Rule #24: Don’t Read With Your Eyes
October 20, 2016 How To Read Lit 1 comment cmcgeoghegan17
“Don’t read with your eyes”; Read with the eyes of the characters in the story.
- Take note of what time period the story takes place in and how that may create differences.
- For example, don’t read a novel based in 1957 through the eyes of someone born in the 2000′.
- Take the works as they were meant to be taken, don’t approach a story logically, take the story as the people in the story would.
- Think of what the characters have been through, and what would drive them to make those decisions.
Examples: The Dead, Sonny’s Blues, Moby Dick, The Last of the Mohicans, and The Iliad
Illustration: Breaking Bad: Honestly the idea of a science teacher who turns to cooking meth after he’s diagnosed with cancer seems like a terrible pitch for a T.V show when I first heard about it, but the show makes it seem realistic through the eyes of the characters in the story. The main character’s decision to start cooking meth becomes justified to some when the audience learns that the whole thing is a pride issue. Walter White (the main character) feels surpassed by all his colleagues because of his overqualified position as a high school science teacher, he feels as if what he’s done with his life doesn’t match his potential and he craves respect from people. So if I look at it as an old man who has limited time left trying to give his life meaning (through cooking meth?), his actions can be justified (maybe?).
1 Comment
I think you did a really nice job with coming up with an example for this chapter! It took me awhile to think of one, and to be honest I don’t feel as though there is anything else for me to add to you explanation. This was a rather short chapter and self explanatory really as the rules were short and very easy to understand. You kept it short and sweet too, so there is nothing that I would exclude…nice job!!
The TV show I’m going to reference with this chapter is Grey’s Anatomy. There are so many examples of times when the audience has to put themselves in the character’s shoes to even slightly understand what is going on in their brain and sometimes, they still seem crazy! There are a lot of examples where patients do not tell their family that they are either going into surgery or have a medical issue as they are scared and don’t wanted the added pressure from other people. Examples of this occur in S12E17 where a 14 year old girl comes into the hospital alone complaining of respiratory and abdominal pain. The doctors in the ER assure her it is probably just a cold, she tells them that she is 6 months pregnant and is worried for her child. The doctors tried to call her parents but she wouldn’t let them as her mom didn’t know about the baby. Looking at it with my eyes, I had a hard time trying to understand how she couldn’t have told her mom for 6 months. Predictably, the mother came in and found out about the pregnancy and she flipped her lid, as any mother would, but it turns out she was also pregnant at 14. After putting myself in the daughter’s shoes, I can begin to see why she would have kept this secret as she didn’t want to seem like a disappointment and she wanted to prove she could do it on her own. This happens with many episodes but this was one of the most shocking examples but once I put myself in her shoes, I could see why maybe she would have kept this secret.