English 31 - KhanForm and Function2014-15

Louis Sullivan, mentor to Frank Lloyd Wright, once noted that, in architecture, form should follow function; a building should be designed to suit its purpose. When designing a home for a family, for example, it makes sense to create open spaces for gathering and to provide ample storage. These choices encourage family interaction and maintain some semblance of order in the midst and bustle of life. Similarly, a museum that houses large-scale paintings requires a much different setting than one geared toward the display of portraiture; with each, presentation space must be used to meet the demands of the art. Perhaps, more importantly, the resulting ambiance and sense of scale affect the viewer’s impressions. Standing in the vast, open corridor of the Louvre and viewing David’s larger-than-life portrayal of the coronation of Napoleon feels different from sitting on a warm couch in a small, salon-style room and seeing Rembrandt’s intimate self-portrait. To place the one painting in the setting of the other would detract from the power of the piece.

This same premise holds true in literature. Authors make form-related decisions that affect both the structural and thematic integrity of their work. Understanding content may be of the utmost importance in making meaning of a literary text; form, however, should not be ignored. A work without structure is no work at all, as form is driven by content. In fact, an author’s choice of form in the creation of a novel may reveal as much or more than the content itself.

- Wendy Glenn, “Form Follows Function: The Relationship Between Structure and Content in Three of Karen Hesse’s Novels”

The contrast between form and function in language can be illustrated through a simple medical analogy. If doctors studied only a limited portion of the human system, such as anatomical form, they would be unable to adequately address their patient’s needs. To fully treat their patients, physicians must understand the purposes of the human body and the relationships between organs, cells, and genes (Pozzi, 2004).

The Purpose of Literature

What is the purpose of literature?

First, it has a very important function within the context of society and history. Literature quite simply is a world changer. The present world civilizations are based on communication. Histories, languages, cultures and arts--everything involved in the humanities depends on and flowers through communication. Literature sets the example both in content and in style for the finest communication that can come through voice, paper, or visual play. Study the literature of a race or people, and you have studied the marks they have tracked through time. It is impossible to know most races or people in history without reference to their literature. Their literature, oral or written,isthem, and they are their literature.

Another purpose of literature is entertainment. This is easily forgotten in the rush to consider the intellectual, ethical, and social importance of various literary works. However, part of the definition of "great literature" is that it has been able for many years to entertain people very well indeed. Such entertainment might cause horror and sadness as well as--or instead of--laughter and excitement. Whatever the emotion, great literature gives pleasure.

Another purpose of literature is self-expression. Again, this purpose becomes easily overlooked in the commonly held belief that you and I, the readers of literature, could "never write like that." It is true that we may never write great literature. However, all human beings are capable of expressing themselves in the symbols of language, and literature--be it high literature or low--is an exemplar of such self-expression. Avid readers often feel the urge to become writers themselves, and everyone has his or her own story to tell, even if it is just for family or friends or even just an audience of one--the reader himself. Such self-expression is healing, thoughtful, powerful, explorative, and interesting. And reading great literature offers readers the tools for such self-expression: one learns the elements of literature, and then he or she can practice them.

A final important purpose of literature is that it helps people discover themselves. It gives readers insight into their feelings, thoughts, pasts, futures, and ultimate values. In a sense literature is perhaps the oldest and most common form of psychology, one available to readers of all abilities and interests. And if literature is like having a psychologist on the shelf, ready to take down and read whenever one wishes, great literature is like a great psychologist, giving important insights to readers that were previously unavailable to them.

Becoming a Literary Critic

In the field of literature, there are those who create it and those who review and examine it. Reviewers and examiners of literature play a function similar to historians: they are the people who evaluate what has happened in a piece of literature once it has been written. Often they also determine the degree to which it will be accepted or rejected. If, for example, a literary work is not accepted for review by media critics, often the literary work is never heard of again. Everyone has heard stories of some literary work that the critics ignore, but it becomes popular through the "underground"--by being passed from person to person. This happens on occasion. However, the great majority of literary works that become even somewhat known must not only be accepted by editors but also by media critics. And those works of literature that become part of the accepted "canon"--the group or groups of literary works that educational institutions recommend for reading and teachers choose for teaching--such works of literature usually are analyzed and evaluated in dozens and even hundreds of articles in scholarly and professional teachers' journals.

Those who are professionals in the field of criticizing literature have two primary methods of communicating their analyses. One can understand how professional critics think by looking at each of these two primary methods of thinking.

DESCRIPTIONS: Observe and describe the literary work factually by its elements and structures. Start with the simplest elements such as language use (rhythms, rhymes, types of words chosen by the author), types of description (use of the five senses, colorfulness or lack of it in describing characters and scenes, etc.), and tone and style (humorous, serious, highbrow, lowbrow, ironic, pedantic, light, heavy, etc.). Then move to the larger elements: obvious symbols, secondary and main characters, plots (external and internal), subplots, and/or overall structure.

INTERPRETATIONS: Suggest possible interpretations that both readers and the author might possibly have of the literary work. Interpretations may include less obvious and/or overall symbols, competing possible meanings of characters, a variety of competing themes or meanings that readers may perceive in this work. Competing interpretations are good.

EVALUATIONS: This is what media reviewers are famous for. Evaluation means, basically, what is good and bad about the piece. Evaluative questions might include such subjects as the ethical or moral value of a literary work, its aesthetic or artistic appeal, what it will do for or to people, its honesty or accuracy of portrayal, its emotional appeal, and whether it is essentially ugly, pedestrian, or beautiful.

Academic critics often identify with certain schools of thought within their own literary discipline. As explained above, critics may be feminist, psychological, political (especially Marxist), form critics, or one among a number of other types. Each academic critic starts with a different point of view and then tries to argue this point of view in important literary works. Here is how it is done:

A. START WITH A POINT OF VIEW. The best way to do this is to work with an interpretation that is unique or different from what others will see in a literary work. Your personal experience or personal studies may help you: for example, if you have experienced being poor, black, and female yourself, you may have some interesting interpretations to make ofThe Color Purplebecause of this personal experience. Likewise, if you have studied the sociology of poor, rural southerners in the earlier part of this century, you may have some points to make aboutThe Color Purplethat transcend race and/or gender that few other readers would perceive.

B. THEN FIND PASSAGES IN THE LITERARY WORK THAT SUPPORT THIS POINT. You can pick details from various parts of the plot or progression of the story, you can pick certain characters or certain traits, actions, or words by certain characters, you can pick symbols, descriptions, or other use of language--or any mixture of these you wish.

C. ORGANIZE THESE SUPPORTING POINTS INTO THE STEPS OF AN ARGUMENT. Make your basic, overall interpretive point in the very beginning of your essay; then start arguing using your supports, step by step, usually putting your strongest proofs first and your weakest proofs later.

- Richard Jewell, Experiencing the Humanities, Chapter 13. Literature: The Language Art