Appreciating Literature You Don’t Like
⋮ Audio version below
Sometimes a fictional work immediately resonates with you. Maybe it speaks to your own experiences or shows you new ones in such a compelling way that you can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe the characters are likeable or the message is so important that you want to share the story with your friends. Some stories you might just like. Literary critic and author Henry James claimed, “Nothing, of course, will ever take the place of the good old fashion ‘liking’ a work of art, or not liking it.” This, he stated, is the primitive and ultimate test of art.
Hopefully, most of the works in this text will pass this test, but not all will. Inevitably, there will be some stories that you won’t enjoy, but you will still need to read them carefully and be prepared to discuss them in class. Here are some questions and ideas to consider when you are faced with reading and interpreting a short story that you just don’t like.
Do you dislike the story because of its historical era?
Many of the stories in chapter three of this anthology were written in the nineteenth century, when authors embraced different literary conventions focused on lengthy details and description. Contemporary authors write in a more accessible style, so these early works can be difficult to explore. Take your time with these short stories. Try to read the text once on the surface level to make sure you understand what is actually going on in the plot. Then read it again with a focus on analyzing the literary elements and the overall purpose of the text. You may find that the underlying message of the story still resonates today.
Do you dislike the story because it has a difficult message?
Many authors write to raise awareness about problems facing society and to share these messages with a broader audience. Being confronted with these realities can be upsetting, but it is a necessary part of becoming a thoughtful and educated reader (and person). Ralph Ellison’s “A Party Down by the Square” is an example of a brutal short story that provides a graphic description of a lynching. It is extremely difficult to read, but an important memorial to a horrific practice that was once common in America, and whose legacy continues today. It might be helpful to jot down your thoughts as you are reading in order to organize your responses to these challenging but important texts.
Do you dislike the story because you don’t relate to it at all?
Some stories are challenging to read because the topic doesn’t interest you or seems so completely outside of your own experiences that it is hard to interpret or discuss. Literature can serve as a mirror to reflect and validate your own experiences, but often it is a window into other lives and ways of understanding the world. Even if the plot of the story doesn’t interest you, try to approach each text with an open mind and understand that it might be relevant to other readers for valid reasons. There is probably some new idea or perspective you can glean from the story.
Do you dislike the story because you relate to it too much?
Some stories can be difficult to read because they portray challenging or painful parts of your own life. While it can be comforting to read about characters with similar experiences to you, it can be draining to respond analytically to these works when they bring up so many raw emotions. Your own experiences form how you analyze a text, but you never need to disclose personal connections to a work of art in class or in your essays. You can always take a formalist approach to analyzing literature and focus on the literary elements of the story in class. If a short story brings up painful memories, please know that there are many campus resources available to help support you outside of class.
Do you dislike the story because it is...a terrible story?
It’s always a possibility that the story is poorly written, or overly esoteric and confusing. Not every story is a classic in the making, especially the 21st century short stories in chapter five. Sometimes it is possible to learn a lot from shoddy short stories, and they can be really interesting to discuss in class. If you think the author should have passed on publishing, feel free to share your ideas! As always, just make sure that you have textual evidence to support your argument.
It’s okay if you don’t like every story in this anthology (the editors don’t). However, it is important to approach each text with an open mind and to read each story carefully, and more than once. You may be surprised by what you find.