Blinding Content
"We all have our blind spots, and that's normal." - How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster (228)
For one of my other classes we had the option of choosing a section from James A. Michener's The Source to present a paper on. As luck would have it, I picked one based on themes I found utterly unappealing and offensive to my own personal sense of ethics. It pertained to forms of adultery that were accepted as the norm, along with child sacrifice to religious deities. I consider myself as somewhat traditional, even old-fashioned; and I find adulteration, especially the boastful and broadcasted type, despicable. As for any tale that inflicts harm on children, I have no taste for it. I'm not fond of hearing, seeing, or thinking of any situation that involves a child becoming hurt, sick, or abandoned--certainly not when those conditions are intentional. I assume I'm not alone in accommodating contempt for such unsettling circumstances. I'm also certain it is a trait pertaining to parenthood because before the birth of my son I hadn't been so profoundly effected by children's suffrage; I of course found it saddening, but now it is almost as though I experience it. In every face I can see my sons, and that for me is unbearable. I've probably spoken too much about my own opinions, but that is sort of this entry's point. "Of Life and Death," the title of Michener's chapter, was a difficult read for me, and if I wouldn't have had to complete an assignment on it, I may have been so absorbed in the points I mentioned to have ever found any worth in it. I think, and I know this is true at least for me, that as we read, we often insert ourselves into the storyline. This is an important part of interacting with books or movies or music, and the author, director, or lyricist expects that relational level from us. But sometimes, as was the case for me with The Source chapter, our viewpoints conflict with those of the author. Like Foster said if your not someone dealing with the piece for the sake of analysis or field of study, "you can walk away whenever you want to" (234), but if you must deal with a "work [that] asks too much"(234) try to not read so deeply with "your eyes."
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Dennis G. Jerz on Blinding Content: Thanks for that very personal,
Thanks for that very personal, very honest entry. Yes, I remember shortly after my first child was born, I couldn't bear to watch movies that featured children in danger, and I began to resent when directors or advertisers used such scenes in order to manipulate me.
I'm glad Forster helped you get into the mindset of approaching a text intellectually, with some emotional distance. I haven't read The Source, but it's entirely possible that Michener is writing about values that he himself doesn't possess. I don't think we can ever learn very much unless we reach out at least a little beyond our comfort zone, but it's important to recognize your own limits (and talk about them so your classmates and teachers will know your standpoint). There has to be some atmosphere of trust, so that you can feel comfortable sharing your own values, even if they don't mesh with the values you're encountering in the coursework.
Thanks again for a thoughtful entry, April.
The idea of using personal ethics to arouse an emotional response seems rather understandable...and perhaps a little too effective sometimes. I cannot relate to the feelings of having children, but I can understand how our minds will superimpose our own situations and fears upon those of an author's characters or a director's actors. As far as taking a step back from all of that, it can be difficult, but if one can do it then the reading/watching is made more bearable and the deeper meaning can be found. Open minds are key for this sort of work.