Introduction to Chapter 13
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Instructor's Notes
To download handouts of the Learning by Doing activities and checklists that appear in this unit, and to access lecture slides, teaching tips, and Instructor's Manual materials, go to the "Instructor Resources" folder at the end of this unit.
13
Responding to Literature
As countless readers know, reading fiction gives pleasure and delight. Whether you read Stephen King or Stephen Crane, you can be swept up into an imaginative world where you journey to distant lands and meet exotic people. You may also meet characters like yourself with familiar as well as new ways of viewing life. By sharing the experiences of literary characters, you gain insight into your own problems and tolerance of others.
Why Responding to Literature Matters
In a College Course
You apply methods of literary analysis to spot themes, images, symbols, and figures of speech in history speeches, political essays, or business case studies.
You respond to plays in your theater class, novels in cultural studies, essays in philosophy, or poetry in Literature 2.
In the Workplace
You use literary analysis as you critique the characters, plot, setting, point of view, and theme for your company’s advertising campaign.
In Your Community
You support the library’s story hour for your children, the community theater’s plays, and the hospital’s journal project for wounded veterans.
When have you responded to a short story, novel, poem, or play? In what situations might you respond to literature in future writing?