Reading is by no means the most popular pastime of today's youth. To most who are not active readers, there is the perpetual notion that there isn't much to be gained by reading, or at least nothing that can outweigh many other activities like movies, video games, or other forms of entertaining media.
Well, it's sad but true that most are also sadly mistaken. A story is a story is a story is a story, right? Wrong.
While originality is a myth when it comes to stories and literature, real value and entertainment are not. You hear of the classics in school like Shakespeare, Lord of the Flies, Count of Monte Cristo, Dante's Inferno or Divine Comedy, Picture of Dorian Gray, Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and countless others, but those titles and authors inevitably become synonymous with BORING.
Well, there are 3 keys to enjoying those classics of literature and getting some real entertainment and value out of your readings. These books don't have to be boring, in fact they can be life-changing when these simple keys are applied. Reading won't be a burden anymore, at very least it will be a pleasant pastime.
Key # 1:
Symbolism
This is probably the most important key to keep in mind when reading. It might even be handy to have a little literature symbolism dictionary around, like Ferber's Dictionary of Literary Symbols which I would personally recommend. But, even without a symbolism dictionary, just think about what possible meanings certain things that stand out could have.
For instance, once a friend came to me who was in a different English class, and was extremely excited about this book that her class was reading. So, I asked her to tell me what it was about.
The first thing she said was that it was the story of a girl who had Leukemia.
Now, I stopped her right there, and asked her what Leukemia was. She told me it was cancer of the blood.
So, I told her that I could tell the story was about a girl who had a disease that was going to tear her family apart. She stared at me, amazed. She asked how I knew that.
Well, it's quite simple really. Cancer is a disease, it makes the body eat away at itself. Blood is a symbol for family, as people who are family have the same blood, or the saying 'blood is thicker than water' attributed to familial relationships. So, she has a cancer that is affecting her blood = She has a disease that will eat away at her family or family relationships.
The book was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, which personally I haven't read. But, applying the basic concept of symbolism to aspects of a story or character can shed a whole new light on what's really going on in the story.
Key # 2:
Recognizing Motifs
Motifs are recurring important ideas or images throughout a work. The way these can enhance the pleasure of fictional reading is the subtleties they convey.
For instance, let's take Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In Macbeth, blood is an outstanding motif. It appears in the story only when something important beneath the surface is taking place. More specifically,in Macbeth, blood appears when a character reaches a 'point of no return'.
It's important to pay attention to what is a motif in a work of literature. Because the reader recognizes blood as a motif, the reader can discover what that motif applies to, and it can shed a different light on whats happening in the story. In this case, the reader can recognize that when blood appears in the story, a character has reached a 'point of no return, and the reader can then understand in greater depth what causes the character to do the things they do in the rest of the story.
Key # 3:
Choose a Genre
Starting off trying to read the classics can be daunting. The third key to enjoying literature is to find a niche that sparks your interest. If a type of book bores you, find a different kind.
Literature is divided into genres as well as time periods. I had a Literature teacher once who could not stand Victorian literature (i.e. Jane Eyre, or anything by the Bronte sisters), because of the style of writing and morals portrayed, but she still taught a few of the works to us.
Personally, once upon a time I happened upon the Picture of Dorian Gray, and became infatuated with Decadent Literature or literature from the Aesthetic movement. From there I learned about similar types of literature, and came to enjoy many types of books.
So, just find a type of book or niche that might interest you, or something that is very popular like Clockwork Orange or Hitchhiker's Guide o the Galaxy that have had movies made based off of them.
It's okay though, if you don't like a book, even if you try and apply these keys. There are just some books that will have a flavor you like, and some that are hard to turn the page in. The third key to enjoying literature though, is to just find the right genre to start. Once you find one type that you like, you will naturally open up to more and more types that are similar, and soon enough you will find great pleasure and value in reading.
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