Literary Knowledge & Freedom
A Note on the Importance of Knowing How to Read
Well-Crafted, Poorly-Crafted, and Symbolic Stories
A well-crafted story is organically seamless. There is an overarching unity that makes its many points of conflict and disunity in the narrative make sense. It is also subtle, presenting key ideas indirectly by means of these narrative elements (e.g. dialogue and narration). Symbolism arises from the narrative world naturally, as objects and actions and meaning converge. A well-crafted story, in other words, reflects reality. As such it not only refers to the events, places, people, and customs of its own world, but extends its references to the reader’s own world. Allusions to other literary works, for instance, are not imposed on the story but fit the flow of the narrative, serving to further indirectly inform the reader as to how the story is to be understood.
Interestingly, a poorly crafted story has many things in common with a well-crafted story — superficially, at least. Poorly crafted stories exhibit an overarching unity, use consistent symbolism, and reference other texts and reality in order to show that there is a relationship between the narrative world and the real world. What the poorly crafted story lacks, however, is organicity. The unity of the poorly crafted story is superimposed on its elements. For instance, objects do not become symbols by means of the convergence of action and meaning; they simply are symbolic objects. Rather than becoming immersed in the narrative world, acquainted with its characters and customs, and thereby learning how to understand the story and, thereby, differentiate symbolic objects from non-symbolic objects, one is immersed in the personal philosophy, theory, or thought-project of the author.
This makes for a poorly crafted story because it doesn’t reflect reality. In a poorly crafted story, meaning is immediately evident. The reader does not have to grapple with the significance of an object; the author immediately tells him that in every case the object in question symbolizes x or y or z. In the real world, however, we grapple with the affairs of our everyday lives, often failing to see the significance of some object or event. Over time, we learn how certain objects have affected us and, consequently, value those objects as symbols.
Note that what I’m not talking about here are those forms of literature which are supposed to be read explicitly as symbolic narratives (e.g. morality tales/plays, fables, allegories, parables, and so on). What I have in mind are stories that are supposed to reflect reality as it truly is — and these can be fiction or non-fiction.