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Literary Theory

            Georg Lukas was a Marxist theorist who developed the literary theory of reflection. His main idea was that literature should be a reflection of reality. I believe this theory relates very well with the morals in the book Squids Will be Squids. Lukas said, "To "reflect" is to "frame a mental structure" transposed into words. People ordinarily posses a reflection of reality, a consciousness not merely of objects but of human nature and social relationships." Lukas could have understood the morals in Squids Will be Squids as reflections of reality. They are mental frameworks that we live our lives by.
             Alberto Eco was a reader-orientated theorist and his idea of open and closed text could be a useful tool in describing the morals of Squids Will be Squids. In an open text piece of literature there are many gaps for the reader to fill in. Closed text literature left no information for the reader to fill in. I believe that these morals are better suited to be viewed as open text. The last moral in Squids Will be Squids says "If you are planning to write fables, don't forget to change the people into animals and avoid places with high cliffs." This moral may mean exactly what it says (what the picture in the book depicts) or many other elaborations of meaning could be found. Don't be mean to others, they may become upset or if you are planning on being mean watch your back. .
             Wolfgang Iser was another reader-orientated theorist whose theory of concretization could be used to describe the morals of Squids Will be Squids. Iser said that concretization was the reader's way of giving the text meaning. He states that the text doesn't matter. What matters is the effect of the text on the reader. This theory could be used to see how the morals related to your own personal experiences. The moral "squids will be squids" had a major effect on me and I could directly relate it to my child hood experiences.


Essays Related to Literary Theory

1. Literary Theory and Teaching Literature

... discussions and colloquiums are rarely arranged in teacher centered classroom, students lack confidence and skills to develop a spirit of collaboration in the class.   Poststructuralist Literary Theory Poststructuralist literary theory being the outcome of Derrida's theory of deconstruction has brought the reader and interpreter onto the centre stage and made him co-creator of the text. For them as Zima (2002)explains, ... can help to achieve the aims of modern pedagogies stated above and can also help to overcome the limitations of the traditional approaches towards the teaching of lite...

  • Word Count: 1829
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Graduate

2. Types of Literary Theories

... systematic study of the nature of literature and of the methods for analyzing literature. The word "theory" has become an approach to reading texts. The modern sense of "literary theory" dates only to approximately the 1950s, when the structuralist linguists Ferdinand de Saussure began strongly to influence English language criticism. Critical Theories Deal with knowledge through ... meaning of human text and symbolic expressions including interpretation of texts themselves interpret other texts. New Criticism Was a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated literary criticis...

  • Word Count: 3373
  • Approx Pages: 13
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Research Methods for English and Literary Studies

... the theory that is built, a new hypothesis emerges to explain the concept. The researcher then juxtaposes the present hypothesis with the observation and makes a decision whether it explains it or not. If it does, it is left but if not, the procedure is undertaken again. Functions of Linguistic and Literary Research Linguistic and literary research exists to achieve the following 1. ... more efforts in research. For instance, a great deal of developments in computers and telecommunication are associated with discoveries in linguistics. Improvement of knowledge: The present knowledge in ...

  • Word Count: 10367
  • Approx Pages: 41
  • Has Bibliography

4. The History and Theory of Anglo-American Literature

What is literature? We have to answer some basic questions when we study theory of literature. What is literature? What is literary study? Are they both different? What is the distinction? These questions are followed by the questions about the nature of literature, its functions, etc. Theory of literature, as much as possible, tries to answer these. First, it is quite necessary ... for us to know the definition of literature. Literature is a creative act. It is an art. On the other hand, literary study is knowledge about literature itself. Since long ago, there are some ... realization, lack...

  • Word Count: 5585
  • Approx Pages: 22
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

5. The Reader Response Theory

... it, he must approach it the right way. The reader-response theory implores readers' to recognize reading as a meaningful, social, and truly personal act (Sheridan 805). Reader-response criticism consists of different theories and concepts formulated by several literary critics. These theories, along with the literary theorists behind them, are imperative to understand and recognize for their role ... as the foundation of this modern literary study. Louise Rosenblatt's Transactional Reader-Response Theory was based upon the concept of Transactional Analysis" which declares that meaning de...

  • Word Count: 1156
  • Approx Pages: 5
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

6. Identity Crisis Depicted in Two Literary Works

... . Post-colonialism is described as an intellectual direction (sometimes also called an "era" or the "post-colonial theory") that exists since around the middle of the 20th century, although it became a major force in literary culture in the early 90s. It developed from and mainly refers to the time after colonialism. The post-colonial direction was created ... set to understand and analyze the operation and effect of colonialists and anti-colonialist ideologies on the political, psychological, social and cultural issues represented in the literary text. The article "key terms in post-colo...

  • Word Count: 2395
  • Approx Pages: 10
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

7. Literary Genres

... of that system."" He summarizes his study on genre as follows: (1) Every theory is based on a hypothesis concerning the nature of literary works (2) A preliminary choice must be made as to the level on which to locate literary structures (3) The concept of genre must be qualified. I think that the issue of literary genres, in a sense, has not exactly been resolved. The genre "poem- ... of expression that addresses the emotional, spiritual, or intellectual concerns of humanity. Most definitions of literature have been criterial definitions, definitions based on a list of criteria which a...

  • Word Count: 1508
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

8. American Sense of Self Reflected in Literary Movements

... sense of self in relation to society. One of the best ways of monitoring these changes is through American literature. The following are some literary examples from various periods in American history. While some may be fictious, they all embody the values and lifestyles of the time in which ... to think of themselves much like Frankiln did- capable of improvement, explaination, and not at the mercy of an angry God. Romanticism Romanticism was a literary movement in response to the Age of Reason (as well as to Enlightenment). It was during the early 1800's and lasted through the early 1...

  • Word Count: 1835
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Literary Definitions

... piece of literature to which the langue is remarkable is Tony Kushner's Angel's in America, however a concept which is probably more pertinent to this play is the "Queer Theory". The Queer Theory was actually developed during the mid- to late eighties, during Angel's in America's debut period. It was inspired by the realization that so many gay men were contracting Acquired ... , for now gay and lesbian theorists began to explore the "queerness" of supposedly "normal" sexual culture." Gender studies, Gay/Lesbian Studies and the Queer Theory have delineated three broad areas of work in li...

  • Word Count: 1750
  • Approx Pages: 7
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

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