Description
critical analysis of literature:
- Cultural artifacts (including literature) are shaped by the society in which they are created, and those artifacts in turn play a role in shaping the culture of society. (The more popular a particular artifact is, the more it tends to shape the surrounding culture.)
- All cultural artifacts serve to reinforce some of the existing values of the society in which they are produced, while questioning or challenging other cultural values.
- The intended meaning or goals of an artist/author/creator of an artifact are irrelevant to the points above; regardless of what the author may be trying to say, effective literary analysis involves analyzing what the piece of literature actually says/does rather than speculating about the author’s intended meaning. (Trying to get inside the author’s head is called the “intentional fallacy”–critical readers are better off looking at what a piece of writing tells us about society/culture rather than a particular individual.)
With all of this in mind, take a few minutes to think about a piece of fiction you have enjoyed in the past few years. In what ways did that piece of fiction reinforce social/cultural norms? In what ways did that piece of fiction challenge or question social/cultural norms?
THE PIECE OF FICTION I AM USING FOR THIS ASSIGNMENT IS ESPERANZA RISING BY PAM MU?OZ RYAN PLEASE JUST WRITE 4 OR 5 SENTENCES EXPLAINING A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE BOOK AND HOW ESPERANZA RISING REINFORCES SOCIAL/CULTURAL NORMS.
