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How deeply do you analyze novels?


emelee

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Do you ever google things you read? Like symbolism, names, facts etc etc. 

 

For instance, in Crime and Punishment, the russian word for crime literally means "crossing over", which may be a reason why the author has written in bridges and other things the main character can cross over as he becomes this criminal. All names in the novel means something in russian, so when you get the names, you also get a free desciption of the characters. Raskolnikov means "split", Luzhin means "puddle", Razumihkin means "intelligence", Zamyotov means "to notice" etc etc. The heat wave is there so Raskolnikov walks around in a feverish state. The color yellow represent mental illness. 

 

How would you know these things if you didn't know Russian or what things symbolize? Unless you google. ;)

 

It has hit me how much I am missing because I am just not aware of these things. I have never googled while reading a novel before. It dawn on me that I just don't know how brilliant some novels are because I have never seen all symbols and connections before. 

 

Also, did you know that Peter Falk used Petrovich in C&P as an inspiration when he played Columbo? 

And my guess is that Kramer on Seinfeld is slightly inspired by Columbo.

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It depends on what I am reading, but yes, I usually read with my computer at my right hand and my Kindle on the left.  ;) This was especially true this year with The Fountainhead (with Objectivism) and Elie Wiesel's Memoirs (which focused a lot on Judaism and the history and events of Israel).  :typing:  

Interesting about the names in Crime and Punishment... I sometimes Wiki my books too, especially with symbolism like the yellow meaning mental illness.  I also love looking up words and really enjoy the feature on my Kindle that can do it almost instantly.

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If I am reading something that is literary, especially a classic, I avoid reading about it on the net until after I have finished the book. I do often feel as though I have missed some of what the author intended but I don't let this spoil my enjoyment.

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I sometimes look things up but not that often. I find it breaks my flow in reading, though sometimes I do look it up when I am behind the computer after I've finished the book or when I've finished a chapter or such. I should really look up more things but I don't want to have to keep stopping and starting if there are a lot of things / words / events and such in the book I don't know.

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I am one of those who hasn't even figured out how much she may be missing my not looking up symbols. Like a complete airhead. After reading about Crime and Punishment, I felt like "wow, that is just brilliant!". And it wasn't until after that I asked myself "I wonder if more authors have done it like this, having almost everything symbolize something". Duh. 

I do, however, realize that there are risks involved when looking up things. You go from the reading experience being 100% about you and your interpretations, to put limits on your reading in the sense that you follow a guideline as to what to look for. The question is: what way is better? Is there even a one better way than the other? Can you find symbols that others may not have found, or if not symbols, but things that remind you of something else that will help you connect things? The whole Cosmo Kramer - Columbo thing I mentioned above is something I "discovered" myself. I haven't read it anywhere. I was told that Columbo was inspired by Crime and Punishment, then saw an episode of Columbo and thought to myself "he's so much like Kramer". Will things like that go lost if you look too much to reviews and analyses by others? 

 

Maybe the best way is to read until you get stuck on something, and then you look that up. Or during a reading break, google some review or analysis. Or after reading the whole novel. At least, IMO, when it's a classic or "higher" literature. I assume symbolism and such are not as common in crime fiction, as they often want the reader to know everything after having read the book. 

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We love discussing the motivations of the characters, the who knew what when, and why they took the actions they did. Symbolism fits right in, hand and glove with those motivations. It's also important to remember that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

I love the cross referencing, and analyzing involved. Some of our books are quite marked up with definitions, and referencing page numbers. :). It usually takes an initial read through to get the jist of the story, then another go-through for analysis. And sometimes, another. That's the fun of it! I think it is important to do the initial read-through without too much "interference", just so your own impressions are really your own. That's not saying you won't change your mind. That is part of the fun.

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We love discussing the motivations of the characters, the who knew what when, and why they took the actions they did. Symbolism fits right in, hand and glove with those motivations. It's also important to remember that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

 

I love the cross referencing, and analyzing involved. Some of our books are quite marked up with definitions, and referencing page numbers. :). It usually takes an initial read through to get the jist of the story, then another go-through for analysis. And sometimes, another. That's the fun of it! I think it is important to do the initial read-through without too much "interference", just so your own impressions are really your own. That's not saying you won't change your mind. That is part of the fun.

 

That's what is so much fun. The whole sometimes a cigar is JUST a cigar. Not everything in a novel can be symbolism. You'd hang yourself if you thought that. :) 

It's so often deciding what is just there and what is there to symbolize something. Before I was not even thinking that a book could be filled with symbols - until I was working with a language teacher whose favorite novel is Crime & Punishment and she could just make the longest list of symbols. This was by far the most intelligent teacher I've ever met, so it's really unfair to compare her to others. And unfair to me also, thinking I could reach her level. Never would I have figured out the yellow symbol or the bridges etc. Or the Russian names. I would never even have come to think that they even MIGHT symbolize something. 

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to work with her. I learned so much. But to aim to reach her level would be to reach for the moon. Only few people reach it. ;)

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Nabokov once said something along the lines of.....once the manuscript is published and out there, it's whatever the public thinks up. Way paraphrasing, but that's the jist.

 

I have heard that one too. And he was right. You can never be the author, you can never have experienced what he/she has and you can never be in the same situation. So it's really impossible to read a book with the eyes of the author. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I rarely analyze books.....for the most part I just read them and enjoy them at face value. But if it is a more interesting book, with subtext I don't quite grasp, I will google it or see if there is a Wikipedia entry. Often, that helps with finding plot links and also bits of trivia. I like to read comments and reviews when books are left open to interpretation, as so many people have many interesting ideas and theories about events that happen during the book, or after the story ends.

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Only sometime I google about characters and stories. But I read books with deep interest. I like to analyze books, its stories. I share stories with my friends. When I read I feel like I am in that story and feel same like book,s character. I enjoy reading a lot.

 

How do you analyze them? Just curious. :)

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I think it depends on the book. When I really enjoy a book I look up the author on the internet, I suppose to understand more of the context of the book. I usually read a lot of the classics, so they usually have a good, long introduction, which can be helpful. (I always wait until I've finished the book first to read it, though.XD)

 

I tend not to read too deeply into books that don't seem to have any symbolism in them, but when I do notice some parallels or symbolism, I like to think about it, and how well it contributes to the overall feel of a book.

 

I think symbolism has to be used sparingly and thoughtfully to maintain impact. Repetition of the symbol or having the character's relationships stand as symbolism are the most interesting ways of using symbolism in my view. I think an overuse of symbolism can make a book contrived, so the amount I look into it also depends on the quality of the symbolism itself.

 

I like books that are left completely to interpretation in theory, but usually when I read them, they drive me crazy! XD

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't generally analyse books too deeply in terms of symbolism, but I often look things up on Wikipedia and randomly find out things that way (much the same way that I always look up movies and TV shows that I watch).

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Sometimes it's just fascinating to see how some people think, how they handle situations.  Situations that we've either been in ourselves, or even ones we probably will never encounter.  Just part of seeing what makes some people tick. :D

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