversation pleasant or argumentative?
•Do all characters participate?
•Does the conversation suit the situation?
•Does it make the characters feel better or worse?
•Is it good for the digestion?
Who is in charge? What does their ‘id’ want?
What does all of this show about the characters
and the society in which they live?
Symbolic Vampires
Literal Vampirism: Nasty old man,
attractive but evil, violates a young
woman, leaves his mark, takes her
innocence
Sexual implications—a trait of
19th century literature to address
sex indirectly
Symbolic Vampirism: selfishness,
exploitation, refusal to respect the
autonomy of other people, using people to
get what we want, placing our desires,
particularly ugly ones, above the needs of
another
When you encounter a
“vampire”…
1.
Ask yourself how the “vampire” looks (old, but
seems to become younger or more attractive)
2.
How does he or she act like a “vampire”? exploiting others to gain gratification
3. What does the vampire’s ‘id’ want?
Violence—two forms
“Seemingly” Random
Character Caused
The classic “person versus
person”
•
eg. bombing, shooting,
physical confrontation,
poisoning
•
Death & suffering for which
the characters are not
responsible
Accidents are not really
accidents
but…violence is
intentional
When you see violence
in a story, ask yourself,
1.
What does it mean in relation to the overall
theme of the story?
2.
Why would the character possibly have to suffer
such misfortune?
3.
What are we supposed to learn or think about
the society or character who performs the violent
act? What is their ‘id’?
4.
Why that kind of violence and not some other?
Sex
Encoded/Disguised Sex
Couldn’t write about it, so the authors “hid” it
Eg. a kissing scene cutting away to the
pounding surf = sex!
Male symbols = Phallic symbols - blades, tall
buildings
Female symbols = chalice, Holy Grail, bowls,
rolling landscape, empty vessels waiting to be
filled, tunnels, images of fertility
Sex...
Explicit
Now sex scenes in books are
accepted and almost expected
Vary in their degrees of detail
When authors write directly about
sex, they’re writing about something
else, such as sacrifice, submission,
rebellion, domination, enlightenment,
etc.
What to look for in sex
scenes…
Encoded:
1. Who has the power? What does their
‘id’ want?
2. How do you know it is sex?
3. Landscapes, objects, weather that
reflect the quality of the sex
4. Some sort of moral lesson (usually
after)
What to look for in sex
scenes…
Explicit:
1. Who has the power? What does their ‘id’ want?
• What does each person’s role in the sexual
scene reveal about their character? Do they try
to suppress their ‘id’? (superego)
• What does the actual act represent in terms of
sacrifice, submission, domination, rebellion,
enlightenment etc.?
Politics
Nothing is written in a vacuum. There’s a historical, political and
social world in which fiction takes place. Take some time to think
about the reality that infuses the story with meaning.
Literature tends to be written by people interested in the problems
of the world, so most works have a political element in them.
That’s why it helps to get a sense of the social and political world
both of the setting of the novel and of the time in which the work
was written.
Doesn’t need to be about government or Communist Party
Meetings to be political – it needs to engage with the social and
political realities and problems of the time.
Politics
Politics is Freudian because the setting or society of the
story reveals its own id, superego, and ego.
Look for:
Individual needs versus the needs of society for conformity and stability.
Power structures
Relations among classes
Issues of justice and rights
Interactions between genders, races, ethnicities, faiths, etc.
What are we supposed to learn about the story’s society based on its
political structures and how the characters interact within it?
Jung
All humans possess:
a “collective unconsciousness” (but we don’t feel it)
A shared experience which none of us remembers
but comes out in our behaviours, interactions with
others, and dreams (archetypes = the mythic original
upon which the pattern is based)
The ability to make sense of things because we
have “seen them before”
Now, Where Have I Seen
Her Before?
There is no such thing as a wholly original work of
literature—stories grow out of other stories, poems out of
other poems.
There is only one story—of humanity and human nature,
endlessly repeated
“Intertexuality”—recognizing the connections between
one story and another deepens our appreciation and
experience, brings multiple layers of meaning to the text,
which we may not be conscious of. The more
consciously aware we are, the more alive the text
becomes to us.
Myth Archetypes
(look for patterns that exist in earlier stories)
Myths explain the world in ways that math and
science can’t.
Achilles—a small weakness in a strong
man; the need to maintain one’s dignity
Myth is a body of story that matters—the
patterns present in mythology run deeply in the
human psyche
Why writers echo myth—because there’s only
one story
The Underworld—an ultimate challenge,
facing the darkest parts of human nature
or dealing with death
If you were a writer, you might choose to identify
certain elements of your story with closely
related myths because of the weight or
significance those myths add to your own story.
It’s Greek to Me
Daedalus creates wings as a means to escape the labyrinth that is his prison and
the minotaur that is his guard. Before he and his son Icarus take off, Daedalus
warns the young boy not to fly too close to the sun, as the wax holding the feathers
to the wings will melt. Icarus begins by following his father closely, but as the joy of
flying overwhelms him he soars upward. The sun melts his wings, and Icarus
plunges into the ocean as his father, helpless and devastated, looks on.
It’s Greek to Me
You have some great elements here – wisdom of the father ignored, folly and excitement
of youth, the myth resonates in many ways. As a result, we see many versions of the story
told and retold.
e.g. Stephen Dedalus in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, where to become a writer
Stephen must escape the island that is home to him and that expects him to conform to
values and ideals he does not hold. He doesn’t fly, of course, but there are many hints
that Joyce is pointing to the Icaurs myth (including the author’s name… you’re going to
have to pay close attention to names, too!)
Although the myths seem radically different, they both critically view man's mortality and limitations. In
the Daedalus myth, Daedalus creates a trap for others which becomes his own prison. His only escape
from the corruption that surrounds him is through the air. Only through great genius and the contrivance
of artificial wings, will he escape the fate of other prisoners that are sent into the labyrinth to be
devoured by the Minotaur. His genius becomes his undoing, as the artificial can never replace the real.
The wax melts, the feathers fall, and his son falls into the sea. It is a warning to all who wish to achieve
the distinction of being superior to their fellow mortals. Each who dreams of flight, of becoming the
leader must in time confront the dangers of Daedalus' flight.
Bible Archetypes
Garden of Eden: women tempting men and
causing their fall, the apple as symbolic of an
object of temptation, a serpent who tempts men
to do evil, and a fall from innocence
David and Goliath—overcoming
overwhelming odds
Jonah and the Whale—refusing to face a task
and being “eaten” or overwhelmed by it
anyway
Bible Archetypes
The Apocalypse—Four Horseman of the
Apocalypse usher in the end of the world
Biblical names often draw a connection between literary
character and Biblical character:
Mary
Noah
Cain and Abel
Judas
Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too
Characteristics of a Christ Figure:
crucified, wounds in hands, feet, side, and head,
often portrayed with arms outstretched
in agony
self-sacrificing
good with children
good with loaves, fishes, water, wine
thirty-three years of age when last seen
employed as a carpenter
known to use humble modes of transportation, feet or
donkeys preferred
believed to have walked on water
Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too
Characteristics of a Christ Figure:
believed to have had a confrontation with the devil,
possibly tempted
last seen in the company of thieves
creator of many aphorisms and parables
buried, but arose on the third day
had disciples, twelve at first, although not all equally
devoted
very forgiving
came to redeem an unworthy world
Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too
As a reader, put aside belief system.
•
•
Why use Christ figures? Deepens
our sense of a character’s sacrifice,
thematically has to do with
redemption, hope, or miracles.
If used ironically, makes the
character look smaller rather than
greater
e and Greteldum:using fairy tales and
Nowadays, not everyone knows the Bible…but we all know
kids’ stories & fairy tales!
Hansel and Gretel: lost children trying to find their way
home
Peter Pan: refusing to grow up, lost boys, a girl-nurturer
Little Red Riding Hood: See Vampires
Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz: entering a world
that doesn’t work rationally or operates under different
rules, the Red Queen, the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat,
the Wicked Witch of the West, the Wizard, who is a fraud
Cinderella: orphaned girl abused by adopted family saved
through supernatural intervention and by marrying a prince
Snow White: Evil woman who brings death to an
innocent—again, saved by heroic/princely character
Quests
A quester– person who goes on a quest,
whether or not he knows it’s a quest (in fact,
usually he doesn’t know)
A place to go
A stated reason to go there - someone tells the
protagonist (who need not look very heroic) to go
somewhere and do something – e.g. go to the
store to buy some bread…The real reason for
the quest doesn’t involve the stated reason.
The real reason to go—always self-knowledge
• Challenges and trials
Dreams
Since your subconscious is busy all day responding
to what your consciousness encounters, your dreams
are a way for the two sides to contact each other.
When you encounter a dream in
a story, ask yourself…
1. What is the content of the dream?
2. What does the dream mean symbolically?
3. How does the dream reveal the
character’s inner conflict or desires?
Theory # 3
New Criticism
New Criticism
Looks at a story as a piece of art that has
nothing to do with the author’s background
or you as a reader (and it’s not really ``new``
anymore)
Each person who studies the story will be
able to discover the same things about it
Weather:
It was a Dark and Stormy Night
What kind of story do you expect to
follow?
What do darkness and storms connote?
“Why would a writer want the wind
howling and the rain bucketing down,
want the manor house or the cottage or
the weary traveler lashed and battered?”
(75).
It’s more than just rain or snow
Rain
fertility and life
Noah and the flood
Drowning—one of our deepest fears
Why?
Rain works as a plot device: it can bring characters together in an intimate
setting (shelter) that one would otherwise have avoided.
Rain can create atmosphere: “rain can be more mysterious, murkier, more
isolating than most other weather conditions” (76).
Rain adds the “misery factor:” It can challenge characters and make them
seem pathetic.
Rain is democratic: it falls on the just and unjust alike – e.g. “condemned
man and hangman are thrown into a bond of sorts because rain has forced
each of them to seek shelter.
It’s more than just rain or
snow(con’t)
Symbolically:
rain is clean—a form of purification,
baptism, removing sin or a stain
rain is restorative—can bring a dying earth
back to life
rain is destructive as well—causes
pneumonia, colds, etc.; hurricanes, etc.
It’s more than just rain or
snow(con’t)
Rainbow—God’s promise never to destroy the
world again; hope; a promise of peace between
heaven and earth
fog—almost always signals some sort of
confusion; mental, ethical, physical “fog”;
people can’t see clearly
Snow:
Negatively—cold, stark, inhospitable,
inhuman, nothingness, death
Positively—clean, pure, playful
Is That a Symbol?
Yes. But figuring out what is tricky. Can only discuss
possible meanings and interpretations
There is no one definite meaning. It’s not a
formula, like river = freedom – think of the rivers
you remember in your own reading (Twain’s
Mississippi in Huckleberry Finn or Eliot’s Thames in
The Wasteland – freedom & danger vs. decay and
death…
Actions, as well as objects and images, can be
symbolic. i.e. “The Road Not Taken” by Robert
Frost
How to figure it out? Symbols are built on
associations readers have, but also on emotional
reactions. Pay attention to how you feel about a
text.
How can you tell if
something is a symbol?
It is described extensively.
Its appearance or function resembles the
abstract concept that it represents.
It may be subtle, so the more you read, the
more you will recognize universal symbols
Landscape and Geography
What represents home, family, love, security?
What represents wilderness, danger, confusion? i.e. tunnels,
labyrinths, jungles
Geography can represent the human psyche (Heart of
Darkness)
Low places: swamps, crowds, fog, darkness, fields, heat,
unpleasantness, people, life, death
High places: snow, ice, purity, thin air, clear views, isolation,
life, death
The Seasons
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter=youth, adulthood, middle age, old age/death.
Spring=fertility, life, happiness, growth, resurrection (Easter)
Fall=harvest, reaping what we sow, both rewards and punishments
Winter=hibernation, lack of growth, death, punishment
Christmas=childhood, birth, hope, family
Irony trumps all: “April is the cruelest month” from The Wasteland
Flights of Fancy
People can’t fly. So when they do, in literature, it
means something. Take the Daedalus and Icarus
myth.
A lot of the time, flight is freedom. But it can kill
you.
Interrupted flight is generally a bad thing
Usually not literal flying, but might use images of
flying, birds, etc.
Flying signifies escape: so when you see imagery
or symbols of flying, or flight itself, ask yourself:
what is the character trying to escape? Of what
does the character’s “labyrinth” (prison) consist?
What’s tying the character down? How can the
character escape without dying? Is escape
possible?
If She Comes Up, It’s
Baptism
Baptism is symbolic death and rebirth
as a new individual
Drowning is symbolic baptism, IF the
character comes back up, symbolically
reborn. But drowning on purpose can also
represent a form of rebirth, a choosing to
enter a new, different life, leaving an old
one behind.
Traveling on water—rivers, oceans—can
symbolically represent baptism. i.e. young
man sails away from a known world, dies out
of one existence, and comes back a new
person, hence reborn.
If She Comes Up, It’s
Baptism (con’t)
Rain can by symbolic baptism as
well—cleanses, washes
Sometimes the water is symbolic too—the
prairie has been compared to an ocean,
walking in a blizzard across snow like walking
on water, crossing a river from one existence
to another
There’s also rebirth/baptism implied
when a character is renamed.
Markings and Differences
Take notice of characters or landscapes that are:
1.Marked for Greatness
2.Marked with Illness
3.Marked with an Affliction
Marked for Greatness
Physical marks or imperfections
symbolically mirror moral, emotional,
or psychological scars or
imperfections in the individual and in
the culture that causes the damage
Landscapes can be marked as well—
think of Taliban era Kabul in The Kite
Runner
The “difference” can separate the
character for “great things”
Marked with an Illness
Not all illnesses are created equal.
Tuberculosis occurs frequently;
cholera does not because of the
reasons below:
It should be picturesque
It should be mysterious in origin
sIt should have strong symbolic or
metaphorical possibilities
Marked with an Illness
Tuberculosis—a wasting disease
Plague: divine wrath; the puniness of humanity in the
face of an indifferent natural world
Malaria: means literally “bad air” with the attendant
metaphorical possibilities.
Venereal disease: reflects immorality OR innocence,
when the innocent suffer because of another’s
immorality; passed on to a spouse or baby, men’s
exploitation of women
AIDS: the modern plague. Tendency to lie dormant for
years, victims unknowing carriers of death,
disproportionately hits young people, poor, etc. An
opportunity to show courage and resilience and
compassion (or lack of); political and religious angles
Heart disease=bad love, loneliness, cruelty, disloyalty,
cowardice, lack of determination - Socially, something
on a larger scale or something seriously amiss at the
heart of things
Marked with an Affliction:
Blindness
Physical blindness mirrors
psychological, moral, intellectual
(etc.) blindness
Sometimes ironic; the blind see and
sighted are blind
Many times blindness is
metaphorical, a failure to see—
reality, love, truth, etc.
darkness=blindness; light=sight
Marked with an Affliction:
Paralysis
Physical paralysis
can mirror moral,
social, spiritual,
intellectual, political
paralysis
Something to keep in mind…
OK, so there’s a lot to know. And no one can know all of it.
So you need to trust yourself and your intelligence as a
reader. You bring a lot to the table – for example, you all
know what to expect when a writer writes:
THE END