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[...] new criticism involved a way of reading that emphasized form -- the importance of considering 'the words on the page' -- rather than factors such as the life of the author and his or her intentions, or the historical and ideological context in which the text was produced. New critics [...] thought of literary texts as 'autonomous', as self-sufficient and self-contained unities, as aesthetic objects made of words. (11)
Questions about the nature of "the self" or "a self" run throughout theoretical discussions on textuality and identity, culture and meaning (making). Write a thoughtful blog post on how you understand "the self" or "a self." Include text, as well as other media that help you to think about your "definition."
"The self" - I had always thought there was only two kinds of self/narrator in writing; first person; the protagonist is the narrator, biased, flawed, and limited; third person: the narrator is all-knowing, unbiased, and fair. It wasn't until I read what Bennett and Royle had to say about the narrator of The Catcher in the Rye that I considered the narrators are not always straightforward. They play 'literary games' as B&R put it.
ReplyDeleteJ.D. Salinger also brings up the idea of 'calling up the author' as though we are able to just call them up. So how is the author present and absent from the text? He/she is present because it is their work to begin with. Try as we might we can never rid ourselves of bias completely. The work we do will always be a product of our experiences, views and biases. The author is absent because the text is out of their hands once it is in the reader's. The reader may interpret the text in any way they wish. The author does not explain the text to the reader every step of the way.