tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522590442951738.post4145779010728989776..comments2023-06-12T11:31:14.038-04:00Comments on Armored Assaults on Hot Fudge Sundaes: Atreides: They're just like Us!Fionahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11488361241256661262noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522590442951738.post-78325425878798260612009-01-08T00:45:00.000-05:002009-01-08T00:45:00.000-05:00My father is a writing teacher. Primarily fiction,...My father is a writing teacher. Primarily fiction, occasionally creative nonfiction. And when you're thinking from the perspective of a writer (or, trying to convey the fundamentals of writing as a teacher), you are concerned about making your reader relate to your characters. Whether they empathize, sympathize, or are just sickly fascinated, that relationship is essential, and no strong bond is formed without some sense of "I can identify with this [person] [scenario]." Which is not to say that all writers through time have always written with that goal in mind. But it is to suggest that the urge of the novelist and the urge of the critic to make something relatable comes from the same place. Your reader must develop a relationship to what they're reading for it to become meaningful. It may come off sounding like a justification, but I don't think that it's as simple as saying there is a "relevance threshold" for good literature.<BR/><BR/>You come across this argument a LOT in the visual arts. Many people feel that contemporary art is elitist because it is not emotive, or easily understood/related to (people felt the same way about the many faces of Modernism, and Impressionism, and Romanticism, and... and... and...). And many artists forget that success may not be in the easy, obvious, readily understood, but success is rooted in a rich viewer experience.<BR/><BR/>Hrm, I could go on about this subject too. It's a good one for chewing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522590442951738.post-51870023014546854112009-01-07T22:29:00.000-05:002009-01-07T22:29:00.000-05:00Also, the Greeks are weird.Also, the Greeks are weird.David Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08357058565577738252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522590442951738.post-23048241269523736362009-01-07T22:27:00.000-05:002009-01-07T22:27:00.000-05:00That is quite a blog post you made there. Also, I ...That is quite a blog post you made there. <BR/><BR/>Also, I think some relevance to modern life may be a part of the boundary between history/anthropology and literature. When the text and its contents become too distant, too firmly entrenched in their original context, they lose literary value and begin functioning more as objects of historical/anthropological study.David Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08357058565577738252noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7522590442951738.post-80223886016885119442009-01-07T12:33:00.000-05:002009-01-07T12:33:00.000-05:00Well, I think that paragraph is talking about the ...Well, I think that paragraph is talking about the inevitability of the curse of Atreus -- if someone kills your daughter you can't just forgive them and move on. You have to revenge yourself, but by DOING that you're committing an unforgivable crime. It passes from family member to family member, thus all the talk about inherited disease. And once you kill a family member, you're cursed, even if they deserved it. But they can't NOT do it.Fionahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11488361241256661262noreply@blogger.com