Jan. 22, 2003
Reading and Writing
v For us to read a book,
especially fiction, is to read once for the story.
v Even non-fiction is mostly
read once, rarely a second or a third time.
v Should a reader draw the maximum benefit of reading a book, especially
children in the school, reading one book thoroughly will make him a reader who
can benefit from reading a book once as if he has mastered it.
v For this purpose one should
choose a book he loves.
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His
first reading will tell him the contents fairly, the story, if it is fiction.
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To
know the sequence of the plot is generally not possible even after several
readings, but a second reading with an eye on the turns and twists of the plot
can give that knowledge.
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Of
the characters, there are the main ones as well as minor ones.
To know the character of the protagonist or the hero, it needs an
observation of his acts with respect to each other character. Of course, one can know the
character of a character only if he has a term of reference or a framework of
character. One more reading is required to know each character that well.
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Often
minor characters act decisively. To collect it requires another reading.
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Thus
far, one will cover the plot and characterisation.
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Any
work of fiction expresses in its course on life, make pronouncements of the
truths of life. They may be a dozen or several dozen. One can collect them
during any reading and see how these statements are true in this story. One
need not go beyond to their social origins unless he is interested in Life
Response or philosophy.
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A
special reading must be devoted to absorb all the special phrases of the book. It is essential to rewrite the story in
one's own words employing all these particular phrases that make the writing of
value. Going into the author's art of phrasing and learning the process
will complete it.
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Life
Response cannot be fully appreciated while reading for any other purpose. It
needs a reading for its own sake.
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As
our aim is NOT scholarship in the writings
of the author, which is the field of the specialist, we need not go beyond
these approaches.
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There
is one more phenomenon. In an event, there may be many people and several
occurrences. Looked at from the point of view of the hero, if we see that all people respond to him or all events respond to him, our
comprehension will be comprehensive. We read, in a sense, unidimensionally. In Pride
and Prejudice Darcy came to Elizabeth to propose when she was alone. We
take it as chance. Taking the character of the total context, all others move
away leaving her alone for him to propose. We are not trained to read in this
sense. We need to strain ourselves and
train ourselves to read in this fashion. The book must be read and reread
from each character's point of view in this sense.
v A story is an imaginative
piece of fiction around a plot, enacted by several major and minor characters,
at several locations, in a social context, where the interchange between
characters enables them to express their characters in terms of their
relationship with others and the existing circumstances. In this process an enormous amount of major and minor decisions are
made and each person exercises his decision-making capacity.
v Decision-making is a process
of the will acquiring knowledge to act to preserve or grow one's personality
according to his own articulated motive. *
v Another fresh reading is
called for from the point of view of understanding each decision 1. in the
context of the personality of the character and 2. in the context of the event.
If one can see the interaction of these two, it will complete the process of
understanding life but at the stage of reading the very first book, it may be
asking for too much.
v If the above are the main
lines along which a book can be read with benefit, there are other minor
benefits one can derive.
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In
conversation we see different characters using different words to express the
same idea. It shows the preference of the character or the level of education
or level of comprehension or miscomprehension of words by each character.
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During
the course of a story characters change. The pattern of such a change is
educative.
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During
the entire story there are characters that do not change. Their not changing is
more educative as we see behind it a determination NOT to change or an inability to
change.
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In
Pride and Prejudice we see Darcy finds Elizabeth tolerable and does not
want to dance with her.
In the next ball we find him
asking her to dance with him when she refuses.
Again he repeats his request
another time and she inadvertently accepts.
His gaze is fixed on her and
he is bewitched by her fine eyes and liveliness of mind.
He later proposes to her and
is refused.
His initial response is of
the surface mind.
His later behaviour is of
the real mind in him.
He is an aristocrat who is
an instrument to compromise with the bourgeoisie and therefore was attracted to
her.
He is a selfish man who
needs to acquire Selflessness to which effort he is willing for the sake of
Elizabeth.
Thus behind each character we find grades of motives.
v Should a child at the
appropriate age read one book like this, he will be able to read other books
with the same benefit in the first few readings.
v Writing is essential. How
much, which part, in what fashion is to be decided. It is better the whole book
is rewritten in the reader's words bringing out as much of his understanding as
possible.