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November 13, 2005
LITERARY CRITICISM
Analyzing Literary Criticism
The different angles authors take in literary critiques are usually used to promote their own personal views or to demonstrate their direct personal opposition to the stance of the creator of the original work. Though most authors claim to remain unbiased by providing an antithesis or con side of their argument, but authors don�t just write to get words on paper. They make claims and support them by using facts in the original work to animate their views of someone else�s diligent work. This is made clear in taking a look at three critiques of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Three different authors interpret the themes differently simply to push their personal views. Examples of this prove that authors of literary critiques are unable to avoid personal biases and are prone to pushing their own ideals more so than they are to actually evaluating a work.
To begin this can be seen by comparing the views that Douglas Anderson, Sanford Pinsker, and Eric Link have on The Adventures of huckleberry Finn. First Eric link uses a combination of physiological and moral approaches to evaluate the characters individually. In doing so, he vilifies Tom, and promotes Huck as a noble young man. �It is Huck�s moral nature that proves superior to the tarnished morality of Tom.� He also uses theft as a morality issue to push his views that Tom is simply a corruption to the moral growth of Huck in the novel. He portrays Huck as being on a moral excursion to find truth and reality through racism and turmoil. This would not necessarily be biased if he was simply characterizing the two,. but it becomes obvious that he has taken a personal disliking to tom and intends to prove his unworthiness as a character. He does not take into consideration that tom did have several good qualities and that Huck has some bad qualities himself. These views combined to a rather narrow minded argument that left the reader questioning the validity of this personal argument as it did not prove to provide any insight to understanding thematic reflections of each of the characters actions.
Another example of an author pushing their own views on a work is taken from a critique by Douglas Anderson as he uses a moral and historical approach combined with a new critical approach to analyzing the work as a graphic depiction of the time. He is obviously pleased with several of the scene�s realities in the story and he uses a close reading of individual words and passages to display his contentment with the �inexplicable mixture of tenderness and brutality in human character� that is portrayed by the novel. He makes it clear that he personally feels the world is a place constant change and them uses Huckleberry Finn to justify his argument.
Once more evidence of tactics to promote personal view can be found in a critique by Sanford Pinsker. This most obvious example can be seen within his first paragraph as he says, �What twain means to test out in Huck�s idiosyncratic telling of how he and Jim made their way down the river is nothing less than what freedom in America means�. This statement alone would not condemn him but right before he says this he makes it clear that he feels twain uses slavery as a way to depict freedom as necessary. This obviously makes his claim similar to his own definition of freedom.
Overall, the variable ways of critiquing literature are seemed to be used for making personal claims about the subjects tackled in the particular work of literature. These approaches to criticism leave the constant availability of bias and need to be plainly understood to grasp the point an author is trying to make. If this can be done they prove to be incredibly useful.
Posted by IanSayre at November 13, 2005 7:20 AM
Comments
Interesting...very interesting.
i'd like to know more about your literary experience.
Very interesting.
Posted by: Bonnie Humbelschrutten at December 19, 2007 1:47 PM