E.L.T - Literary Criticism (e-Portfolio)

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Literary Criticism By: Student. Pablo Rojas Mena Faculty of Social Sciences English Language Teaching Major Universidad Latina de Costa Rica Friday September 01st, 2017 Post #1 Going Beyond a Simple Literary Analysis This e-Portfolio is an informative compilation of literary criticism contents for educational purposes achieved in a course named “Literary Criticism”, in the major “English Language Teaching”, at Universidad Latina de Costa Rica. Such information focuses on providing the audience with a reflection and a contemplation of a teachinglearning experience through criticizing literature. This, by writing a brief definition for each content, showing some examples of it being applied and adding a personal opinion by the user, based on the inquiry: How would you use “X” literary criticism content as an E.L.T instructor and/or facilitator.

Author’s Personal Site: contemplative-online-education.blogspot.com

Table of Contents -Introduction………..………………………………………………………………...................1 -A Concise Introduction to Feminist Approaches to Literature………..…………………2-15 Definition…………………………………………………..……………………………..2 Essay #1 (1st Version) – Example…………………………………………………...3-5 Essay #1 (2nd Version) – Example….……...…………………………..…………...6-8 Essay #2 (1st Version) – Example………………………….…………………..…..9-11 Essay #2 (2nd Version) – Example...……………………………………………...12-14 Personal Opinion……………………………………………………………………….15 -A Concise Introduction to Mythic Approaches to Literature…………………………...16-29 Definition…………………………………………………………………..……………16 Essay #1 (1st Version) – Example………………………………………..……….17-18 Essay #1 (2nd Version) – Example…………………………………..……………19-20 Essay #2 (1st Version) – Example…………………………………………………21-24 Essay #2 (2nd Version) – Example………………………………………………..25-28 Personal Opinion……………………………………………………………………….29 -A Concise Introduction to Reader-Response Approaches to Literature……………..30-36 Definition…………………………………………………………………..……………30 Essay #1 – Example………………………………………………………………..31-33 Essay #2 – Example………………………………………………………………..34-35 Personal Opinion……………………………………………………………………….36

-A Concise Introduction to New Historicist Approaches to Literature……………………..37 Definition………………………………………………………………………………..37 Personal Opinion……………………………………………………………………….38 -A Concise Introduction to Cultural Studies Approaches to Literature…………………….39 Definition………………………………………………………………………………..39 Personal Opinion……………………………………………………………………….40 -A Concise Introduction to Gender Studies Approaches to Literature: Feminisms and Beyond………………………………………………………………………………………….41 Definition..............................................................................................................41 Personal Opinion……………………………………………………………………….42 -Conclusions……………………………………………………………………………………43 -References………………………………………………………………………………...44-47

1 Going Beyond a Simple Literary Analysis What is literature? Actually, such term does not have a specific definition, and it all depends on its user. Notwithstanding, it is possible to say that literature does have a specific interpretation, and it can be accomplished by reading from different literary criticism approaches, some examples are: the feminist approach, the mythic approach, the reader-response approach, the new historicist approach, the cultural studies approach and the gender studies approach. Therefore, the beliefs, emotions, feelings and thoughts that a reader experiences on a literary work vary in accordance to the approach used, and so do her / his interpretation and meaning of literature.

Now, the importance of reading does not fall only upon getting a plot. Analyzing a written work implies basic requirements, like identifying the characters, the exposition, the problem/conflict, the rising actions, the climax, the falling actions, the setting, the theme, the tone, the mood, the genre, the symbolisms and a sequence of events; nonetheless, aside from those previous elements, there is the most meaningful one, which is based on the following question: What is the relationship between the reading the reader’s real-life?

In other words, the answer to that inquiry is given through the mediation of the content from the diverse literary criticism approaches the currently exist.

By having taken a course named Literary Criticism during the English Language Teaching (E.L.T) major at Universidad Latina de Costa Rica, more professional reading and writing skills were developed among its members in their literature area, needs and interests. This, by criticizing literally written works applying the literary approaches previously mentioned and writing essays. As well as, using an educational material-book written by Kari Meyers and Gilda Pacheco (2012), named as The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism, in its second edition, from UCR editorial, at Universidad de Costa Rica (University of Costa Rica – U.C.R), San Pedro, San JosÊ, Costa Rica.

The following information is a contemplation and reflection of such experience by presenting a definition for each literature approach, some examples of it shown through written essays and a personal opinion about it by its applicant, student or user.

2 A Concise Introduction to Feminist Approaches to Literature According to Meyers & Pacheco (2012. p.20), Feminist literary criticism is essentially the application of feminist thought to literary studies. Although there are many different types of feminist literary criticism, in general they share the basic premise that genre is a fundamental issue in life and in literature. That is, they believe that genre differences are an essential factor in human perception, behavior, relationships, and personal growth, and that this fact is manifested in literature in a variety of manners.

3 A Good Man Is Hard To Find” from a Feminist Perspective In the 21st century education, there is an outstanding question to be asked: what is literature? Actually, literature does not have a determined definition, and it depends on each person’s personal perspective. However, by having dealt with this educational area for several years, it is possible to come up with a conclusion, which is: literature is everything that has a meaning. Like education, literature is a complex area that can be broken into different approaches, and one of them corresponds to the feminist one.

According to Napikoski (2016), “Feminist literary criticism is literary analisis that arises from the viewpoint of feminism, feminist theory and / or feminist politics.”

Feminism in literature represents an approach used not only by writers, but also by critics, which emphasizes the differences of genres presented in current societies among women and men. This, by focusing on terms of feminism, autonomy, sex, gender, patriarchy, selfhood and voice. All of these previous elements provide a general and final review about this topic, which is the fact that in most of the 21 st century social areas, chauvinism predominates over feminism (Men over women); therefore, the necessity of claiming to have good quality of life emerges especially by women and men (The ones who are not chauvinists) through this literary philosophy. It is also meaningful to take into account that the main purpose of feminism is not to make women become more predominant than men, but to have the same lifestyle with the same rights, musts and values.

Because of this, the feminist is born in the literary criticism. Feminism consolidated as a worlwide social movement and a formal approach to literature until the mid-twientieth century. Meyers & Pacheco (2012. p. 19).

4 Now, by analyzing literally the short story A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor, it is possible to realize of the feminist approach developed in its content. In such story, there is one significant character: The Grandmother, who is the one having the role most connected to it.

If paying attention to her human perception, human behavior, relationships and personal growth, she does not not carry out a lifestye similar to the other characters, who are younger. The Grandmother makes them comprehend that she is different in terms of being more professional, by calling herself a “lady” all the time, she also tries to make decisions for the other people’s lives, and she says that she is always right. These issues show clearly the feminist role that this character has, and so trying to have control over the rest of characters.

The main point of this is placed in the fact that the story says, she (The Grandmother) and the other characters (Her relatives) are planning to visit Florida; nonetheless, she warns them that there is a criminal in there named The Misfit, who could possibly kill them all, if they meet him somewhere in there. She also says that they should go to visit Tennessee instead. At the end, the rest of the characters do not follow her advice, and they go to Florida with The Grandmother, who had no other choice. During the trip, events happen just exactly as The Granmother said, when she and her relatives have a car accident in a mountain / hill, and in that moment they meet The Misfit, who was with two other men. At the end of the story, they all are killed by The Misfit and his two other men by being shot. The Grandmother’s relatives died in the woods of the mountain / hill, and she did while having a trembling conversation with The Misfit about their beliefs and principles, near the place of the car accident.

5 As a conclusion, this short story, in relationship with feminist literary criticism, gives the audience the implemention of feminism in the area of literature. The main aim is to show the desire that many writers and critics (Including both women and men) have of expressing beliefs, emotions, feelings, opinions and thoughts about this social field, by identifying themselves with female characters. To wrap up, the information antecedently written teaches a lesson, which is that in most of the times women are always right over men; notwithstanding, their opinions tend to be ignored. Since there, the necessity of making societies’ individuals (Women and men) have the same quality of life in terms of rights, musts and values. This is possible as long as there is a proper communication among them, based on respect. “Women are seen as angels and demons, but at the end they are always going to be worthier than men, representing a meaningful element in human life, and making invididuals understand that a man is never going to be complete without a woman in his life�.

6 A Good Man Is Hard To Find from a Feminist Perspective In the 21st century education, literature is a complex area that can be broken into different approaches, and one of them corresponds to the feminist one. According to Napikoski (2016), “Feminist literary criticism is literary analisis that arises from the viewpoint of feminism, feminist theory and / or feminist politics.” Besides, this literary criticism approach encompasses a diversity of terms, such as: feminism, autonomy, sex, gender, patriarchy, selfhood and voice. And it has its origins, as it follows: feminism consolidated as a worldwide social movement and a formal approach to literature until the mid-twentieth century. Meyers & Pacheco (2012. p.19). Now, this written report is going to be an analysis of the short story A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor from a feminist perspective to criticize literature. Such criticism will make emphasis on the evidence of feminism in the text, positive aspects of feminism over chauvinism and the way women get affected by patriarchy in society.

Based on the literary criticism / analysis of the story mentioned before, there is a outstanding character to evidence feminism, and it is The Grand-Mother. Her human perception, human behavior, relationships and personal growth show that she does not not carry out a lifestye similar to the other characters, who are younger. The Grandmother makes them comprehend that she is different in terms of being more professional by calling herself a “lady” all the time, she also tries to make decisions for the other people’s lives, and she says that she is always right. These issues make some of her aspects be highlighted, including: autonomy, being somehow the center of the story, and a female gender that could have existed, or currently exists in societies, depending on the time and the place.

7 In conjunction to feminism, not only it, but also chauvinism, both are seen impolitely against citizens’ eyes. Notwithstanding, there are more probabilities to live under a patriarchal society. And because of this, an inquiry emerges: Are men smarter than women? Actually, women are more intelligent than men, especially at the moment of giving pieces of advice. The point is that in many cases people, mostly men, do not listen to teachings from women, and they do whatever comes to their minds.

A good example of this is found in A Good Man Is Hard To Find, due to The GrandMother and the other characters (Her relatives) are planning to visit Florida; nonetheless, she warns them that there is a criminal in there named The Misfit, who could possibly kill them all if they meet him somewhere in there. She also says that they should go to visit Tennessee instead. The rest of the characters do not follow her advice, and they go to Florida with The Grandmother, who had no other choice. During the trip, events happen just exactly as The Granmother said, when she and her relatives have a car accident in a mountain / hill, and in that moment they meet The Misfit, who was with two other men.

At the end of the story, they all are killed by The Misfit and his two other men by being shot.

The Grandmother’s relatives died in the woods of the mountain / hill, and she did while having a trembling conversation with The Misfit about their beliefs and principles, near the place of the car accident.

The previous details strengthen different literary elements to be considered, among them: The Misfit having the role of an agent, a misogyny context, the effect of women with selfhood on men, and the importance of female voices. This latter representing a one of the most meaningful ones because through it women express and show all their actions,

8 beliefs, emotions, feelings and throughts in several contexts, situations and experiences, for instance: man’s wellness. As a general overview, positive aspects about feminism are to be rescued in here.

Furthermore, the last element to pay attention to is that by living in a patriarchal society, women are affected in their beliefs, emotions, feelings, principles and thoughts .

This way, they are exposed to live under men’s rules. Eventhough, women were, are and will always be better than men.

As a conclusion, this short story A Good Man Is Hard To Find by Flannery O’Connor certainly manifests a relationship between feminism and literature. This by criticizing it, taking into account singularities from its content, like: evidence of feminism, positive aspects of feminism over chauvinism and the way women get affected by patriarchy in society. The main purpose of feminism is not to make women become more predominant than men, but to have the same lifestyle / quality with the same rights, musts and values.The following quote gives an ending to the feminist-literary philosophy.

“Women are seen as angels and demons, but at the end they are always going to be worthier than men, representing a meaningful element in human life, and making invididuals understand that a man is never going to be complete without a woman in his life”.

9 Being “Brave” as a Feminist By analyzing feminism as an approach to criticize literature, it is possible to come up with an own definition of what this educational topic is. Actually, it is a feminist literary criticism that emphasizes not only the theory of feminism, but also its practice, based on societies along the years. Now, it is meaningful to recall that this literary approach has as main purpose for writers and critics to express, and get to know their or other people’s beliefs, emotions, feelings and thoughts. Also, if paying careful attention to societies in the 21st century, both chauvinism and feminism still linger on; nonetheless, the first social field continues to have more predominance over the second one, which basically shows the development of patriarchy in such societies. Besides, there are many probabilities for those social areas to keep living that way for many years in future; since there, there is a necessity and almost a must to deal with feminism as an approach to reading, analyzing and meditating literature.

For this written work, the main focus is going to be centered on the feminist literary criticism of the animated-fantasy and / or comedy-drama film Brave by Pixar Animation Studios. This, by making emphasis on the following aspects: What is Feminism, based on the film?, What is the representation of women in Disney movies?, and What is the influence that this kind of movie can have on its audience?

Based on the content of Brave, women are treated in a different manner in comparison to men. One example is the fact that the princess Merida’s mother (The agent) does not allow her (The center) to be free, make her own decisions nor be happy in the way she wants to. Moreover, Merida’s mother, whose name is Elinor (The Queen Elinor) is taking control over her for an outstanding part of her life, which is choosing her

10 partner to get married to. All this information shows a brief definition for feminism, presented in the movie, which is that many women do not have the right to be free because of somebody else, who can be either a man or even another woman. In this case, Merida is always being forced by the queen to be, act and live as a princess all the time, and trying to be a perfect individual (Considered as a gift of human life). However, the princess says that in only one single day, not being a princess, everything can happen and change. This last written datum clearly demonstrates the role of autonomy that exists among the characters.

Now, through viewing Brave from a feminist literary criticism perspective, the representation of women in Disney movies does not necessarily get affected by patriarchy, due the princess is facing a feminist issue from her mother, and not from her father (The King Fergus). This latter is more open-minded with her, and he allows her to be free and happier. Indeed, Merida has so much negative influence from the queen that she has to deal with educational processes (The way of behaving, speaking, dressing and even standing in a proper and specific posture) about being a princess, which are against her will, a lot of responsibilities that belong only to her and not to her three brothers, and not being able to spend time in her hobbies nor interests. This is a reflection and a contemplation of the oppression and feminism developed throughout the content of this film. At the same time, this is also a representation of the impact that feminism, in a general way, has on women, not only in movies, but also in real-life contexts, situations and experiences.

Additionally, this social issue can have so much impact on a woman that makes her reach an awakening point (Encouragement), like in the example of the princess, who

11 got tired of being manipulated by her mother. At that time, she took the decision of making a deal with a witch, who promised her that if she bought some of her handicraft arts, the queen Elinor will change her lifestyle with the princess. This, by carrying out a conjuring process by the two of them (The princess and the witch). Merida decided to take the risk and it brought some consequences, as the next information is going to explain.

When the princess and the witch got to an agreement, the queen’s life got in danger by becoming a huge black bear. In that moment, when the mother had experienced a certain period of time being like that, she realizes that her daughter was right (Lesson).

As a matter of fact, she gets to know several aspects about living, among them: wanting her daughter to have the life she never had was something wrong, being free does not imply to pay any price, each human living has her / his own form of behaving, and at the end she loves her daughter (The princess), and she does not want to hurt her at all. All of those previous facts display the main characteristic of double-voicing that the mother has on her daughter, her exterior feelings, thoughts and emotions are not exactly the same as the ones in her interior. And this is the influence that the film has on its audience (Teaching).

Finally, by having criticized Brave by Pixar Animation Studios, the conclusion that comes up is oriented to the importance for each person to have her / his own selfhood, and not interfering in other people’s around them. All human beings are free to write their own stories. And, individuals can do whatever they want to with their lives, as long as they do not affect others’.

“Our fate lives inside of us, it is just a matter of being “Brave” to notice it”.

12 Being “Brave” as a Feminist If paying careful attention to societies in the 21st century, both chauvinism and feminism still linger on; nonetheless, the first social field continues to have more predominance over the second one. For this written work, the main focus is going to be centered on the feminist literary criticism of the animated-fantasy and / or comedy-drama film Brave by Pixar Animation Studios. This, by highlighting: What is feminism (As a literary criticism approach), based on the film?, What is the representation of women in Disney movies?, and What is the influence that this kind of movie has on its audience?

Based on the content of Brave, feminism is a feminist literary criticism that emphasizes not only the theory of feminism, but also its practice, based on societies along the years. Since there, it acts as a necessity and almost as a must to deal with feminism as an approach to reading, visualizing, analyzing and meditating literature. This depends on the meaning that you, as a reader, give to literature. And in like manner, it is relevant to recall that this literary approach has as main purpose for writers and critics to express, and get to know their or other people’s beliefs, emotions, feelings, and thoughts.

On the one hand, having watched Brave makes its audience comprehend that women are treated in a different manner in comparison to men. One example is the fact that the princess Merida’s mother (The agent) does not allow her (The center) to be free, make her own decisions nor be happy in the way she wants to. Besides, Merida’s mother, whose name is Elinor (The Queen Elinor) is taking control over her for an outstanding part of her life, which is choosing her partner to get married to. All that information supports the feminism presented in the movie, which is basically that many women do not have the right to be free because of somebody else, who can be either a woman or

13 even another woman. In this case, Merida is being forced by the queen to be, act and live as a princess all the time, and trying to be a perfect individual (Considered as a gift of human life). However, the princess says that in only one single day, not being a princess, everything can happen and change. This last written datum clearly demonstrates the role of autonomy that exists among the characters.

On the other hand, seeing Brave from a feminist literary criticism perspective also contributes to have a representation of women in Disney movies. Actually, the female representation does not necessarily get affected by patriarchy, due the princess is facing a feminist issue from her mother, and not from her father (The King Fergus). This latter is more open-minded with her, and he allows her to be free and happier. Indeed, Merida has so much negative influence from the queen that she has to deal with educational processes (The way of behaving, speaking, dressing and even standing in a proper and specific posture) about being a princess, which are against her will, a lot of responsibilities that belong only to her and not to her three brothers, and not being able to spend time in her hobbies nor interests. In here, there is a reflection and a contemplation of the feminist oppression developed throughout the content of this film.

This provides a representation of the impact that feminism, in a general way, has on women, not only in movies, but also in real-life contexts, situations and experiences.

At the same time, this social issue can affect a woman so much that makes her reach an awakening point (Encouragement), like in the example of the princess, who got tired of being manipulated by her mother. So, she took the decision of making a deal with a witch, who promised her that if she bought some of her handicraft arts, the queen Elinor will change her lifestyle with the princess. This, by carrying out a conjuring process by the

14 two of them (The princess and the witch). Merida decided to take the risk, and it brought some consequences, as the next information is going to explain.

Once the princess and the witch got to an agreement, the queen’s life got in danger by becoming a huge black bear. In that moment, when the mother had experienced a certain period of time being like that, she realizes that her daughter was right (Lesson).

As a matter of fact, she gets to know several aspects about living, among them: wanting her daughter to have the life she never had was something wrong, being free does not imply to pay any price, each human living has her / his own form of behaving, and at the end she loves her daughter (The princess), and she does not want to hurt her at all. All of those previous facts display the main characteristic of double-voicing that the mother has on her daughter; her exterior feelings, thoughts and emotions are not exactly the same as the ones in her interior. And this is the influence that the film has on its audience (Teaching).

Finally, the analysis of Brave by Pixar Animation Studios from a feminist-literary criticism helps to come up with a conclusion oriented to the importance for each person to have her / his own selfhood, and not interfering in other people’s around them. This, by having gotten a definition of feminism, based on the movie, a representation of women in Disney movies, and the influence that this kind of movie has on its audience. Lastly, it should not be forgotten that all human beings are free to write their own stories, and they can do whatever they want with their lives; as long as they do not affect others’.

“Our fate lives inside of us, it is just a matter of being “Brave” to notice it”.

15 Personal Opinion Feminist Approaches to Literature are a meaningful tool for an English Language Teaching (E.L.T) environment, not only for reading and writing skills, but also and mainly for the speaking one. Actually, their connection to reality is what makes the study of literature more entertaining and successful, due to the readers focus beyond getting a plot of the reading, and they are able to deal more with a very common social issue that is feminism, and which is somehow related to their lives. By making emphasis on feminism, it is possible to cover other areas, such as: chauvinism, culture, genre, history and sex. Therefore, by taking into consideration all of the previous social-educational fields, the teaching-learning process is going to be more developed from a 21st century education era, putting into practice different skills, like: critical thinking, communication, collaboration and creativity, especially when promoting tasks that require communication among the members of a determined class. In my case, as a future E.L.T instructor / facilitator, I would definitely like to develop this literary criticism approach with my students, as long as I have to teach subjects that ask them to read a lot.

16 A Concise Introduction to Mythic Approaches to Literature As stated by Meyer & Pacheco (2012. p.2), “In short, mythic approaches study, analyze, and emphasize the universal transcendence of a literay work perceived in the recurrent motifs and universal symbols known as “archetypes.”

17 “Uvieta” and His Relationship with God and The Devil By analyzing myth as an approach to criticize literature, it is possible to mention three main mythic aspects in literature; they are: animals, colors and numbers. Now, a question emerges: What is the meaning of those previous mythic aspects in literature?

A proper answer for this is based on reading, analyzing and meditating myth as an approach in literature. In this case, by centering the focus of this written work on the short story named Uvieta by the Costa Rican author Carmen Lyra; paying attention to the influence that animals, colors and especially numbers have on it.

Based on the content of Uvieta, the number three has to do with its content in a couple of times, for instance: buying three bread rolls, representing three relevant people from a religious point of view (Jesus Christ, Virgin Marie and Joseph), and providing three awesome opportunities to the main character, who is Uvieta (An old man) for having a better quality of life. In relation to this, the information of such story makes the reader interpret the number three for different symbols, such as the number of the man because this one is composed by a body, a soul and a spirit. Also, since it has a biblical perspective, mentioning God several times, that number can serve as the three times Jesus was tempted in the desert, the third day when Jesus finally resurrected, the three times during which Jesus carried his cross, the three people (Including Jesus) that were crucified when Jesus died and a connection to the “Saint Trinity” (Father – Son – Holy Spirit). Additionally, this number, in this story, can be associated to a perfect number by contributing to it when Uvieta has different chances to choose between being a better person or a worse one.

18 Moreover, in connection to myth as a literary approach to criticize literature, this story contains topics about death and life, which make it make more sense in its central topic. Actually, death and life can be comprehended as evil and spiritual, or as good and bad. Therefore, God and The Devil; hell and heaven play outstanding roles in this piece of writing, in which death is represented by a woman and life by a man (God). This is a good point to be analyzed and meditated, due to women are usually seen as angels and demons, and there is not only one interpretation for them in literature.

Furthermore, this literary work deals with a human overview by giving Uvieta the ability to make choices by his own, and according to them, he is going to get whether a good or a bad lifestyle, taking into consideration the term “free will”.

To conclude, as a summary, this story provides the audience a teaching, which is basically emphasized on a divine, sacred and/or saint lesson that states that humans should not be proud in a bad way just because they have better things than others. As well as, it is significant to keep in mind that God is a merciful, blessed and equal being, who gives his followers blessings for being better people, and with the purpose of being grateful with him during good and bad times (All the time). Finally, how the number three affects the interpretation of this story must not be forgotten, now that it specifies not only a biblical viewpoint, but also a human one and a mystic one. This latter being considered as a combination of the others two.

“Giving Is Receiving”.

“Humbleness”.

“God & The Devil”.

19 “Uvieta” and His Relationship with God and The Devil By analyzing myth as an approach to criticize literature, it is possible to mention three main mythic aspects in literature; they are: animals, colors and numbers. Now, a question emerges: What is the meaning of those previous mythic aspects in literature? A proper answer for this is based on reading, analyzing and meditating myth as an approach in literature. In this case, by centering the focus of this written work on the short story named Uvieta by the Costa Rican author Carmen Lyra; paying attention to the influence that numbers have on it, some archetypes presented in the story, and the contribution of imagination toward the comprehension of its content.

Based on the content of “Uvieta”, the number three has to do with its content in a couple of times, for instance: buying three bread rolls, representing three relevant people from a religious point of view (Jesus Christ, Virgin Marie and Joseph), and providing three awesome opportunities to the main character, who is “Uvieta” (An old man) for having a better quality of life. In relation to this, the information of such story makes the reader interpret the number three for different symbols, such as the number of the man because this one is composed by a body, a soul and a spirit. Also, since it has a biblical perspective, mentioning God several times, that number can serve as the three times Jesus was tempted in the desert, the third day when Jesus finally resurrected, the three times during which Jesus carried his cross, the three people (Including Jesus) that were crucified when Jesus died and a connection to the “Saint Trinity” (Father – Son – Holy Spirit). Additionally, this number, in this story, can be associated to a perfect number by contributing to it when “Uvieta” has different chances to choose between being a better person or a worse one.

20 Moreover, this story contains examples of archetypes, like: death and life, which make it make more sense in its central topic. Actually, death and life are comprehended as evil and spiritual, or as good and bad. Therefore, God and The Devil; heaven and hell play outstanding roles in this piece of writing, in which death is represented by a woman and life by a man (God). This is a good point to be analyzed and meditated, due to women are seen as angels and demons, and there is not only one interpretation for them in literature. Furthermore, this literary work deals with a human overview by giving Uvieta the ability to make choices by his own, and according to them, he is going to get whether a good or a bad lifestyle, taking into consideration the universal term “free will”.

Lastly, imagination from the readers has a lot to do with myth in literary criticism.

By taking “Uvieta” as an example, the meaning, interpretation and understanding that the audience gets depend so much on how they (Readers) reflect and contemplate themselves in the story. This does not necessarily imply changing principles and beliefs, but mainly making use of the five senses (Imagery), which are hearing, sight, taste, smell and touch. By doing this, a mythic story like “Uvieta” is going to make more sense for its audience, especially when dealing with themes about religion.

Finally, this story teaches how myth affects individuals’ lives, principally in terms of criticizing literature. This conclusion is drawn from mythic elements found in literature, such as: numbers, archetypes (Universally), and imagination. At the end, the influence varies according to the person her / him – self because humans are always going to be subject to change their beliefs and principles, whether by considering a determined myth as something true or false (Evil vs good).

“Giving Is Receiving”.

21 “Young Goodman Brown’s” Mythic Transformation So far, criticizing literature can be accomplished through different methods, and one of them corresponds to myth. Now, what is myth? According to Meyers & Pacheco (2012. p.1), “Myths can be defined as symbolic projections of human hopes, fears, and values.” Actually, myth is so much connected to the quest of explanations and meanings that human beings have mainly about their existance and their position in the world.

Therefore, myth encompasses the study of universal symbols, which are usually comprehended as archetypes; such literary elements include: natural elements, colors, shapes, numbers and human figures. As a general review, myth does not only make emphasis on physicalness, but also on spitiruality; since then, it has a lot to do with God and The Devil (Religion).

For this written report, the main focus is going to be on the literarty criticism of the short story Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne; from a mythic perspective. The story was written in 1835, and as a breif summary, the following sentence represents it: the story follows a Young Goodman Brown’s journey into a forest at Salem village, which results in his loss of virtue and belief (Religion). Because of that, a question emerges, What does mythic approaches have to do with the content of Young Goodman Brown in terms of literary criticism?

Based on the short story, there is a necessity to meditate on the relationship between its content and religion, such meditation can be carried out by considering the two main characters in the religious area, who are God and The Devil. At the same time, taking into account the symbols in the story is going to contribute to get to the main point of it. And asking questions like: Does God really exist?, How does religion affect people’s

22 lives?, and Does the earth lie under the power of the devil? is going to be even better to come up with a conclusion of the literary criticism, analysis and teaching of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s reading.

By having read, and analyzed Young Goodman Brown, at the beginning of the story, Young Goodman Brown, as the main character, takes a journey into a forest at Salem village, and eventhough his wife asks him to stay at home, he leaves, and tells her that it is going to be just for the evening. Faith is a good person, and in the story’s content, it is mentioned several times that she wears pink ribbons. That makes Faith be symbolized as innocence, happiness and faith it-self from a spiritual-religious perspective.

In other words, she represents purity.

As Young Gooman Brown starts his journey, he meets an old man to whom he called his companion. The old man looks to be around 50 years old, he wears simple and normal cloth, and he carries on a staff, which is a great black snake, who seems to move like if it were alive. At some point of the adventure, Young Goodman Brown thinks about going back to his home to be with Faith; however, his companion insists him on going on with his journey, and he tells Young Goodman Brown that his grand-father, father and other important people from the town, like the governor, had traveled with him before, this makes Young Goodman Brown continue to walk along the path. Later on, during the walk, both men meet a woman named Goody Cloyse, who had been Young Goodman Brown’s catechist in the past. These experiences make Young Goodman Brown realize that his companion resembles the devil, while the woman, a witch. And the central idea in here is symbolism through such characters, who are trying to change Young Goodman Brown’s spiritual and religious lifestyle by making him believe that evil is the nature of mankind.

23 After a while of taking the journey, Young Goodman Brown is determined to stop walking, and his companions go ahead without him. Suddenly, he starts hearing voices far away about a night’s meeting through which a young woman will be taken into communion that night. The voices keep going on, and among them, Young Goodman Brown hears Faith’s, which expresses lamentations of hers. In that moment, he starts running into the forest, looking for the place of the meeting, and meanwhile he is laughing louder, and telling his companions, without seeing them, “I may be as scared of you as you are of me”, and that they (The evil asembly) cannot beat him.

When Young Goodman Brown reaches the place of the meeting that night, he is led to its altar, and a dark figure is there to welcome them in front of a crowd. Next to him, there is a cloaked female figure, who will be revealed afterward. The dark figure calls them as sinners, and somehow teaching them that evil must be their only happiness.

Now, the cloaked woman is revealed to be Faith, and she is about being baptized by the dark figure, becoming basically a demon (Symbol). In that situation, Young Goodman Brown screams at Faith to look up to heaven and to resist the wicked one; inmediately, everything disappears, and he finds himself alone in the forest. In this part, it is meaningful to highlight a literary element connected also to symbolism; it is the conflict between evil and spiritual (God vs The Devil), and the influence that it has on people’s lives.

The following morning, Young Goodman Brown comes back to his village bewildered of the events from the previous night. He is surrounded by people from the town, and he sees Goody Cloyse and the Deacon Gookin. All of them are acting normally as if nothing had happened. As Young Goodman Brown meets Faith, he passes besides her, but without acknowledging her. Indeed, this means that since that night of that fearful

24 experience, whether it was a dream or a reality of Young Goodman Brown’s, he became a dark and a gloomy man, who sees nothing, but blasphemy all around him.

Finally, the last inquiry, as a conclusion, would be: what is the teaching that Young Goodman Brown short story provides its audience with? This, from a religious and/or a mythic approach: all human beings are exposed to be controlled by the evil side; notwithstanding, it is up to their choice, whether having a quality of life like that or a spiritual one. The following biblical verse gives an ending to this literary criticism from a mythical approach.

“We know that we originate from God, but the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one”. 1 John 5:19

25 “Young Goodman Brown’s” Mythic Transformation So far, criticizing literature can be accomplished through different methods, and one of them corresponds to myth. According to Meyers & Pacheco (2012. p.1), “Myths can be defined as symbolic projections of human hopes, fears, and values.” Actually, myth encompasses the study of universal symbols, which are usually comprehended as archetypes; such literary elements include: natural elements, colors, shapes, numbers and human figures. This paper is a literary criticism from a mythic approach of the short story Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The target information is centered on the relationship between religion and myth, how archetypes affect the story, and an issue about myth: Why do human beings consider “Mind” as the strongest weapon?

At first, the story was written in 1835, and as a breif summary, the following sentence represents it: the story follows a Young Goodman Brown’s journey into a forest at Salem village, Massachusetts, which results in his loss of virtue and belief (Religion).

In addiiton to this, it is revelant to mention that such place is known as the witches town, whose data will be expanded through the following information.

Based on such short story, there is a necessity to meditate on the relationship between its content (Myth) and religion, and it can be carried out by considering the two main characters in the religious area, God and The Devil. At the same time, taking into account the symbols in the story is going to contribute to get to the main point of it. And asking questions like the next ones is going to be even better to come up with a literary criticism of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s reading from a mythic perspective: Does God really exist?, How does religion affect people’s lives?, and Does the Earth lies under the power

26 of The Devil?

Now, not only questions, like the previous ones, but also identifying archetypes are useful to criticize this story mythically. At the beginning of the reading, Young Goodman Brown, as the main character and the hero in this mythic experience, takes a journey into a forest at Salem village in search of an answer to his quest, which is realizing about his real spirituality. Eventhough his wife Faith asks him to stay at home, he leaves, and tells her that it is going to be just for the evening. Faith is a good person, and in the content it is mentioned several times that she wears pink ribbons. That makes Faith be symbolized as innocence, happiness and faith it-self from a spiritual-religious perspective. In other words, she represents purity.

As the hero starts his journey, he meets an old man with a great black snake and a woman named Goody Cloyse, who had been his catechist in the past, all of them are considered by Young Goodman Brown as his companions in his trip. These experiences make the hero realize that his companions resemble The Devil as the old man with the great black snake, and the woman as a witch and a femme fatale from a literary approach.

At the same time, all of the companion members reflect a role of tricksters. The central idea in here is symbolism through such characters, who are trying to change the hero’s spiritual and religious lifestyle by making him believe that evil is the nature of mankind.

This is part of the answer to his quest, which can be finish either in a tragedy or happiness.

After a while of taking the journey, the hero gets to an initiation point where he stops walking along the path, and his companions go ahead without him. This is what gives the answe to the mythic issue: Why do human beings consider “Mind� as the strongest weapon?

27 Young Goodman Brown sits for a period of time, and suddenly he starts hearing voices far away about a night’s meeting through which a young woman will be taken into communion that night. The voices keep going on, and among them, Young Goodman Brown hears Faith’s, which expresses lamentations of hers. In that moment, the hero starts running into the forest, looking for the place of the meeting, and meanwhile he (The hero) is laughing louder, and telling his companions, without seeing them, “Let us hear which will laugh loudest. Think not to frighten me with your deviltry. Come witch, come wizard, come Indian powwow, come devil himself, and here comes Goodman Brown. You may as well fear him as he fear you.” And also that they (The evil asembly) cannot beat him.

When the Young Goodman Brown reaches the place of the meeting that night, he is led to the altar in there, and a dark figure is there to welcome them in front of a crowd.

Next to him, there is a cloaked female figure, who will be revealed afterward. The dark figure calls them as sinners, and somehow teaching them that evil must be their only happiness. Now, the cloaked woman is revealed to be Faith, and she is about being baptized by the dark figure, becoming basically a demon (Archetype). In that situation, the hero screams at Faith to look up to heaven and to resist the wicked one; inmediately, everything disappears, and he finds himself alone in the forest. In this part, it is meaningful to highlight a literary element connected to symbolism; it is the conflict between evil and good (God vs The Devil), and the influence that it has on people’s minds.

The following morning, Young Goodman Brown comes back to his village bewildered of the trials he underwent on his journey the previous night. He is sorrounded by people from the town, and he sees Goody Cloyse and the Deacon Gookin. All of them

28 are acting normally as if nothing had happened. As the hero meets his wife Faith, he passes besides her, but without acknowledging her. This means that since that night of that fearful experience, whether it was a dream or a reality of his, he became a persona (Literary element), who wears a social mask very different from his real-self.

Finally, by having criticized Young Goodman Brown short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne from a mythic approach, the hero Young Goodman Brown is a clear example of myth. This is shown through his relationship with religion and myth itself, the archetypes he deals with along the story, and how strong and/or weak his mind is. The keypoint is the ending when/where he turns out to be a completely different person from the one se used to be (Transformation).

“Whether “Myth” is a reality or not, it all depends on our own minds”.

29 Personal Opinion Mythic Approaches to Literature correspond to a relevant educational element, especially for reading and writing environments. Indeed, the feature that it provides its user with is a particular component for promoting not only communication, but also critical thinking, collaboration and creativity skills development. Such feature is the relationship between a reading’s content and the reader’s beliefs and principles from a mythic focus.

By applying this literary criticism approach when reading and writing, there is a necessity of looking for explanations and meanings about: Why are you here?, What is the purpose of life? and When/Where/How is life going to end? Those are common inquiries asked by humans, who, in some cases, may find an answer to all of them while others may not find any answer at all. Also, there is a

connection

to

studying

universal symbols among the members of a class, which is of great benefit to encourage learners

to

discussions,

debates and discourses from an educational emphasis. In addition to this, myth can be both physical and spiritual, and that builds up a setting of sharing more opinions, mainly about God and the devil. This way, pupils are able to explore their listening and speaking skills, involving the use of the other two (Reading & Writing) as well. In like manner, these approaches do not only show that every individual of every ethnicity, sex, culture and social group is part of a universal whole, but also that the past, the primitive, the roots, the ancient are not obselete, but meaningful elements to clarify the present and to better visualize the future. In general, all of the previous details contribute to a lot of information to discuss in an E.L.T atmosphere, which makes the teaching-learning process more fun and successful. For that reason, as an English teacher and/or professor, I am going to make use of this educational material.

30 A Concise Introduction to Reader-Response Approaches to Literature In agreement with Meyers & Pacheco (2012. p.60), Meaning cannot be found in the text but rather is developed or generated by the reader. Meaning inheres in the reader; and interpretation is considered the key to meaning. Hence, from this perspective, the reader’s participation becomes not only active but essential and primordial in the literary analysis.

31 “Running” Determines Personality Literary criticism corresponds to a meaningful component at any reading time, and by thinking about the two main elements in reading, who are the writer and reader, a new approach emerges to criticize literature. In this case, reference is being made to the reader-response approach; according to Meyers & Pacheco (2012. p.59), “the reader’s response provides the core of the literary text.” As it is clearly deductible, the writing and reading depend on each other, and the main point of this literary approach is to come up with a meaning and an interpretation of a story or a reading by the reader, based on her / his emotions, feelings, thoughts and experiences in human life and their relationship with the content of the written work. For this written report, different aspects will be taken into consideration in terms of literary criticism, among them: how the reader’s background and experiences influence on the response to the text, how an own identity contributes to a personal interpretation of the reading, and how the factor of age affects the meaning of the story toward the reader.

The material meant to be criticized is the short story Raymond’s Run by Toni Cade Bambara. By having analized Cade Bambara’s material, there is a connection between its content and the real reader. Actually, the main character, whose name is Squeaky, has a passion for running, and she always tries to give her best at it. However, Squeaky also focuses on being as much perfect as she can in that area because she wants to be known by other people as the best runner ever, who cannot be defeated by anybody else, and a person that cares only about her on wellness, and not for others’ around her.

32 In connection to this, the reader feels, somehow, identified with Squeaky’s personality, due to in his past time, he used to be a person who wanted to be the best at what he did, especially when being an interest or a passion. At the same time, he looked after mostly for himself and very few for other individuals around him, including his relatives. Nonetheless, as it happens to Squeaky, the same thing happen to the reader.

Now that there was a point in his life when he realized that it was / is completely meaningful to pay attention to other people’s needs and to try to help them as long as possible, essentially when it comes to be someone with a disability. In here, the general point is based on changes in personality as time goes on and becoming a more matured person.

Moreover, an own identity enriches a personal interpretation of this story from its real reader. Some examples of his are: accepting all human beings are imperfect, being a more open-minded man with principles and beliefs defined, caring so much more about people around him, notably more for women than for men. In like manner, this is primarily because of being previously influenced from friends by being listened, comprehended and supported in difficult situations to face.

Furthermore, the age helps the real reader arise a meaning of the text. As a matter of fact, he is currently 21 years old, and during last two decades, he has been subject to make a lot of changes in his life accordingly with his maturity. Therefore, the meaning gotten by him, based on the content of Raymond’s Run is the following: a person never stops learning; hence, s / he is always going to be subject to change her / his life, and not only for her / himself, but also for others.

33 Finally, by considering personal backgrounds and experiences, a personal indentity and the age in terms of maturity, the reader’s response for the short story Raymond’s Run by Toni Cade Bambara is: do good and good will come to you; notwithstanding, there is a difference between being kind and being bawd.

P.S. Reader-Response Approach: “If there is not reader, there is not text”.

34 Reality Is Wrong … Dreams Are For Real As reader-response approaches represent a method to criticize literature, there is an important aspect about them to recall, according to Meyers & Pacheco (2012), “Meaning cannot be found in the text but rather is developed or generated by the reader.”

Such information can be interpreted as the death of the author as well. This literary criticism work will make emphasis on a relationship between the reader and the reading, including: previous life experiences, personal identity, and the influence of the knowledge acquired along the years.

The short story, this written report is based on, is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

by James Thurber, and it was written and published on March 18 th, 1939. The New Yorker (2013).

By reading, meditating and criticizing Thurber’s work, the main character, who is Walter Mitty, has a daydream experience, and gets somehow disconnected from reality.

Among the dreams, he experiences, are: being a pilot of a flying boat in a storm, being a surgeon performing a real surgery, being a member of a case at a court, being an air plane driver with bad intentions, and being facing a shooting. All of those dreams are going on in his mind while going on a regular day with his wife shopping and visiting the beauty parlor. Now, dreaming and getting lost from a real world is a well-known feature of human beings, mainly when remembering previous life experiences in childhood and adolescence. A lot of times, people use imagination to get out of their daily living routines, and to think about their lives. That implies thinking about what you did in your past, what you are doing in your present, and what you will be doing in your future. In other words, asking yourself: Why are you here?

35 Moreover, without mattering the purpose a person uses imagination for, her / his personal identity gets involved in it too. Dreams deal with anything you want to, but especially with what you get identified yourself, for instance: life itself, freedom, problems, loneliness, relief, goals, and even death. In here, emphasis is being made to beliefs, emotions, feelings, and thoughts of an individual, and a meaningful question emerges for her / him: What is the purpose of your life?

Furthermore, the factor of knowledge along the human life experiences also influences so much in dreaming experiences. In reality, there is a moment for a woman or a man to get to a point of realizing that dreaming is not enough. Actually, having dreams entails being brave to make them real, and this way, becoming better individuals. This shows the necessity of looking for an answer to all of the inquiries before, like: Why are you here?, What is the purpose of your life?, and Where / When / How is your life going to end?, which are all connected, not only to dreaming, but also to living.

Finally, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a good example of how imagination and reality affect people’s lives. This, by experiencing the terms “dreaming” and “living”, their respective differences, and how they get related to each other and to a reader’s previous life experiences, personal identity, and knowledge acquired by her / him along the years.

And as a general conclusion: what seems to be impossible is what makes it possible.

“I’m not afraid to die … I’m afraid to be alive without being aware of it”.

36 Personal Opinion Reader-Response Approaches to Literature are an innovative strategy to be carried out during an English Language Teaching educational process for reading and writing lessons that require dealing with literature. Literally, they imply the death of the author, and turning the most oustanding attention to the relationship between the text and the reader; hence, both elements have to work together to accomplish a literary criticism.

In other words, if there is not reader, there is not text. Such process improves the development of a teaching-learning process by providing opportunities to concentrate on the 21st century skills (Critical Thinking – Communication – Collaboration – Creativity), also known as the “4C’s in Language

Teaching

&

Learning”.

This,

by

implementing contents about age, residence, social status, sex, race or ethnic group, knowledge, life experience, religious and political idologies into the tasks for the four language’s skills. As a matter of fact, it would be a pleasure for me to put into practice these literary criticim approaches with my apprentices into a teachinglearning process directed by me as an E.L.T facilitator / instructor. The most fundamental aspect for me falls upon the reader, who is the main concern, so s / he is going to make a connection about her / his life with the reading. This way, making the educational experience more significant for her / him.

37 A Concise Introduction to New Historicist Approaches to Literature As reported by Mayers & Pacheco (2012), New Historicism is a contemporary approach to literature which developed during the 1980s as part of a larger critical tendency known as cultural poetics. They are based on the assumption that every culture is a mixture of worldviews, mentalities and positions which respond to different sub-groups within a society, each with its own characteristics.

38 Personal Opinion New Historicist Approaches to Literature are a good factor for literary criticism; notwithstanding, it is not as beneficial as the previous ones for a teaching-learning process. Actually, they believe that there is not single truth or reality, and all human products are perceived from different foci, depending on the person’s context. Therefore, the social, cultural and historic contexts play an outstanding role in here, and they cover other elements and considerations like: time, place, region, race, gender, participants, ethnic, philosophic, historic, aesthetic, economic, political, ideological, religious, social and discourseive (Linguistic). All of them represent the presence of unequeal positions of power in socities, and which are found in a story comprehended and analyzed from these literary criticism approaches. All of the data antecedently written are useful for developing good

educational

espeically because

environments,

communicative there

needs

to

ones be

a

relationship between the content of the reading and the reader’s real and current cultural position (Identity) to get to a proper interpretation. But the issue falls upon the fact that students have to look for deeper information about the social and/or cultural context presented in the text before criticizing it, and it implies norms, values, patterns issues, conventions, time, place, participants and language within a specific context, situation or experince.

Unfortunately, most of learners nowadays do not like to read so much, principally when being about history and culture, so that is the point why these approaches to literature are not as good as the antecedent ones. From my point of view, I would make use of these literary criticism strategy / technique just in a couple of times (Maybe one time or two as maximum) just for my students to have basic knowledge about them. But I certainly know these literary approaches would be boring to study for my pupils by the cause of the requirement of reading and analyzing deep data about a determined culture or society, unless that they are provided with visual and summarized materials by me, such as: infographics.

39 A Concise Introduction to Cultural Studies Approaches to Literature Conforming to Meyers & Pacheco (2012), “Cultural Studies is an amorphous and complex term that encompasses multiple aspects of society and culture while exploring relationships of power; social structure, plurality and diversity.�

40 Personal Opinion Cultural Studies Approaches to Literature correspond to a complex area to be taught-learnt in a classroom. In fact, they embrace areas that can promote the 21st century skills within an educational atmosphere. For example, thinking, speaking, collaborating and creating tasks about history, gender, nationhood, aesthetics, film studies, media studies, postocolonialism, race,

ethnicity,

ecology, discourse, textuality and global and popular culture.

Likewise, possible

it to

is cover

other theories, such as:

Marxism,

semiotics, feminism, psychoanalysis and postructuralism.

Aside from the most meaningful fields of these approaches, there are: postcolonialism, multiculturalism, popular culture and film studies. As a general review, Cultural Studies Approaches to Literature would be part of a syllabus if I had to develop a teaching-learning process as an E.L.T worker, and as long as it would be a long period of time, at least for six months (Semester mode).

41 A Concise Introduction to Gender Studies Approaches to Literature: Feminisms and Beyond According to Meyers & Pacheco (2012), Feminist movements and ideologies evolved significantly in the 1960s at a point of turning into explicit areas of academic study, and making a connection to several educational areas, like: literary criticism, philosophy, psychology and discourse analysis.

In general, these literary criticism approaches deal with gender and sex; therefore, the L.G.B.T.Q and so on community is involved in here.

42 Personal Opinion Gender Studies Approaches to Literature: Feminisms and Beyond make reference to an important, but at the same time to a careful method to be utilized within a literary criticism teaching-learning process development. Actually, they are able to promote all of the 21st century skills in a classroom, which is completely necessary to be meditated and put into practice as much as you can as an E.L.T instructor and/or facilitator.

Nevertheless, there is a point that affects these educational approaches, and it is the fact that they are very controversial. Indeed, along the years, there have been beliefs, feelings and thoughts that sexuality should not be implemented into the education system, many people agree on that while others do not. As well as, discussing aspects like gender, sexuality, sexual orientation and sex it-self has positive and negative influence inside a class, notably for the subjectivity points of view to be found among a determined group of students.

Other elements are less controversial than the previous ones, and they may contribute to a better environment of a lesson, some examples are: examining issues

of

nationality,

ethnicity

and

culture. In like manner, studying contents about sexual identity, either as something innate, natural or stable, has to be delicately accomplished. Also, materials connected to must and rights, and how the L.G.B.T.Q‌ community is seen in societies. In other words, Gender Studies Approaches to Literature: Feminisms and Beyond have a lot to do with being more easily identified by what it is not than by what it is. In my case, I would make use of these literary criticism approaches with my learners in an E.L.T process, but first by having the authorization from the institution (Curriculum Development), the pupils’ parents and making sure that this would be part of their interest and needs from an educational perspective.

43 Conclusions By the end of this e-Portfolio, the following conclusions come up: -Reading is not only about reading it-self, but also meditating and making a connection to life experiences.

-Literary Criticism is more than getting just the plot of a story.

-There are different approaches to criticize literature.

-All of the literary criticism approaches are meaningful, purposeful and relevant for promoting the 21st skills or “The 4C’s in Language Teaching and Learning” during a teaching-learning process.

-Literary Criticism makes a class’ / lesson‘s environment more entertaining.

-Literary Criticism requires the practice of the four language skills.

-Literature classes must be more emphasized on literary criticism; therefore, the curriculum development too.

-Literary Criticism requires a passion for reading and writing.

-Researching is a key element for a successful literary criticism educational atmosphere.

-Literary Criticism has to be carried out in a way that does not affect students’ interests and needs (Personalities).

-Beliefs, emotions, feelings and thoughts are usually involved when criticizing literature.

Think about this: What is literature for you?

44 References Jeremiahcommunity.Ca. (2013, January 14). OConner-A-Good-Man-is-Hard-toFind.pdf. Retrieved on May 20, 2017, from Jeremiahcommunity.Ca: http://jeremiahcommunity.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/OConner-A-GoodMan-is-Hard-to-Find.pdf Lyra, Carmen. (2012). Uvieta. In Carmen Lyra & María Isabel Carvajal (Ed.), CUENTOS DE MI TÍA PANCHITA (1 ed., pp. p. 16 - p.21). San José, San José, Costa Rica: Emprenta Nacional. Retrieved on June 25, 2017, from https://www.imprentanacional.go.cr/editorialdigital/libros/literatura%20costarricen se/cuentos_de_mi_tia_panchita.pdf Mayers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to New Historicist Approaches to Literature. In Kari Mayers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., p. p. 39). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on August 12, 2017 Meyer, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to Mythic Approaches to Literature. In Kari Meyer & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., p. p. 2). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on August 11, 2017 Meyers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to Cultural Studies Approaches to Literature. In Kari Meyers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., p. p. 101). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on August 13, 2017

45 Meyers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to Feminist Approaches to Literature. In Kari Meyers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., p. p. 20). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on August 11, 2017 Meyers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to Feminist Approaches to Literature. In Kari Meyers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., pp. p. 19 - p. 37). San Pedro: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on May 25, 2017 Meyers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to Gender Studies Approaches to Literature: Feminisms and Beyond. In Kari Meyers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., pp. p. 75 - p. 99). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on August 13, 2017 Meyers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to Mythic Approaches to Literature. In Kari Meyers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., p. p. 1). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on July 08, 2017 Meyers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to Mythic Approaches to Literature. In Kari Meyers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., pp. p. 1 - p. 18). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on June 25, 2017

46 Meyers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to Reader-Response Approaches to Literature. In Kari Meyers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., p. p. 59). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on July 21, 2017 Meyers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to Reader-Response Approaches to Literature. In Kari Meyers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., p. p. 60). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on August 12, 2017 Meyers, Kari. & Pacheco, Gilda. (2012). A Concise Introduction to to Feminist Approaches to Literature. In Kari Meyers & Gilda Pacheco, The Perceptive Process An Introductory Guide to Literary Criticism (2 ed., p. p. 19). San Pedro, San José, Costa Rica: Editorial UCR. Retrieved on May 19, 2017 Microsoft Word - Young Goodman Brown.doc. (n.d). Retrieved on July 08, 2017, from Isites.Harvard.Edu: https://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic1220828.files/Young%20Goodman%20 Brown.pdf Morrison, Danielle. (2012). Brave: A Feminist Perspective on the Disney Princess Movie. Retrieved on May 25, 2017, from Digitalcommons.Calpoly.Edu: http://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1178&context=com ssp

47 Napikoski, Linda. (2016, November 16). Feminist Literary Criticism. Retrieved on May 19, 2017, from ThoughtCo.Com: https://www.thoughtco.com/feminist-literarycriticism-3528960 Raymond's Run Text. pdf. (n.d). Retrieved on July21 http://www.syracusecityschools.com/tfiles/folder836/raymond's%20run%20text.p df, 2017, from Syracusecityschools.Com. The New Yorker. (2013, December 14). Retrieved on July 21, 2017, from The Secret Life of Wlater Mitty: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1939/03/18/the-secretlife-of-walter-james-thurber