Sensation of Literature

The Sensation of Literature

Eng 125

Literature paints a picture of an imaginary world for the reader and the author. Literature has a way of replacing the world as we know it from a living, breathing world into a world that is created in the mind of the author through imagination (Clugston, 2010). Sometimes theses creations can be closely related to the current experiences of reader. There are many different types of literature, but romance, erotic and urban novels are my favorite. In order to enjoy reading the different types of literature an individual must have the ability to connect personally to the material in which they choose to read. It requires letting go of things at hand and engaging in imaginary things. It actually requires us to believe that an imaginary world is possible and to engage in what Coleridge (1817) so famously called "the willing suspension of disbelief for the moment."(Clugston, 2010).

Personally, when I engage in the type of readings I enjoy, I look to feel the emotion of the characters. I tend to place myself in the story and actually become the character. By doing this I receive great pleasure and excitement. I sometimes compare particular situation to my own; by engaging in such a way, I gain solutions to real life problems that I may be experiencing at that period (some of the time but not always). I also choose my literature according to how I am feeling at the present time, this is the only way I can enter that fantasy of imagination.

For instance, when reading the urban novels that involve life of the streets in the urban areas, I can relate to those personally because I grew up in an urban environment. I have lost friends to gun violence, I have friends who have been molested, and I've known people who have sold drugs. I get lost in these types of novels because this is what's familiar to me. As for romance and erotic novels they move me in an entirely different way because they fall in another category which gives me pleasure when reading. The reason being is, some novels portray picture perfect relationship that I wish I was involved in; some portray relationships with issues but shows no one is perfect and its could still have an happy ending. These novels use of symbols are what makes the reading explosive. The writer's primary purpose is hidden or buried in symbols so the author sets out to interpret a puzzling phenomenon or human condition; this requires careful intellectual inquiry (Clugston, 2010).

The analytical approach that I used in my readings was, "reader-response approach". In the reader-response critical approach, the primary focus falls on the reader and the process of reading rather than on the author or the text (www.cnr.edu).

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