Erin's+Literary+Critique

kkkkk //Uncle Tom’s Cabin //, //Pride and Prejudice//, and //The Call of the Wild// are considered “classics.” However, the criterion for what makes a story worth telling may differ for everyone. While some stories are revered by many and others forgotten with time, there are certain characteristics which make stories worth telling. For me, those stories have relatable characters and enable the reader to reflect on their own experiences and gather a deeper meaning from the text.

kkkkk Originally, stories were used to remember family history or comment on the teller’s beliefs, but gradually grew to entertain. This new form began to immortalize certain characters or events. The stories worth telling are not only memorable because of the “excitement” or “tragedy” or “romance” of the plot, but because of the characters. People read and tell stories because they can somehow identify with them. The appeal of characters differs for everyone. While one person might love dragon fighting warriors, another might despise fantasy and delves instead into realistic fiction. Yet another might only read about historical events and biographies. Everything is preferential, but the allure of a character is always the same: being entertaining, relatable, and charismatic. It is impossible to not love a bumbling, honey-loving bear or a cat with a hat. These are the characteristics most adore because they are so fascinating to read. However, the principal appeal is not always in character traits, but their way of thinking and cause for actions. No one is simply pure good or pure evil when it comes to characters. In real life, everyone is a mixture of both; real people are grey. While someone may be the most caring person ever, people make mistakes, have bad days, and make rash decisions. This imperfection and layered personality helps people relate to the characters more, respected yet still a bit flawed. With characters that are relatable, people can pull on their own past experiences and compare the two. When I connect with characters, I begin to enjoy the story as a whole more and feel like this was worth my time. The experiences are not always on the same level: I will never know what it is like to be alive during the holocaust, but I can relate with the feeling of losing everything I had worked towards. Happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, and disgust are the most universal expressions and feelings, certainly ones that can be felt through the characters of a story.

kkkkk There are always going to be those cutesy stories that warm everyone’s hearts. Tear jerkers such as “The Notebook” or inspirational movies such as “A Dolphin’s Tale” or any Disney cartoon are some examples. However, there are stories that have more relevance and will make people think. Authors do not just write books or stories for readers to look at once and never think about again. They want them to reflect about the characters, find the hidden meanings, and hopefully find a way to relate the book to their real life. The stories and books that have the pleasure to add to their titles “Timeless Classics” are ones that provoke thought and provide an outlet for the reader to reflect on their past experiences. That is to say, the stories that most remember are the ones where they were able to connect and consider. They might hypothesis what they would have done if placed in the setting or conflict. It allows them a “dress rehearsal” for their own lives. Especially with literature, stories are not just a way to transport, but imagine. It is a safe haven for readers to contemplate their own actions. It could be from something they did yesterday or something for ten years ago. Within the safe borders of the mind, using the events of a story as inspiration, they can visualize their own tale. However, the thought process does not only extend to what the reader feels, but how it can relate to others around them. Stories are a tool for others to delve into the philosophies and truly understand humans. Everyone “knows” that all humans are the same no matter what gender, race, or ethnicity, but for most, it is just an empty phrase. When listening to stories and reading literature, readers find connections and, even though not always realistic, they can begin to conceptualize how others see the world. It makes them more empathetic. Every book has some kind of universal underlying theme or message, no matter the genre or content, which enables so many books to be translated. The human feelings of love, hate, death, friendship and duty are ones that everyone has dealt with and can discuss with others. When really thinking about it, the stories that really mattered or had a visible impact were the relatable ones. A story does not necessarily discuss the meaning of life to be worth telling, but should stimulate deeper thoughts than just why the character decided to put on red shoes instead of blue shoes.

kkkkk Comparing //The Fault in Our Stars// to my personal views of worthwhile reading specifications, it seems to surpass in every aspect. Hazel Grace Lancaster is a sixteen year old suffering from thryroid cancer. But she does not “suffer” necessarily because that is part of her. She is a “side effect.” It is these ideas about sickness and life that make this book memorable and a story worth telling. While being a bit far-fetched at times with the characters superb intellectual musings at such a young age, the characters were still entertaining and relatable. Hazel and Augustus were not just ideas in my head, but real figures that I could empathize with. With their understandable emotions and decisions, they had a love that felt real. I was able to put the book down and imagine myself in Amsterdam, seeing the falling petals and gasping up the stairs. It was not just because of the precise writing of John Green, but the authenticity of their emotions that struck chord, especially with Peter Van Houten, the alcoholic author. He was not just a rude, unsympathetic man. When revealed that he actually had a daughter who died of cancer, he revealed to Hazel, as well as the reader, a new understanding and depth. He was no longer that “pure evil” old man who put them down. Instead, he was pitiable, fallible yet resilient. In other words, he was grey. I could personally relate with more, having lost many family members to the disease. The raw perspective of the characters leant itself well to the story, increasing my enjoyment and their appeal. Having achieved my first criterion, it is time to test if the novel provokes thought. Hazel’s views are not only comical in her language skills, but perceptive about the world around her. She presents ideas about the world around her that I may not have thought of before. The way in which the ideas were presented, however, did not make me put the book down and think indifferently about it, but contemplate my own opinions. Having never really read books much more for entertainment, I found myself really contemplating the ideas presented. It made it easier for me to form my own opinions and imagine how I could act in those situations. Though I may not necessarily want to be placed in Hazel’s situation, I was able to see and understand her choices, while keeping the messages close to home with my own memories. One thing I loved about this novel was that it presented two differing sides to any argument, such as Hazel wanting to tread lightly and Augustus wanting to leave a mark, but no opinion was portrayed higher than the other. Like the appeal of characters, the views on themes such as love and death are “grey,” so to speak. Concrete in the definitions, but open to other’s ideas. I found myself laughing and crying during the entirety of this novel. In the end, I felt content, something I think was a contribution of both the characters and the thoughts feelings they caused throughout.

kkkkk While some may disagree, I feel I have found a keeper with The Fault in Our Stars. Not only were the characters entertaining and for the most part relatable, but the ideas presented allowed me to express my own thoughts. It is unlikely for me to find a book that I mark as worth reading again. With this story, I personally feel like I got more from it than just a quirky love story. I accept that fact that others may not have the same feelings as I do about this book, but I do know that, for me, this story definitely was worth putting on my shelf.