Monday, August 13, 2012
A Brief Description of Close Reading
I know that you are seniors and have more than a passing acquaintance with the skill of close reading. But summer has a way of putting these skills way in the back of our mental closets. So here is a brief description of close reading from our friends at Harvard: http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~wricntr/documents/CloseReading.html
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I would like to begin my discussion with Charles Dickens' excerpts from his book "The Street Children of London, " chapters one and two, "The streets-Morning" and "The Streets-Night." From chapter one I am going to discuss Dickens' play on the ambiguity of the word "mail" at the middle of page forty-nine. In this scene Dickens or the omniscient narrator is describing all the harsh sounds of a morning at the market place and then the omniscient character proceeds by describing the scene when the mail truck is in passing while two women servants are gazing at Mr. Todd's young Man because of all his handsomeness and the omniscient narrator says "but really for the purpose of catching a glimpse of Mr. Todd's young man, who being fond of mails, but more of females, takes a short look at the mails, and a long look at the girls, much to the satisfaction of all parties concerned." This quote means that Mr. Todd's young man's sexuality is being addressed because of the unclear meaning of the word "mail." (49)
ReplyDeleteLastly I am going to address a theme from Dickens' second chapter within his book, which is his advocation for women's rights. In this scene the setting is on a chilled winters night when a homeless woman attempts to sing with her baby in her arms wrapped in a thin shawl, with hopes for some pocket change. The omniscient character says "the weak tumultuous voice tells a fearful tale of want and famishing, and the feeble singer of this roaring song may turn away, only to die of cold and hunger." (56). This quotation means that this helpless woman is crying out for help and no one will help her and her hungry child. The narrator says that there is nothing left but for them to die a hungry and bitter death with their cries heard, but intentionally unanswered. I think this passage is brief but significant to Dickens' voice as an activist of women's rights, because this reveals a double meaning for the title of this passage which is things that are part of the night. The night is symbolic for death as it relates to this women's empty stomach and bootless cries for assistance.