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Table of Contents | Printable Version | Barron's Booknotes COMMENT ON THE STUDY OF LITERATURE The study of literature is not like the study of math or science, or even history. While those disciplines are based largely upon fact, the study of literature is based upon interpretation and analysis. There are no clear-cut answers in literature, outside of the factual information about an author's life and the basic information about setting and characterization in a piece of literature. The rest is a highly subjective reading of what an author has written; each person brings a different set of values and a different background to the reading. As a result, no two people see the piece of literature in exactly the same light, and few critics agree on everything about a book or an author.
In this set of PinkMonkey® Literature Notes for a well-known
piece of literature, we at PinkMonkey.com have tried to give an objective
literary analysis based upon the information actually found in the novel,
book, or play. In the end, however, it is an individual interpretation,
but one that we feel can be readily supported by the information that
is presented in the guide. In your course of literature study, you or
your professor/teacher may come up with a different interpretation of
the mood or the theme or the conflict. Your interpretation, if it can
be logically supported with information contained within the piece of
literature, is just as correct as ours. So is the interpretation of your
teacher or professor.
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