Above is my response to a meme that makes some shaky assumptions about the purpose of an English classroom.
Exploring the intent of the author is a huge part of the English discipline, but it’s far from the only way to study (or teach) literature. Author intent, new historicism, reader-response, structuralism… the list goes on.
The fact that a character is observant enough to notice the color of the curtains may matter more than the color he/she notices. Whether a key is brass or iron may or may not have anything to do with the fact that a victim was clutching a magnet.
Some details are just details.
Perhaps I will make more of these memes to introduce some of these other topics in my “Writing about Literature” class this fall.
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