Zoe's+Literary+Critque

wwwpp What makes literary merit? Why are some books classics and others trashy? Why do some stories stay with us for a lifetime and others fade from our minds before we turn the last page? It is an undeniable fact that some stories are worth telling and some are not. But what defines this? I believe that a story is worth telling if it does two things: entertains the audience and helps expand their mind in some worthwhile way, shape, or form. By my criteria, the novel //The Fault in Our Stars//, written by John Green, was worth it for me.

wwwpp Before we can examine why certain stories are worth being told, we must examine why stories are told in the first place. Obviously, there are many different answers. Fables are meant to teach young children morals. Legends pass down cultural traditions. Poetry gives the poet an outlet to express their emotions. Sacred texts preach a way of life. Biographies allow us to understand an important person. Novels gain popularity and make lots of money. However, if the story is going to be shared, there is one element that it must contain, no matter what sort of a story it is. The simple fact of the matter is that no one will want to read a story if it does not entertain them. However, entertainment is a highly personal thing and one size certainly doesn’t fit all. Some might find that detective stories keep them flipping through the pages while others couldn’t care less if the butler did it. Some remain utterly engrossed in fantastical romances while others want to vomit at the very thought. Even within the same genre, some may simply find some stories fantastic while others fall flat. The definition of entertainment is not universal. Based on our personalities, preferences, and past experiences, certain stories appeal to us more. There are many elements that affect how entertaining we find a story. First, there is the writing style. If a story rambles and runs on or delivers the facts with not detail, no intrigue, we are not entertained. There is a certain balance that is, of course, personal to each individual. Next, we have the overlying outline of the story: the plot. One might prefer a complex plot, full of twists and turns, or a simple plot that allows us to enjoy other elements of the story. The conflict is also important because it helps to drive the plot and if the reader does not find the conflicts in the story worthwhile, they will not enjoy the book. The setting can draw a reader in or can bore them. The theme can spark interest and a change in perspective or simply restate something tired. Many different people have different opinions on what is the most important element in a story to make it entertaining, but I would argue that, in most books, it is the characters. If a character is flat, one-dimensional, or simply unlikeable, we don’t sympathize with them and we don’t invest in their story. However, when we do care about the characters, this is when we can truly become entertained by a story. We are invested in the story a bit ourselves, and so we get teary-eyed at tragedy and cheer for triumphs along with the fictional characters. We need to get to the end to make sure that our hero will make it out in one piece. If we don’t care about the characters, why should we bother reading the book in the first place?

wwwpw However, it is undeniable that literary merit goes beyond entertainment. There are books that are “guilty pleasures”: fun to read, to be sure, but universally acknowledged as mediocre stories overall. Why is this? A story’s entertainment factor only makes up half of the worthiness. The second half comes from a story’s ability to provoke thought. We read stories looking for new ideas, new perspectives, and new experiences that we can’t find any other way. A worthwhile story has one or more themes (similar to a moral or message) that it offers the reader. One may not always agree with the theme statements but it, nonetheless, makes you think about its topic in a new way that may provoke your own revelations on the subject. Because themes often cover topics like life, love, death, good, and evil, they help us make sense of the big questions of human existence. This isn’t to say that a story has to explain the meaning of life to be worth your time whatsoever. Another way in which a story can expand your mind is through experiences that you yourself will never experience, but you can live through a character in a novel. I have never killed myself over a lost lover, had the fate of the wizarding world rest on my shoulders, or lived through the Great Depression. I have, however, experienced all of these things in some form through literature. Obviously, it isn’t quite the same as actually experiencing it, but it gives you an idea. It allows you to live through these characters and experience these great adventures or horrifying tragedies, all within the safe confines of a book. Now, any book can show you some sort of situation that you yourself will never actually experience, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it gives you new knowledge. Firstly, the knowledge that it is trying to give must be, itself, new. Recycled ideas are not worthwhile. Secondly, the book must be written so that you can actually feel as if you are in the shoes of the character, experiencing what they are. If, for any number of reasons, the book isn’t written in a way that lends itself to that, it won’t give you the same effect. Lastly, the experience has to be worth having. I myself have never waited in line for three hours to buy a pair of shoes and reading a story that put me in the mind of someone who had wouldn’t be worthwhile. Just like entertainment, this second criterion is personal. Some people might consider a theme or experience useful and thought-provoking while others don’t.

wwwwp Now that I’ve defined what makes a story worth reading, I can compare these two criteria to //The Fault in Our Stars// and see how it compares. Firstly, for me, this book was very entertaining. The topic of the book is not something I would normally read or be entertained by but the other elements of the story made up for its tragic premise. I enjoyed John Green’s writing style in his narration of 16 year old Hazel. She had a distinct voice that didn’t bore me but provided a significant amount of detail and insight where it was necessary. It was also able to be very simple when that was required. The setting was not very noteworthy for me throughout the majority of the novel, although the descriptions of Amsterdam were very well done and kept me interested. The plot and the conflicts drove the story well. Nothing very surprising happened, but the continual movement of the plot had me speed through it. The main reason I found this book so entertaining was the characters, which I do believe to be the most important part. Hazel and Augustus felt real, but at the same time were more intelligent, interesting, and funny than most teenagers, which lent itself well to my enjoyment of the story. They were thoughtful, made rational decisions, had understandable emotions, and had relationships that felt real. The side characters, including Isaac, Hazel’s parents, and Peter Van Houten, were also three-dimensional and contributed to the novel. For me, the first criterion was definitely fulfilled. Now, we move onto contribution to my mind. I would say that, unlike many novels designed specifically for young adults, //The Fault in Our Stars// really did offer a lot of food for thought. I think that it could be read focusing just on the love story between Augustus and Hazel but it also had deeper meanings. There are many themes present throughout the novel, mainly centering on death and living with sickness. One of the things that I particularly enjoyed about this book was that mainly of the ideas of the novel are not presented as concrete fact one way or the other; Hazel has some opinions on life, death, and the nature of the universe, but other characters (such as Augustus, her father, and Van Houten) have differing ideologies. Hazel learns from all of them and by the end of the novel, the reader isn’t told that something is right and something is wrong. It isn’t black and white. It poses questions rather than forces answers. I think that this allows the reader to think about it more for themselves and think about what they believe. This book definitely did that for me, making me think about things like oblivion and martyrdom and ghettoization in ways that perhaps I hadn’t previously. Then there are the experiences that Hazel goes through, which are things I have never experienced and for the most part would never want to experience. It is written in a way that really does connect you with the story and makes you quite emotional. You gain some perspective on what it really is like to be a teenager living with cancer because it isn’t written as a stereotypical “cancer” book. It treats the disease realistically, I believe (never having been or been near to a teenager with cancer myself). I came away from it feeling entertained and thoughtful.

wwwpp The novel //The Fault in Our Stars// by John Green was, for me, and example of a story worth telling because it combined entertainment with thought-provoking themes and experiences. I think that it is important to remember that the worth of the story depends on whoever is reading it and there are no universally, undeniably good and bad books; I may have gained something from //The Fault in Our Stars// and others may not. The important thing is that each person finds the stories that are worthwhile for themselves.