I am a rereader.
There are times when I don’t understand a passage, chapter, or even a
whole book if I don’t reread. I don’t
know if it’s because I read too fast for me to do any serious processing or if
I just miss what’s important the first time around. But I reread for other reasons. Sometimes people reread for pleasure. I’ve reread almost all of the books in the Redwall series simply because I love the
books, and there are over ten books, every book at least 300 pages, in that
series. There are also passages I reread
because they’ve moved me in some way: frighten, enlighten, sadden, anger,
frustrate, confuse, elate. Near the end
of the book Grapes of Wrath, there
was a short passage which paralleled the rotting of unpicked/dropped fruit to
dying people. It actually scared me to
read it, but I reread it multiple times before I moved on. Don’t think this is strange; how many times
did your parents reread the headlines that said, “Twin Towers Destroyed” in unreal
fear? Or the people in 1912 in shock when
they read the headlines in the papers, “Titanic Goes Down”? I also reread to check written work. This may sound pointless to bring up since
this is obvious, but it is also a very important point. Count how many times you reread your blog and
posts. I’ve already reread this blog at
least five times before this sentence, and I’m going to reread it at least one
more time before I post it. We probably
reread without even thinking about it; we just don’t think of it as analytical
class-work when we reread our favorite passage in a book or reread something
weird on a billboard or magazine. Rereading
is very important, and will be even more as we move on to more advanced
Language Arts classes such as AP Literature.
Maggie,
ReplyDeleteI love that you are a re-reader! I think this idea of "slowing down" that you mention is really important. That is exactly why we have you blog about the work, do DE notes, etc. These techniques slow us down so we can "chew on" the work (literarly ruminate!). It is in that slowing down that real meaning is created and discovered. I know the passage you are talking about exactly. I re-read it myself about 4 days ago. It horrifies me everytime!
Mac
Maggie,
ReplyDeleteI may not be a rereader as much as the next but I do tend to reread passages that incite a certain feeling within me. I have not made it to that passage yet in The Grapes of Wrath but I have noticed I tend to reread more passages now especially in this book when Steinbeck uses the chapters written in third person and compare different aspects of the book vaguely. I too reread for pleasure though. I like the point you brought up that we reread things more often than what we think in everyday reading. We reread what we write, headline titles, highway signs, and many, many more. We reread all the time but most of the time not for literary/analysis purposes.
Amber
Amber, it's really interesting that you brought up rereading for the purposes of reliving a feeling. I think that is a common thing but that most people don't really think about it; they don't realize it. Often times we reread a book that keeps us on edge and we like the excitement. That excitement and suspense may last for a few reads, but after awhile, the feelings becomes old or even evaporate because you already know what's going to happen. So more times than not, I think rereading for a feeling can leave a reader dissapointed. Unless, however, they reread and notice something new which can give them a new burst of excitement; but even that won't last forever.
DeleteHi Maggie! I'm really happy that you brought up rereading due to shock. It's always a surprise when a book sneaks up on you and suddenly doesn't make any sense, and going back a few pages to figure out what happens is almost a little thrilling sometimes - part of the magic, I suppose. And being confused for a little is part of the fun, and I relish it when maybe a book skips five years in the future (I'm thinking of Dune by Frank Herbert in particular) with no warning, so going back to read over what happened before the fast-forward and how that would have directly affected the future is very important in understanding the story as a whole. And you're right, I wouldn't have considered checking over what I've already written as an actual form of rereading, but it's something we do almost every time we write (or at least I hope most of us do). But what I've noticed people have failed to mention is that sometimes rereading does nothing; I'll occasionally even find myself reading the same line over and over if I'm thinking about something else or I'm not really interested in what I'm reading, which I think happens to everyone at some point. So the small points you mentioned, although mostly thought of as just part of our daily lives, are important to mention when considering the concept of rereading as a whole, and I'm glad you voiced these occurrences.
ReplyDeleteMaggie, I am so happy that you said you are a re-reader. I reread and sometimes I choose to reread the longest books. Not so much because they puzzle me but because, as you said, they shock me. The depth and the context of some books can be so hard to grasp it takes more than one time. I also know the passage you mentioned and I had to reread it a few times too. I think that sometimes it is nice just to slow down and enjoy a book. I have to confess that prior to this summer I had already read Hamlet a few times, it is my favorite Shakespeare play, and now I saw things I had never even noticed before. Rereading may be a pain at times but you can find so much you never thought was there to begin with.
ReplyDelete