Peg Herring's Blog - Posts Tagged "theme"
Crawl Inside an Author's Mind
Are you the sort of reader who "psyches out" the author as you read? (Sorry about the '60s verbiage, but GO HOME AND DIE is weighing on my mind!)
I find myself noting elements of character, plot, and theme and attributing them to the author and his/her mood. We know that Mark Twain's work became darker as he aged, due perhaps to the deaths of those he loved but also to day-by-day butting heads with ignorant people.
Characters often say something that rings with the author's sincerity, and while an author should not peer through the curtains of the play, it can happen. At the end of THE JUNGLE, Upton Sinclair's views on government practically bash the reader over the head, ruining (for me) the pathos of the story he has told. Other authors are more subtle, but a reader who's paying attention discerns little gleams of opinion, little gems of individual wisdom.
The book's ending is very telling in terms of author attitude. Someone once commented to me that my characters usually move toward a fulfilling relationship as the book progresses. I can't help it; I like happy (or semi-happy) endings. There will be loss, because life is loss, but there will be the comfort of love, too. In GO HOME AND DIE, the reader should feel satisfied that Carrie has grown as a person and be optimistic about her future. (And as today's author knows, the reader should also hope for a sequel.)
I find myself noting elements of character, plot, and theme and attributing them to the author and his/her mood. We know that Mark Twain's work became darker as he aged, due perhaps to the deaths of those he loved but also to day-by-day butting heads with ignorant people.
Characters often say something that rings with the author's sincerity, and while an author should not peer through the curtains of the play, it can happen. At the end of THE JUNGLE, Upton Sinclair's views on government practically bash the reader over the head, ruining (for me) the pathos of the story he has told. Other authors are more subtle, but a reader who's paying attention discerns little gleams of opinion, little gems of individual wisdom.
The book's ending is very telling in terms of author attitude. Someone once commented to me that my characters usually move toward a fulfilling relationship as the book progresses. I can't help it; I like happy (or semi-happy) endings. There will be loss, because life is loss, but there will be the comfort of love, too. In GO HOME AND DIE, the reader should feel satisfied that Carrie has grown as a person and be optimistic about her future. (And as today's author knows, the reader should also hope for a sequel.)
Knitting Up the Ravel'd Sleeve of Care
It is stating the obvious to write that Shakespeare was a genius, but every once in a while, that fact is brought home to me with such clarity that I have to do it. As writers, we know about themes and how they enrich a story. In MACBETH, the theme of sleep is handled brilliantly.
At the outset, Macbeths have no idea that murder sticks with a person. They think (although he is less convinced of it than she is) that once the king is dead, everything will be fine. But once it is done, they are haunted by their action. The murder eventually brings about their doom, but in the short term, it manifests most clearly in sleep. He becomes unable to sleep at all. She does, but we see the turmoil that occurs when she lets her subconscious take over.
I don't think mystery writers take enough note of such things. Not being murderers ourselves, we might assume that they go blithely on their way, unbothered by their crimes. While that may be true of psychopaths and sociopaths, an ordinary person who kills will suffer afterward. Shakespeare's demonstration of that, while not the only one, is a good one. For most of us, sleep restores, puts our troubles into perspective, and allows us to begin anew. For the guilty, I would guess that sleep is evasive and likely to further unravel that "sleeve of care".
At the outset, Macbeths have no idea that murder sticks with a person. They think (although he is less convinced of it than she is) that once the king is dead, everything will be fine. But once it is done, they are haunted by their action. The murder eventually brings about their doom, but in the short term, it manifests most clearly in sleep. He becomes unable to sleep at all. She does, but we see the turmoil that occurs when she lets her subconscious take over.
I don't think mystery writers take enough note of such things. Not being murderers ourselves, we might assume that they go blithely on their way, unbothered by their crimes. While that may be true of psychopaths and sociopaths, an ordinary person who kills will suffer afterward. Shakespeare's demonstration of that, while not the only one, is a good one. For most of us, sleep restores, puts our troubles into perspective, and allows us to begin anew. For the guilty, I would guess that sleep is evasive and likely to further unravel that "sleeve of care".
