Any Value to Studying Genre Fiction like “Mysteries

Clearly, in a General Education course on “The World of Fiction,” we are not expecting to study ONLY “high literature” (like Shakespeare or, for that matter, Henry James). So, take the time and space here to reflect a bit on what you think about the relationship between genre fiction (like YA, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Dystopian, Graphic Novels, or Detective Fiction) and the society and culture that produced it.

***Not that any of these genres need “defending,” but how MIGHT you respond if someone suggested that there was no value to reading and/or studying genre fiction? What can we possibly benefit from not only READING but actually STUDYING a field like detective fiction?

Please DO NOT PLAGARIZE. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE.

The response should be at least 150 Words before citations.

 

2. Respond to these two posts with 100 words each before citations;

 

 

Number 1: Books have a limitation on how they can convey messages while a play, movie or even a video game can incorporate sounds, visual elements, and even direct interaction, there are only so many ways you can write a sentence. If you need to change the tone or inlaid message of a piece, you can try and write around it which is honestly a difficult thing that not everyone can pull off 100% of the time without messing with the flow of the writing overall. A simpler way to get around this issue is formatting and structure changes. By moving away from a more uh traditional style of 3rd person narration you can drastically shift the way the words will feel and come across as. Reading off a block of exposition from a narrator can be boring and feel lazy on the author’s part. When formatted as a letter from that character to another the writing can be far more open and it also takes on a more personal note of the character writing it. It also can be used for pacing allowing the reader to pull themselves free of the little details that preceded the letterhead and let them think on the two parts separately.

Number 2: I think that, in many instances, letters do play a big role in communication. When we read Mary Shelley, we were also guided through Walton’s letters, and these letters served as a form of communication between the sender and the receiver, and they also provided us with important details. In The Turn of the Scew, we witness a similar situation as Douglas sent the first letter, although with a key in it which is what makes it a mystery in a way due to the fact that the key is undescribed for its purpose. In the beginning of the story, we are aware of how these letters are being brought up, and at some point, we even see the governess receiving a letter regarding Miles’s expulsion from school. Going back, someone wrote that letter which was the headmaster at Miles school wrote and send to governess and then someone reads it, and well in this case they cannot read which leads to the counselor as the governess shows her the letter. There is a connection between these letters that does lead to a big mystery in what they represent symbolically, it is hard to understand, but we can analyze that it is a form of communication to communicate a specific message, perhaps linking it to the key.

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