1.
Perhaps
the most interesting insight that I gained through the process of writing this
essay was a clearer understanding of Edward’s character. In this case, the narrative point of view is
actually less than helpful, because Miss Sarah’s favorable opinion of Edward
serves to obfuscate any truly detailed understanding of what sort of a person
he is. She tells us, the readers, that
he is a honest, good-looking, and all around estimable young man, but he is her
dear younger cousin, so of course she has a high opinion of him. In order to truly understand his nature, I
had to dig deeper than simply believing the narrator. One of the things I paid attention to was the
reactions of others to Edward’s actions.
Edward’s cousin might think he’s an absolutely wonderful boy, but his
parents have some concerns about him.
For one, there is the girl he is engaged to. He is clearly under her thumb, but his parents
are worried that she isn’t good enough for him.
This concern shed some light on Edward himself, especially once I
started to examine his relationship with Miss Tremaine. His perseverance in
what seems to be a somewhat strained relationship with his fiancée, coupled
with his complete disregard of his parents’ disapproval seems to suggest that
he is a rather stubborn lad, which sheds a good deal of light on my
interpretive problem.
2.
The most important thing that I have gained from
finishing this essay is a greater appreciation for the work authors do. From the perspective of a reader, it is easy
to nitpick, and whine about plot holes or inconsistencies in stories. This assignment made me realize just how many
small details go into a work of literature.
After completing this assignment, I have even more respect for authors,
because I have a better understanding of the level of detail that goes into
their work. Acknowledging that it can be
difficult to get every last detail right, however, is not to say that the
questions I pondered while trying to pick an interpretive problem were mistakes
or slipups on the author’s part. Rather,
this assignment has made me realize that those small puzzles within works of
literature often have the potential to make reading an even more interesting
pursuit.
3.
The most difficult aspect of this assignment was
finding and deciding on a question for my interpretive problem. I am very used
to writing standard five paragraph essays, and I like to think that I am fairly
good at writing them too. For this
reason, changing it up and getting into the mindset of the interpretive problem
was a challenge for me. It took me a
good deal of time to come up with a question that I felt was both specific
enough for the assignment, but also had enough clues to go on in the
story.
4.
One main idea that I touched upon in my analysis
of the research was the use of dramatic irony in the genre of Gothic
literature. An analytic essay featuring
this idea might be centered around the theme that dramatic irony draws the
reader into the story by clueing them in on something important, but leaving
the characters in the dark. This
technique pops up time and time again in Gothic literature, and I think its
popularity might be a good reason to explore it a little more. One of the potential reasons for its
popularity that I suggested is that dramatic irony keeps the reader on the edge
of their seat. In a genre which has a
large focus on spookiness and surprises, a technique which has the ability to
create these feelings in readers can be invaluable. An essay featured around this idea would
probably explore several popular and well-known works of Victorian Gothic
fiction, as well as some other less-known works, in order to give a good
representation of the genre. It would
report on how many of the works featured dramatic irony, and to what effect the
technique was used.
5.
If I had taken a completely different approach
to this assignment, I probably would have written a traditional five-paragraph
essay, mostly because that is a format that I am familiar with and can utilize
to good effect. I probably would have
written on the motif of loneliness or isolation in Gothic literature, because
that is something interesting that I have seen crop up time and time again in
the works we have read this semester.
These motifs don’t appear in “At Crighton Abbey,” but they are prevalent
in “The Old Nurse’s Tale,””Carmilla,” “Frankenstein,” and “Jeromette and the
Clergyman.” I probably would have
chosen to examine just one or two of these stories, especially for a short
essay. Most likely, I would have chosen
“The Old Nurse’s Tale,” because I am most familiar with that story, and because
those motifs are very clearly found in it.
My essay would have examined why those motifs crop up so often in that
story, and whether there is something about Gothic literature which lends
itself to the use of such motifs.
6.
One aspect which we focused on very often and in
great detail this semester was the narrative perspective. I think this method of analysis will be the
most useful tool for reading and thinking about literature that I take from
this class. Analyzing the narrative
perspective is a great tool, because it is applicable to every work of
literature. Every story is told from
some perspective, so you can always count on being able to learn something
about a work by examining the perspective it is told from. This tool is also useful, because while
narration is obviously useful for providing enlightenment and edification, it
can also be used to obfuscate certain details, morals, and motives. Taking a close look at the narrative
perspective forces us as readers to examine the reasons a story is being told,
and try to understand the motives a narrator might have for telling a story a
certain way. I suspect that paying more
attention to narrative perspective will help to deepen not only my
understanding, but also my enjoyment of literature in the future.
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