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fandomhigh2009-03-19 03:25 pm
clevermsbennet.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2009-03-19 03:25 pm
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Literature, Class 10: Period 3, Thursday, March 19
Miss Bennet was seated upon the edge of her desk as always, but this week, she was holding a stick of chalk in her right hand. "First, allow me to offer my apologies on abandoning you last week," she said, bowing her head slightly. "I woke up feeling quite horrible indeed, and discovered I would be unable to be with you. I do hope you had interesting discussions in my absence."
"There is an ancient curse," she said, "which, translated from the Chinese, is simply: may you live in interesting times. That isn't a mistranslation; if one takes a moment, it becomes clear what the proverb's affliction will be. In life, most individuals wish for comfort, and security. Times which are interesting are likely to involve war, famine, disaster, or similar catastrophes. One can hardly imagine that any would wish for those ills to befall him, no matter how dull his life may be before.
"This isn't to say that any wish for a life that will be dull. However, if one finds one's self bored, one can choose to rectify that in small ways: more exciting hobbies, perhaps, or setting aside more time for travel. Interesting times do not allow for such luxuries. They create hardship, suffering, and most likely, loss.
"At the same time, interesting times do provide quite a useful backdrop for fiction. The first requirement of a story is that it have a plot." Miss Bennet wrote Plot onto the blackboard. "Placing characters into dangerous situations will likely keep the reader's attention. That is, unless the author has done an insufficient job of making one care about the characters' fate. It is a poor novel indeed where one wishes quite earnestly that the main character will indeed have consumption, as she fears, or, failing that, will be trampled by a runaway carriage while crossing the street."
There was another word scribbled on the board: Characters. "Stories need characters; any will do, though compelling characters will make for a better read than bland ones. Readers may forgive a story its poor characters if the plot is sufficiently engaging, and may excuse a flimsy plot if the characters are intriguing. Ideally, one should not have to choose.
"Just as interesting times are not necessarily those that one would wish to experience, characters in fiction are not necessarily people that one would like to have over for a tea-party. One might admire a particularly ruthless man's adventures while knowing that, if one were to meet him, one should keep close eye on one's jewelry-box. Similarly, one might adore a sweet girl as one's closest friend, knowing at the same time that any novel of her experiences would be largely mundane.
"Lastly, all stories must have a setting." Setting was now scribbled underneath the other two words. "The setting is the backdrop against which the story takes place; a small village in the countryside, or a bustling city on the outer moon of Jupiter. A story could take place entirely in a bare prison cell, or comprise a tale of galaxies at war with one another. The setting must be articulated clearly to the reader; however, it should only provide the backdrop for the plot and characters to move. Some stories create such elaborate settings that such might substitute for plot; some readers are content with these lush worlds, while others will grow tired with nothing more to entice them. Again, ideally a story would have an engaging plot, fascinating characters, and a descriptive setting, but finding all three in balance might prove difficult."
"The point is simply this: what one reads about, one may not wish to experience personally. Nor would one necessarily enjoy a book about one's own life. After all, one could be living said life, which should be far more engaging than any book could hope to be. Barring that, one would be entirely too familiar with the plot. Characters that one might like, fictionally, one might find to be far different, in person. Settings which provide interesting environments in which the characters might play might also be places that one wishes one should never go." She lifted her shoulders. "This isn't to say that one can't wish to live out a plot, or visit a setting, or meet specific characters. Only that what qualifies for good, in fiction, is not equivalent to what qualifies as good in life."
"There is an ancient curse," she said, "which, translated from the Chinese, is simply: may you live in interesting times. That isn't a mistranslation; if one takes a moment, it becomes clear what the proverb's affliction will be. In life, most individuals wish for comfort, and security. Times which are interesting are likely to involve war, famine, disaster, or similar catastrophes. One can hardly imagine that any would wish for those ills to befall him, no matter how dull his life may be before.
"This isn't to say that any wish for a life that will be dull. However, if one finds one's self bored, one can choose to rectify that in small ways: more exciting hobbies, perhaps, or setting aside more time for travel. Interesting times do not allow for such luxuries. They create hardship, suffering, and most likely, loss.
"At the same time, interesting times do provide quite a useful backdrop for fiction. The first requirement of a story is that it have a plot." Miss Bennet wrote Plot onto the blackboard. "Placing characters into dangerous situations will likely keep the reader's attention. That is, unless the author has done an insufficient job of making one care about the characters' fate. It is a poor novel indeed where one wishes quite earnestly that the main character will indeed have consumption, as she fears, or, failing that, will be trampled by a runaway carriage while crossing the street."
There was another word scribbled on the board: Characters. "Stories need characters; any will do, though compelling characters will make for a better read than bland ones. Readers may forgive a story its poor characters if the plot is sufficiently engaging, and may excuse a flimsy plot if the characters are intriguing. Ideally, one should not have to choose.
"Just as interesting times are not necessarily those that one would wish to experience, characters in fiction are not necessarily people that one would like to have over for a tea-party. One might admire a particularly ruthless man's adventures while knowing that, if one were to meet him, one should keep close eye on one's jewelry-box. Similarly, one might adore a sweet girl as one's closest friend, knowing at the same time that any novel of her experiences would be largely mundane.
"Lastly, all stories must have a setting." Setting was now scribbled underneath the other two words. "The setting is the backdrop against which the story takes place; a small village in the countryside, or a bustling city on the outer moon of Jupiter. A story could take place entirely in a bare prison cell, or comprise a tale of galaxies at war with one another. The setting must be articulated clearly to the reader; however, it should only provide the backdrop for the plot and characters to move. Some stories create such elaborate settings that such might substitute for plot; some readers are content with these lush worlds, while others will grow tired with nothing more to entice them. Again, ideally a story would have an engaging plot, fascinating characters, and a descriptive setting, but finding all three in balance might prove difficult."
"The point is simply this: what one reads about, one may not wish to experience personally. Nor would one necessarily enjoy a book about one's own life. After all, one could be living said life, which should be far more engaging than any book could hope to be. Barring that, one would be entirely too familiar with the plot. Characters that one might like, fictionally, one might find to be far different, in person. Settings which provide interesting environments in which the characters might play might also be places that one wishes one should never go." She lifted her shoulders. "This isn't to say that one can't wish to live out a plot, or visit a setting, or meet specific characters. Only that what qualifies for good, in fiction, is not equivalent to what qualifies as good in life."
Re: Discussion #2: Reality vs. Fiction (LIT-9)