How to Study a Novel: A Students’ Guide PDF
Preview How to Study a Novel: A Students’ Guide
HOWTOSTUDYANOVEL HOW TO STUDY A NOVEL: A STUDENTS' GUIDE John Peck M ©JohnPeck 1983 Allrightsreserved. Nopartofthispublicationmaybe reproducedortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans, withoutpermission. Firstpublished1983by THE MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Companiesandrepresentatives throughouttheworld ISBN978-0-333-34868-0 ISBN978-1-349-06718-3(eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-06718-3 TypesetbyOxprintLtdOxford Thispaperbackeditionofthisbookissoldsubject tothe conditionthatitshallnot,bywayoftradeorotherwise, belent,resold,hiredout, orotherwisecirculatedwithout thepublisher'spriorconsent,inanyformofbindingorcover .otherthanthatinwhichitispublishedandwithoutasimilar conditionincludingthisconditionbeingimposedonthe subsequentpurchaser. Contents Acknowledgements VI Preface Vll 1. Tacklingthe text Novelsdiscussed: Waverlry, byWalterScott SonsandLovers, byD.H. Lawrence 2. Constructinga basicanalysis 26 Novelsdiscussed: MansfieldPark,byJaneAusten JaneEyre, byCharlotteBronte 3. Lookingat aspectsofanovel 40 Novel discussed: ThePortraitofaLady, byHenryJames 4. Copingwithdifferentkinds ofnovel 56 Novelsdiscussed:APortraitoftheArtistasaYoung Man, byJamesJoyce MartinChuz:.zlewit, byCharlesDickens 5. Tacklinga long anddifficult novel 76 Novelsdiscussed: Middlemarch, byGeorge Eliot BleakHouse, byCharlesDickens 6. Writingan essay 91 7. Writinga morecomplicatedessay 105 Furtherreading 1I3 Acknowledgements THE author and publishers wish to thankJonathan Cape Ltd. (on behalfofthe Executors oftheJamesJoyce Estate) forpermission to quoteextractsfrom APortraitoftheArtistasaYoungMan. ToAlison Preface ONEofthe most commonexperiences ofstudentsofEnglish Literature istoread a novel and thoroughlyenjoyit, buttobeat an almosttotal loss tosaywhat the book isreallyaboutorwhatthings initare most worthyofnote.Thenaturaltendencythenistorelyonguidancefrom teachers or critics, but this is a poor substitute for constructing a personal response. Developing an individual reading can, however, seem extraordinarily difficult to the average student, even to the studentwho is'goodat English'.For itisadifficultywhich isnotdue toanylackofintelligenceonthepartofthereader,buttoinexperience ofthe nature ofcriticism. Literary criticism is an activity, like any other, withits own rules and well-establishedmodes ofconduct. But theserulesareseldom,ifever, explainedtothenewcomer.Heorsheis likely to be thrown inat the deepend,and, inaconfused sort ofway, from the observation ofothers, expected to establish what the rules are. What this book attempts to do is to set out some of the rules for studyinga novel-or, at any rate,oneversion ofthe niles. Itisindeed the varietyofapproachesandmethods thatexist thatmakes teachers reluctant to recommend any specific approach. But some general guidance about how to approach a novel must be better than none, and itisin this spiritthatthe methodsuggestedhere isoffered. Ido notclaimthatthis bookwillmake youan expertnovelcritic:if anything, it can be compared todrivinglessons.Theseteach you the basics of handling a car, and how to proceed with reasonable assurance, buteven whenyou have passedyourtest there isstillalot to learn. This book only attempts toillustratesome basic techniques of handling a novel, although towards the end I do make some suggestionsabouthow youcanadvancefurther. Thecriticismthis book isopentoisthatitattempts tosubstitutea mechanicalformofstudyforthe enjoyableexperienceofreading.And it isperfectlytruethatthe best way tofindoutaboutnovelsistoread as many as possible. But the pressureofstudyingseveralsubjectsat school, as well as outsidedistractions, means thatvery fewschool or universitystudents have read as muchas they feelthey shouldhave. In addition, studying novels for exams is a somewhat different activityfromreadingnovels forpleasure, and does demanda certain sortofdisciplinedattentionwhich thegeneral readerisnot obligedto bring to literature. A more positive defence of the approach recom mended hereisthatitshouldnot proveconstraining.In some ways it is no more than a frame, in which it should be possible toarticulate clearlyagenuine responsetoanynovel. Awordaboutthe formatofthe first fivechapters: ineach chapterI discuss individual novels because I think thattoomuchlayingdown ofabstractprinciplesisunlikely toprovehelpful. Rules only begin to makesensewhenseeninoperation.Butthismeans,ifyouaregoing to find thesechaptersatall useful, thatyoumayhave toreadanalysesof novels that you have not read, and have no immediate intention of reading. Ineachexample,however,the methodemployedismeantto be relevant to many novels, not just to the novel at the centre ofthe discussion; in the first chapter, forinstance,you should find that the approach adopted with Waver/try and Sons andLovers could easily be adapted to the novelyou arecurrentlystudying. Thosewhohavehelped me mostin the writingofthis bookaremy past and present students, who have, without realising it, provided me, inseminardiscussions,withmuchofthe materialusedhere. Iam also very grateful to Michael Quinn for his close readingofthe final draft, and his many suggestions for improvements. My thanks to Sheila Morganand SallyJoryfortheirtyping. And, finally, a special thank you to my wife, Alison, and children, Rachel, Matthew and Tom, for all the obviousreasons. JOHNPECK UniversityCollege, Cardiff 1 Tacklingthe text Novelsdiscussed: Waverley,bySir WalterScott,published 1814 SonsandLovers,byD.H.Lawrence,published 1913 I IAMastudent,atschool,collegeoruniversity,andhave beentoldthat the next bookwearegoing tolookat isWaverley,bySirWalterScott. I haveheardofScott,although theonly thingIknowabouthim isthat he was Scottish, but I have never heard of Waverley. But, being a conscientious student, I decide to read the novel before the classes begin,and, moreover, I hope to work out myown viewofwhatit is about. Reading the book, I discover that it features a young man calledWaverleywho fallsinwithagroupofScottishrebels. At times itisvery exciting,and movesalongveryquickly,butatothertimesit seems awfully wordy and slow. I enjoyed it, and think it might be about . . . However, it is at this stage that I become very uncertain what to say,as Icannotdecidewhataspectsofthebookaremostimportant.I lack any sort of confidence that the judgements I make can be accurateor worthwhile.And Ifeelparticularlydepressedasthisdoes seem a relatively straightforward novel. I have tried my best, but I now decide to wait for lectures, when my teacher will guide me through the novel. Obviously this is unsatisfactory. I should be able to produce my own responsewithoutimmediatelyhavingtorelyonhelpfromanother person. But I lack anysortofmethod thatwillenableme todevelop my own view: I havelotsofhalf-definedideas about the novel, but I can'tmarshalthemintoany sortofpattern.Partoftheproblemisthat the novel issolong thatIam overwhelmedbysheerbulk. Ijustdonot know where to begin. But this is where I can start to establish a method. 2 HOWTOSTUDYA NOVEL As lengthis a problem, it may help ifI decide to concentrateon a fewshort passages in the novel, and try towork outfrom these toan impression ofthe work as a whole. No doubt thereare limitations to suchanapproach,and itisgoingtohave novalue at allunless Ihave read the book beforehand, but it does seem a way of making a systematicstartoncomingtotermswith the text. Furtherideas about a criticalmethodcandevelopas Igoalong. Havingdecided totry this approach, myfirsttask istoselect useful passages. The logical thing to do would seem to be to start at the beginning,perhapswith alookat thefirst pageofthe novel,and then let my response to the openingdetermine my choiceofwhere tolook next. My hope, ofcourse, is that the opening will introduce themes and ideas which will provecentral to the work. So; I turn to the first pageofWaverley. There,however,Iencounteran immediateproblem: the first chapteris entitled 'Introductory', and the openingdoes not seem very illuminating. But this a problem that may often occur, particularly when the novel does not start with characters: in their absence it can prove difficult to find anything to hang on to. The answer is to turn on a few pages, until I find a passage that does present one or more ofthe leading figures. I can now formulate my first rule: Step1:Afterreadingtheworkasawhole,takeacloselookattheopeningpage ofthenovel, or; ifthisproves unilluminating, atapassagefairly nearthe beginningfeaturingoneormoreoftheprincipalcharacters Following this procedure, I discover that, after his introductory chapter, Scottmoves on quicklytoEdwardWaverley, the hero ofthe novel, and I could choose anyofagreat numberofpassagesdescrib ingthis youngman.TheextractIselectisjustunderapageinlength: thatis,longenoughtosaysomethingsubstantial,butshortenoughto allowme toexploreitinsome detail: His powers ofapprehension were so uncommonly quick, as almost to resemble intuition, and the chiefcare ofhis preceptorwas toprevent him, asa sportsman would phraseit,fromoverrunninghisgame,thatis,fromacquiringhisknowledgein a slight, flimsy, and inadequate manner. And here the instructor had to combat anotherpropensitytoooftenunitedwith brilliancy offancyand vivacityoftalent, that indolence, namely, ofdisposition,which can only bestirred bysome strong motiveofgratification,and which renouncesstudyassoonascuriosityisgratified, thepleasureofconqueringthefirstdifficultiesexhausted,and thenoveltyofpursuit at an end. Edward would throw himselfwith spirit upon any classical authorof whichhispreceptorproposedtheperusal,makehimselfmasterofthestylesofarasto
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