Why can't a story just be a 'story' in a book ...any book?

1. 84

   pstraubie48posted 13 years ago

   Why can't a story just be a 'story' in a book ...any book?
   
   I asked this question earlier in the week and missed an error so had to remove it...major faux pas!!! Just wondering...still wondering...why do we think we need to analyze what an author writes and provide our own 'take' on what is written in a book for children or adults?
   
   

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2. 60

   MickSposted 13 years ago

   Because it seems to be a human trait that there has to be lines to read between, too many people , I'm afraid, want to put interpretations on everything they read and hear, rather like that American comedienne, I cant remember if she was USA, or Canada - 'What if Moses were a woman?  She would have struggled down with the two tablets, OK, this is what God said, what did he mean?'

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3. 72

   lburmasterposted 13 years ago

   Because we each need a story that fits our needs. For example, I require good characters as apart of each of my favorite stories. If the characters are weak, I refuse to keep it in my home.

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4. 61

   Jenna Kuncposted 13 years ago

   Being an English Lit major, I've often wondered the same thing. I think that once an author writes a book, the book kind of takes on a life of its own apart from the author. Different readers with different backgrounds and experiences may view the exact same story in completely different ways. Each perspective is valid, but that doesn't mean each perspective is the same. I think deep truths can be conveyed in books. Sometimes it's fun to not analyze the story and just let it wash over us, but then we might miss those truths.

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5. 60

   LadyMacabreposted 13 years ago

   In certain books, like Lord of the Flies and the Road, the symbolism in the text is just as interesting as the words that are plainly put on the page. At times, the symbolism can almost alter the way that we are reading the book. Like, The Road is basically a story about a man and his son trying to find the coast. But with looking deeper into the book, it also has definite Biblical qualities to it. There are certain books in which the blue lamp is just the effing blue lamp. But in others, there is actual meaning to it. For people like me, it can be fun. But when it is taken too far, as in dissecting every single sentence of the book, it can actually be a bit of a downer. I can't give you a definite answer to this, but a book can just be a book!

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   RyanSmith86posted 12 years ago

   I've thought about this a lot myself. I used to have the same opinion. A writer writes a story for one reason, to entertain, and in my English Lit. classes I took that stance. But, as I grew as a writer I've learned to see that there really is more to the story than the words on the page. Ernest Hemingway once said "There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed." This, for me, is the most honest statement about writing. We sit down, and we bleed, pouring everything we have of value into the work. Somebody analyzing the work with lit theory or anything else, isn't trying to devalue our work, they're trying to get to know us. They're trying to see how we think.

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