In case you don't know, 
The Lottery is a short story of a village that holds a lottery. The winner of the lottery is stoned to death, but you don't know that until the end of the story.
Oops, I just spoiled the story for you. Damn.
Anyways, after I finished reading The Lottery, my first thought was "What the hell was that?". I cannot STAND books without a happy, or at least semi-happy ending. The real world doesn't always have a happy ending, but that doesn't mean you can't write a story with one. What do they expect me to do with a crappy ending? Learn a lesson?
Man, I hate learning lessons.
That's also why I don't want to read 1984, Animal Farm, The Grapes of Wrath, or basically any story that has won any book award ever. Because they have disappointing endings. And that angers me. (Yes, I checked the plot synopsis of all three stories on Wikipedia. Because I'm like that.)
~The More You Didn't Need to Know.
29 Comments
You sound like the kind of person I don’t particularly like.
The kind who can’t take drama.
I read all those books except Grapes of Wrath, on a side note, Animal Farm was a great book, written by George Orwell, it had an allegorical meaning to it, and was meant to bash communism.
The kind who can’t take drama.
Oh yeah, I hate that too. Down with the drama llamas! 🙁
Did you read “The Tell Tale Heart?”
The kind who can’t take drama.
Oh yeah, I hate that too. Down with the drama llamas! 🙁
You’re not gonna like reading some people’s blogs huh?
Dude, the Lottery was a great story.
Althought i have to agree with you on the 1984 thing. I hated that book, not because of the sad ending (actually, the ending is left open to interpretation, we had a huge discussion about whether Winston died or not in my English class), but because I dont enjoy book about the government and dystopias and such.
I know why people write those kinds of stories.
So students in English classes will learn to over-analyze everything, trying to find the “theme” and discover “artistic unity”.
.___.
I too dislike bad endings, but that doesn’t mean some of them were not good.
The kind who can’t take drama.
No, it’s not about drama. Y’all will discover that all those books that won awards and such and are recognized as part of the literary cannon don’t care about plot at all. Hate to break it to you. The beauty comes from their prose, their symbolism, their message, etc., and the way it all relates.
My classic example is a book called Ms. Dalloway. Here’s the entire plot of the book: Some dude comes back from India (it’s set in early 1900’s Britain), and visits some old friend he used to like. Then, he goes to her party. That’s it. And yet, so much is said in that book. I really enjoyed it. Pride and Prejudice isn’t considered one of the greatest novels of all time for its plot. There are only so many ways you can tell boy meets girl, boy and girl go through problem, and boy and girl come out together before every story’s just a slight twist of another. What makes a great story isn’t the story itself, but the way it’s told.
So students in English classes will learn to over-analyze everything, trying to find the “theme” and discover “artistic unity”.
.___.
You are so right that my head asploded from your rightness.
So students in English classes will learn to over-analyze everything, trying to find the “theme” and discover “artistic unity”.
.___.
You are so right that my head asploded from your rightness.
Don’t try to win points with my penguin. >=O
What grade are you in Smartguy? I read this book just a week ago (Ninth Grade).
You wise guy you you.
This is the number 1 reason why I didn’t take English Literature: The freaking over analysis.
You wise guy you you.
This is the number 1 reason why I didn’t take English Literature: The freaking over analysis.
Yes, because all of y’all are infinitely more wise than the people who devote their lives to studying this stuff. You know better than them how deep a book is.
Pro tip: Most of them are deeper than you’ll ever know.
The Lottery reminded me of the movie “Wicker Man”. Or was it the other way around?
Animal Farm, never read it. George Orwell? 1984. I
I don’t understand the point of over-analysis unless you’re one of those people who actually do it for a job. Like teachers.
I read books because they’re interesting, eye-catching, exciting of intriguing, not what people think about it or stuff like that. I read it for what it is, not for what it breaks down to. Because like food entering the body, it will eventually break down in its own process.
I read books because they’re interesting, eye-catching, exciting of intriguing, not what people think about it or stuff like that. I read it for what it is, not for what it breaks down to. Because like food entering the body, it will eventually break down in its own process.
Calling it over-analysis is a logical fallacy (poisoning the well). Calling it over-analysis like it’s a fact suggests that no matter what someone else says about it, it’s still unnecessary . Again, the point of these books, what “they are,” is in the complicated details. It’s in the syntax, the diction, the irony, the symbolism, the point of view, the type of discourse, etc. That last simile seems grossly inappropriate. Everyone in here admits they don’t get half of what their teachers are saying because they just want to read it normally. They clearly don’t come to a deeper understanding eventually by reading it normally.
The term everyone keeps labeling as “over-analysis” is actually called close reading, by the way.
1984. I wasn’t expecting much, but it was actually very good. Best text I had to read out of all of them in English. I kept the book after school finished. 😀
Then again, I read it in year 12, but if I had to read it in any grade younger than that I definitely wouldn’t have that opinion. *shifty eyed look*
No, the thing that turned me off was not because the teacher was being completely incomprehensible or anything… But it was just… So… Freaking… Boring! I’m not saying that E Lit. is a bad subject, I’m sure it’s just as sophisticated as any others, but I don’t like it because the lessons I had bored me to death.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love to reread books over and over again just to squeeze more juice out of it. But seriously, sometimes I get the impression that E Lit. is:
No, the thing that turned me off was not because the teacher was being completely incomprehensible or anything… But it was just… So… Freaking… Boring! I’m not saying that E Lit. is a bad subject, I’m sure it’s just as sophisticated as any others, but I don’t like it because the lessons I had bored me to death.
Don’t get me wrong, I still love to reread books over and over again just to squeeze more juice out of it. But seriously, sometimes I get the impression that E Lit. is:
Well, I guess it was just a bad word choice. Over-analysis implies it is more analysis than necessary, which is simply not the case. I don’t have a problem with you thinking it’s boring. I think most art is boring, but I recognize it’s worthwhile and deserves the attention it gets (I assume the same holds true for you and literature).
Yep thazright. 🙂
If I’m an artist (actually I am, just a wannabe), though, I want to be looking for some respect for my serious art skillz rather than mere attention. :9
Edit:
Just came across this pretty piece of art. You just can’t find
it boring, haha!
It’s deep man. I also don’t like stories without happy endings. But I would enjoy it for the literary juiciness.
So students in English classes will learn to over-analyze everything, trying to find the “theme” and discover “artistic unity”.
.___.
The Fountainhead had a neat little shoutout to the reader about that.
Guy Francon asks Peter “Why do they say I am a literary genius for saying something I never said?” (He just read some literary praise about something he said, about how it was so beautiful and inspiring and a meaning totally different from what he meant.
Yeah, yeah, I didn’t quote directly.
I’ve had to stop myself from reading or watching stories with sad endings because they have the ability to make me extremely depressed. Cough, nana, cough. So usually I find as many spoilers as I can for a story or show or movie before I start it. I just enjoy happy endings so much more. I can handle depression and drama once in a while, but it just tends to put me in a sour mood.
I think the only depressing, dramatic movie I’ve ever been able to watch repeatedly and enjoy was Pans Labyrinth, but probably because it was a happy ending disguised as a depressing one? If that makes any sense.
I think the only depressing, dramatic movie I’ve ever been able to watch repeatedly and enjoy was Pans Labyrinth, but probably because it was a happy ending disguised as a depressing one? If that makes any sense.
yeahmetoo. I wonder why.
I liked Pan’s Labyrinth too. For the ending. Though the nose smashing thing is still fresh in my head.
I think the only depressing, dramatic movie I’ve ever been able to watch repeatedly and enjoy was Pans Labyrinth, but probably because it was a happy ending disguised as a depressing one? If that makes any sense.
yeahmetoo. I wonder why.
I liked Pan’s Labyrinth too. For the ending. Though the nose smashing thing is still fresh in my head.
Yea I had trouble keeping my eyes on the screen at that part. The Pale Man also creeped the shit out of me >_>; He bit the freaking faerie’s head off!
Yeah omg @_@ I had nightmares about the Pale man for a long time, and seriously avoided the dining table at night for months. 🙁 This is why I don’t watch horror movies!!
Speaking of ouch scenes, remember the part where the woman stabs the guy and everything (I was screaming, STAB HIM IN THE EYES DAMMIT!)? The later part where he was sewing up his mouth? I actually fast forwarded through that one. @_@
Pan’s Labyrinth was awesome. Pale Man was nightmarish.
Holy crap so did I. The same night I first watched it, I was spending the night over a friend’s house and she left me alone in the basement for a half an hour so she could go take a shower. I was sitting there frozen, looking around corners for the pale man xD…yea, I usually avoid horror movies too. I remember when The Ring first came out, it was the first horror movie I had ever sat through and I lost so much sleep over it ._.
And yea, Mercedez is so boss. Ofelia’s stepdad was such a bastard, she should have just finished his ass right there.