which did you choose? why?

A Man Called OveMr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

several definitions:

fiction -

  1. something invented by the imagination or feigned specifically : an invented story

  2. fictitious literature (such as novels or short stories)

  3. a work of fiction especially a novel

  4. an assumption of a possibility as a fact irrespective of the question of its truth

  5. a useful illusion or pretense

  6. the action of feigning or of creating with the imagination

(Mirriam-Webster)

why do we read (and watch) this stuff?

The main focus of English 101 is non-fiction, in other words articles, documentaries, textbooks--factual things. We read for information, to learn about how to order a hamburger if we are goinig to France or the player stats of one of our fantasy football league picks or instructions on how to assemble the dresser from IKEA. We read about solving quadratic equations, how to make ghost peppers less hot, who the kings and queens of England were, how to raise credit scores, the things "they" don't tell you about the propositions you are considering voting on.

Reading is useful, or it can be.

Fiction, however, (just look at the defintions in the pinkish box on the left) is not real. It is made up.

David, in Brandon Sanderson's The Reckoners books, is not real.

The Mandalorian and baby Yoda are not real.

Mulan is not real. Well, wait a minute; yes she is (or was), but the Disney versions are not historically accurate, so the Mulan many of us know is not real.

But I like reading about The Reckoners and watching The Mandelorian and Mulan. I find them entertaining, fun. Maybe that is the short answer: we read (and watch) this stuff because it is entertaining; it gives us a break from the daily routine, transporting us to NewCago or outer space or ancient China. Instead of typing a sociology paper, we are fighting Epics, saving a baby who will one day become a grand master Jedi, beating the invading Huns from China.

That's fine; literature is escapist. That does not explain the endless chain of English classes, assigned "classics" (whatever those are), and all this talk of Critical Thinking. And there we might find the long answer. In any case, college/university is much about this critical thinking, which involves, among other things, puzzling things out, considering implications, locating relevant patterns, broadening personal perspective, sharing a range of experience (generally second hand). A lot of that is present in literature, fiction.

Are these two books "heavy"? Not at all; they are on the lighter side, but they do give us some things to think about (and maybe escape at the same time). Among other things, A Man Called Ove might remind us a bit of Intentional Communities, and it is hard not to connect parts of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore to Google Projects. They are not articles about Intentional Communities and Google Projects, but they share the essential human experience surrounding both. Most of us will never actually be cranky, old Swedish men, nor are we likely to find ourselve involved in a mysterious literary cabal. But one book tells us more about human interaction than a chapter from a psychology text, and the other shows more about curiosity and discovery than a chapter from a philosophy text. Fiction actaully teachers us about life, the universe, and everything (42) - yes, that is from a novel.

more real than real   from Ridley Scott's Blade Runner

Ray Bradbury, who died in 2012, was probably most famous for his futuristic novel Farenheit 451 about a world in which books were burned; reading was considered disturbing, possibly dangerous to people in power because it gave people ideas. Decades later Margaret Atwood gave us another vision of the future in which reading was forbidden for most people.

When I was much younger, in the 1960's, Ray Bradbury spoke at one of our high school assemblies. I still remember his stories about how seeing a roller coaster at Pacific Ocean Park made him think of a giant prehistoric monster that became the idea for the screenplay The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms and about how he was terrified of cars and loved to walk. He hated being cooped up inside and thought television had hypnotized America (it still has me hypnotized). In the evening he loved to walk around his neighborhood, and an incident led him to write one of his first published stories, "The Pedestrian." In the story a man is walking the sidewalks of his suburban neighborhood noting the grey glow coming from the front rooms of every home; inside familes stared at their black-and-white television screens; none spoke or showed any emotion. As he walked, a robo-cruiser pulled up; eventually he was arrested suspicous behavior and taken in for psychiatric evaluation because it was unthinkable that someone would be out walking rather than home watching television. This actually happened to him. Bradbury wasn't arrested, but in 1951, in Illinois, he was questioned by suspicious police who found it impossible to believe someone would be walking rather than watching TV. The police ordered him to go home and not to walk any more. Bradbury said this incident and story set the groundwork for Farenheit 451.

Fact became fiction.

In the book Farenheit 451 books are not only forbidden, they are burned when found. Montag, the protagonist, is a fireman. His job is to start fires, to burn any contraband books that are found. The government has decreed that books are bad because "they give people ideas."

In 1997, J.K. Rowling published the first of her Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (renamed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for American readers). The books were hugely successful, and the books much read and much loved. Not by everyone. In 2001 the movie adaptation of the film was released, and, not surprising, it was a tremendous hit and much loved. Not by everyone.

At the time I was teaching the book in my Chldren's Literature class. I remember one student coming up to me after class and telling me, "I cannot read that book; could I read a different book instead?"

"It is long, but it is not really that hard to read; Wind in the Willow is much harder, and you did fine with that."

"You don't understand. I cannot read the book because it is evil. My preacher says it should be burned."

Apparently, the preacher, who had not actually read any of the books, was telling his followers that reading these books leads to the practice of Satanic witchcraft.

"But, if that were true, there would be liiterally hundreds of millions of witches running around." In the end, I was certainly not going to try to force her to read a book she felt uncomfortable reading. I let her choose from a long list of contemporary fantasy. Soon after, breaking news showed a crowd of parents in a park in Long Beach, yes, burning piles of Harry Potter books. The burnings crossed much of America that year and continue, though sporadically.

Fiction becomes fact

a definition:

history - "A chronological record of events, as of the life or development of a people or institution, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events: a history of the Vikings" (websters.com).

If you read the definition of history above, you'd think that the word history means an account of real events, of things that actually happened presented in the way that they happened, and you'd be partially correct.

But Consider this:

Dictionaries often give more than one definition for a word; there are several for the word history. They are numbered and listed in order of most-to-least accepted: 1. is the most accepted defintion, 2. is a less-accepted definition, and so on.

The defintion of history given above is definition 2.

Here's definition 1:

1. history - "A narrative of events; a story."

So history is a story?

history and his(or her)-story

An interesting feature of speculative fiction (all fiction really) is that it's not real. Even so, it is often more real that some of the works that pass for history (texts, biographies, etc.). Consider this: when I was very young Colombus day was widely celebrated in the United States (we kids liked it because we got the day off school!); nowadays, most areas of the United States do not celebrate Colombus's discovery of America. The event didn't change; Colombus did indeed discover America (not called that yet) and brought the news back to Europe. Was he the first? Of course not. Was he a culture hero? Not if you relate the event to the indigenous people who Colombus found, enslaved, butchered in the Americas.

History changes as perceptions change. Undoubtedly the discovery and subsequent explorations/conquests of the Americas by the Spanish, Portuguese, Italians, French, English, etc. changed the nature of the world. The discoverers had a profound historical impact.

Do we perceive them the same way in the 21st century as people did when I was a child (in the 50's)? Do our history texts say the same things now and then? You might want to dig up an old history text and find out.

But how can a novel contain more truth than history when it doesn't even pretend to be factual? Novels convey themes, ideas, not just facts. The themes are relatively permanent. Atwood's far-fetched (?) image of a possible future is about greed, power, hypocrisy, repression, narrow-mindedness, cruelty. The imagined events in the book mirror actual historical and contemporary events. When we analyze fiction, we try to see the patterns and make the logical connections.

How about an example: Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale

The controversial novel The Handmaid's Tale has been much taught and discussed since it was written in 1985, and it was made into a movie and now a continuing Hulu series. If you have not read or seen it, you might want to skim the plot summary here at the book's wiki fan site (NOTE: there are spoilers, and so you might just want to stop reading when you see *SPOILER ALERT* near the end of the summary; it's up to you):

Summary of The Handmaid's Tale

If we look closely, we can't fail to see that several issues suggested in The Handmaid's Tale parallel some actual events, incidents, ideas, issues in the real world (now or in the past, here or abroad). Exploring these parallels gives us several vital topics for thought, for discussion, even for writing (those of you who are going on to English 102 will be doing quite a bit of writing about fiction).

Imagine that you were required to write a research paper on some issue or idea suggested by Atwood's novel. Consider this sample opening for a research paper discussing censorship of reading material in both The Handmaid's Tale and in 19th century U.S. history:

Ignorance is bliss. In Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale the handmaids, Marthas, and other members of the masses are kept ignorant, and this allows the repressive rulers of Gilead to remain blissful and secure. Reading and other forms of knowledge are forbidden because free communication is a threat to those in power. In his study the Commander stresses this point to Offred; at the same time he reveals that reading is still available to men of power: "What's dangerous in the hands of the multitudes, he said, is safe enough for those whose motives are ... beyond reproach" (Atwood 202). Given knowledge, the masses would become aware of the weaknesses of their government, would gain hope from knowledge of the underground movement, would possibly threaten to unite against the tyrranical rulers. This idea of keeping a slave class ignorant in order to maintain a balance of power is not new; it goes back at least as far as the earliers days of slavery in America, when slaves were forbidden to read....

In each paragraph this paper would include specific examples; some quotations would be from the novel; others would be from library sources (a history text would be a useful secondary source for the paper topic above). Whenever possible, when you discuss or write about fiction, try to relate real-life examples back to specific passages or instances from story; quote directly when you can. Even if there is no historical basis for the work, the generalized truths about life and human nature (these are called "themes") allow readers to connect with the characters and events. For example, a general truth that is exemplified in Atwood's novel is that some people wish to control others. Another generalized truth that is expressed by characters and actions in the novel is that sometimes people in power make excuses for inhumane behavior, and so on. Readers can easily relate these themes to examples from their own lives or from other real-world events.

So although fiction is not really real, it is often based on real-world incidents, and it does suggest the sorts of things that inform the human condition, that deal with the problems and triumphs associated with human nature throughout human history. When analyzing fiction your job is to find out how the work relates to the world and to authentic experience, often to your own life.

and, no

You will not be writing about The Reckoners or The Mandalorian or Mulan or The Handmaid's Tale in this class. You will also not be writing about any of the Harry Potter books or Ray Bradbury's works. Those are just examples. You will be discussing either A Man Called Ove or Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore :)