Edgar Huntly is astoundingly full of nature imagery, that fact was painfully clear. I think it was at the point when Edgar is following Clithero through the woods and cave which took 3 full pages in description of the environment around them, that I began to skim forward to the next paragraph with plot details. What I’m trying to say is it was a LOT! I tend to get lost, or bored in these kinds of literature, I just want them to get to the point! It is interesting because like this blog assignment states, it is not a very picturesque novel. Even with all that description, I struggled to actually imagine the surroundings. All that aside, I thought we could definitely feel the impact and threat the surroundings produced. One such event is when Edgar has gone back to his makeshift bridge in some opening of a rock area (again, this is where I’m not so clear what the place actually looked like) and attempts to find where Clithero has escaped and reach him, pg. 118-120. He describes the panic of facing the grey panther and how he expects death at any moment. In this aspect he is very detailed about every emotion and thought that passes through his being as he struggles with the environment which is seemingly always out to get him.
If another author more focused on building a clear picture of the surroundings had written this scene I believe they could have taken away the readers ability to connect on such a strong emotional level with Edgar’s plight. Though they would have gained a better understanding of the setting, we may have lost the pure and unclouded intensity of this moment of horror.
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Serious question: If you just want authors to get to the point, why bother reading? Why not just look up "point of [novel]" in the Google?
ReplyDeleteI agree that a more picturesque description would have taken away from the emotional response. I also sometimes get impatient with authors when I'm reading for class. C.B. Brown just doesn't understand that I have A LOT of reading to do, and he needs to get to the point.
ReplyDeletePS - Save me a fact sheet, for I will be gone on Thursday :(
ReplyDeleteYou make a good point when you said "...it is not a very picturesque novel. Even with all the description, I struggled to actually imagine the surroundings." I felt that too! It's as if he gives enough description so that you can just barely "see" what is going on. I equate it to being in the dark in the woods and squinting all the time to try and see SOMETHING. You see a little bit, but the novel feels dark, trapped, and unsure of the surroundings.
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