I read a lot of books, but I’ve noticed that more often than not, I’m just reading the plot and characters without looking deeper into the themes.
I’ll watch/read reviews of different stuff online and they’ll notice all kinds of messages or themes that I didn’t notice at all. I guess how could I train my brain to notice symbolism and things like that in books?
I’m also not in school anymore so I can’t just “focus more in English class” lol
by AltAccountAlt2231
3 Comments
The thing about symbolism is it’s just references to other stuff. The more you read, the more you’ll notice bits of other stuff in whatever you’re reading now.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it, considering the amount of interviews out there of fans telling authors “oh man the symbolism of this bit was so profound” and the author replies “oh i never thought of it like that”
First off, start from the position that everything that’s in the book is there for a reason*, then ask yourself why it’s there.
It’s really that simple. Why did the author put something in the book and keep it there, why did they say it in the way they said it, and can you see any patterns in the answers.
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*In order to make it into the final version the author must have been sufficiently happy with its presence to survive revisions, redrafting, rewrites, and the editor.
That is soo me, sometimes I can only describe the book in the way it made me feel, and end up feeling stupid infront of other readers