BACKGROUND:
E.M. Forster’s A Room With a View came into my hands for the first
time this year, and I was instantly captivated by it. Perhaps because of what
was going on in my life, perhaps because of who I am, or perhaps just because
it’s a hell of a story, I experienced a genuine emotional response. Because of
this,
I have become completely enthralled with a concept we often think about but
rarely explore: why does literature (particularly fiction, in my exploration)
have the ability to affect a reader in a way that transcends the text itself?
After A Room With a View, I have become fervently interesting in pursuing
why and/or how a work of fiction can significantly affect a reader (be it
emotionally, mentally, ideologically), if not only basing my response on my
personal experience. This does not seem to be an original concept; my research
thus far suggests that many have looked into asking the same question, coming up
with cultural, biological and evolutionary theories. Though these are
interesting notions, I’m more interested in the psychological aspect and the
emotional response.
CURRENT PROJECT:
At this point, Daniel and I have discussed my re-reading A Room With a
View, keeping a sort of journal of response as I do so. This will enable me
to capture my emotional responses to the novel as I move through it. I will also
be reading and consulting other texts that will provide a deeper understanding
of the way fiction (and the reader!) works.
PLAN FOR THE NEXT TWO MONTHS:
My goal for this semester is to polish the concept of my project,
absorbing as much information from secondary sources as possible, as well as
developing a more intimate relationship with Forster’s novel. First, I need to
re-read the novel, taking special care to note my reactions to it. Then I want
to incorporate the information I’ve researched in order to compile a legitimate
example of how literature affects the reader – the reader being me.
IDEA ABOUT HOW TO PRESENT:
Ultimately, my goal with this project is to develop and hopefully be able
to shed new light on how a work of fiction can affect and perhaps change a
reader, using myself and my experience as a template. I feel that this will be
best presented in the form of an essay, essentially, backing my arguments and
sentiments with my research and other legitimate sources.
TENTATIVE BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Flesch, William. Comeuppance. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008.
Forster, E. M. A Room With a View. New York: Signet Classic, 1986.
Forster, E. M. Aspects of the Novel. Harcourt, Inc., 1927.
Iser, Wolfgang. The Act of Reading. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins
University Press, 1978.
White, Hayden. “The Value of Narrativity in the Representation of Reality.”
Critical Inquiry 7.1 (1980): 5-27.
(Plus more, I am sure)