Chapter 13

HOW TO READ FICTION

1. _Different Kinds of Literature_

If there were but one kind of literature, it would be an easy matter to give the few directions that would be necessary to make good readers. In reality there are, however, several types, so different in their purpose, style and content that the reader must study them in many different ways if he would get the varied and inspiring messages. To appreciate what this means, let us look over the field.

For our purposes, as has been said, true literature, as distinguished from the practical literature of fact, may be grouped under the two general heads of poetry and prose. At first thought the difference between the two seems wide and unmistakable. Poetry differs from prose not only in form, but also in rhythm, music, beauty and sentiment. The former is usually more figurative, and aims to stimulate the imagination more keenly and to enthral the feelings more completely. Upon a closer consideration it is seen that poetry and good prose have much in common, and that often it is really but a question of form, for lyric beauty glows in the phrases of our finest prose, and both heart and soul are moved by its powerful appeals.

There are narratives and arguments in both poetry and prose, and essays in the form of both. For this reason our general method of study may be the same for both, except when form alone is considered.

The simplest and most universal form of literature is found in the catchy little nursery rhymes which the children of the nation learn at their cradles from the lips of their elders. In these, if careful search be made, may be found most of the elements which in broader and more complex forms appear in the favorite selections of maturer years. Following the nursery rhymes appear the fables, fairy tales, myths and legends that have formed the literature of earlier races and have come down to us to be amplified and placed in modern form for the children of this age.

It has been said that in every child is seen the history of the race, and that from infancy to manhood he typifies every stage of progress the race has seen. In early years he loves the fables where animals speak, feel and act like human beings; for in former times mankind believed the fables to be truth. A child peoples his world with fairies, good and bad, and believes in the limitless power of magic. A little later he loves the deeds of the legendary heroes and revels in the marvelous acts of the more than human beings in whom the ancients believed. Later the stirring adventures of the real heroes of discovery and exploration, the heroic exploits of warriors on land and sea, and the courageous acts of noble men and women in every walk in life appeal to him; while still later, real history seizes the imagination of the youth, who now looks for the causes of things and learns to trace out their effects. He learns to reason and to separate truth from falsehood. Casting aside the wild tales of boyhood, he gathers up instead the facts of life and experience, and draws his inspiration from the noble works of the world's greatest writers.

2. _Reading Stories_

In the development of literary taste, fiction plays as prominent a part as fact, and to fiction, considered in its broadest sense, every child is deeply indebted. Many err in thinking that a stern diet of facts is the only nutriment the child mind needs, and still others err only in a less degree when they look upon fiction as perhaps a necessary evil, but one which must be avoided as much as possible and set aside at the earliest possible moment. All fiction has in it some elements of truth, and they are the sources of the inspiration which comes to children when, in their world of make-believe, they live with their beautiful and heroic friends of the story books.

To read fiction properly is to get from it the truth, which, however, is often liable to be lost by the reader in the excitement of the tale, or to pass undetected in the easy-running sentences. As fictitious narratives in prose and poetry in the great majority of cases form the larger part of children's reading, it is to them we should turn our attention. Before we begin their specific study a few principles claim our attention:

Good stories are the most helpful things a child can read.

The more intelligently and sympathetically a story is read, the more powerful for good it is.

The imagination of a child is the most powerful agent in the development of his mind.

The imagination acts only to combine, enlarge, or diminish ideas that enter the mind. It never creates.

On the nature of the ideas presented will depend the character of the imagination.

A vivid imagination fed with bad ideas is most destructive to human character. Good stories with high ideals can do no harm: but evil stories, particularly if attractive and entertaining, will undo the careful teaching of years.

As evil must appear in life, it may appear in stories, but it must be brought in in such a way that it is known as evil, and children must be taught to recognize it as evil.

The motives which govern the words and actions of the persons who appear in a well-written story are more easily discerned than the motives which actuate the human beings around us. Thus a child who reads intelligently is helped to discover in the words and deeds of the people whom he meets the elements of real character. A study of the heroes of fiction is a study in human life.

Improbable stories and those presenting impossible or unreal things are not necessarily bad; in fact they are often good and distinctly serviceable. No matter how true they appear to a child, the time comes when he rejects them as impossible, although he may always be indebted to them for keen pleasure and the awakening of his imagination. Belief in the myth of Santa Claus never destroyed a child's love and respect for his parents; faith in the unlimited power of good fairies never made a child less able to recognize the laws of nature. It is the halfway truths that are troublesome; it is the little misrepresentations not liable to be detected that may permanently deceive.

To understand the good and the true, to discriminate between the bad and the false, to find pleasure that shall awaken, enliven and inspire, to arouse curiosity and interest in wider, more thoughtful and helpful study, are some of the important aims of story-reading.

Purposeful reading on the part of children may be brought about by direct instruction from parent or teacher or it may be acquired by the child through his own efforts. Manifestly the former is the really efficient way and its efficiency may be increased if it is carried on systematically. The following outline will assist those who have children in charge to do their part easily and in the best manner.

In reading any story there are several things to be considered if one is to get the most out of it. These things are mentioned in natural order in the outline, each item of which will be treated at length in the pages immediately following.

In reading stories consider:

Primarily, A. The Plot. B. The Persons. C. The Scenes. Secondarily, D. The Lesson. E. The Author's Purpose. F. The Method and Style of the Author. G. Emotional Power.

In the volumes of _Journeys Through Bookland_, intended as they are for reading by children, it was not thought wise to make the studies extensive nor to attach much comment to the selections, lest the young readers weary of the task or neglect it entirely. In this volume a different case confronts us and we put the discussions on a higher plane. If these suggestions are used in the instruction of children, some care in adaptation will be necessary. The age and sex of the children, their advancement in their studies, their surroundings at home and in school, will all need to be taken into account in determining what selections to use and how far to carry the method. A good general principle to follow is to present to the children only so much as will hold their interest; present it in the manner that will best retain their interest, and change the subject or the method when interest flags.

Speaking in general terms, children are most interested in that of which they already know something, and prefer to study intensively something which is "easy to read." The familiar selections of old readers often are found to be alive with interest, if studied by a new method. A method is understood most easily when it is applied to a simple subject; in this case, to a story in which the youngest children will be interested. A word of caution may be worth while: Especially with young children,--"Do not let the method be seen; it is the _story_ that is to be brought out."

It is evident that the Plot, the Persons and the Scenes of the story will interest children of all ages; that all will be benefited by the Lesson if it is judiciously presented; but that only the older children can be interested to any great extent in the Author's Purpose, Method or Style or in the study of the Emotional Power of the selection, however much it may be felt.

A. The Plot

The main line of events leading up to the climax of interest in the story may be called the plot.

It is the plot that furnishes excitement, and for perhaps the majority of readers constitutes the chief interest. In some stories the plot lies upon the surface all the time, and everything is made subservient to the purpose of holding interest, keeping up excitement and mystifying the reader until the climax is reached. Thrilling detective stories of the poorer class, exciting love stories and the cheap juvenile tales of Indian fighting, with heroines in dire distress and heroes struggling to rescue them, are illustrations of this type. No effort is made by the author to make real human beings of his characters, and little or no profit comes to the reader, while infinite harm may be done to minds craving excitement and finding in it nothing to stimulate an interest in better things.

In the better stories of greater writers the plot still plays an important part, but while it sustains interest unflaggingly, it carries with it other things which are of vastly greater importance. In such stories the persons are living, breathing realities, and the reader feels that he has added permanently to his list of tried and true friends. Tom Brown and Tiny Tim, who live only in stories, are as much our friends as Henry Thompson and Rudolph De Peyster who live in the next block. The great writer, moreover, takes us with him into new places, among new scenes, so that Rugby becomes for a time our own school, and from Tim's poor hearth there enters a warm Christmas glow into our doubting hearts. Although the plot is important, yet all stories that enthral the mind with exciting incidents must be regarded with suspicion until they prove their right to be considered real literature by furnishing higher interests or greater inspiration.

To analyze the plot of a story, however, is always helpful; to arrange the incidents in order, to determine which are necessary to the development of the story, and which are merely contributory to the general interest, is an interesting and stimulating thing. The plot of short stories may quite often be told in few words, and unless very complicated, the plot of a novel may be given in a few sentences. In some stories, however, the plot is so loosely constructed and of so little real importance that it is hardly more than a train of apparently equally important incidents. Again, the plot is oftentimes so complicated by secondary plots and incidents that even a careful reader becomes confused and loses his interest.

Let us consider the plot in such a story as _Cinderella_ (Volume I, page 224). The main incidents of the plot arrange themselves as follows:

1. Cinderella's mother dies.

2. Her father marries a widow, who has two daughters.

3. The stepmother sends Cinderella to the kitchen to work and to the garret to sleep.

4. The king's son gives a great ball to which he invites Cinderella's stepsisters.

5. The stepsisters require Cinderella to assist them to dress, and abuse her shamefully.

6. The sisters go to the ball, and Cinderella sits by the kitchen fire wishing she might accompany them.

7. Her fairy godmother appears and sends her to the ball in fine style.

8. Cinderella, beautiful as a picture, dances with the prince, who falls in love with her.

9. The clock strikes twelve, and Cinderella goes back to the kitchen.

10. The stepsisters again mistreat Cinderella.

11. She goes to the ball the second day.

12. She forgets her godmother's warning, and after midnight rushes back home, leaving a single slipper behind her.

13. The prince finds the slipper and searches for its owner.

14. The sisters fail in trying on the slipper, which is then fitted to Cinderella's foot.

15. The fairy godmother restores to Cinderella the appearance of a princess.

16. The prince marries Cinderella, and she forgives her stepsisters.

A summary of these main incidents may be given in a few words, which will contain the skeleton of the plot. To say that a certain little girl who is shamefully treated by her stepsisters is aided by her fairy godmother to attend a ball given by a prince, who finally marries the little drudge, is to give the plot and really to tell all that the lax and superficial reader gets from the story he peruses.

There are in this little story, however, a large number of minor incidents which contribute to the interest, and if sought and placed in their relation to the main events will be found to have added materially to the charm of the narrative.

For instance, when the fairy godmother sends Cinderella to the ball for the first time, children are led to a vivid interest in the event by a series of fascinating incidents, as follows:

1. The fairy sends her into the garden for a pumpkin.

2. The godmother, scooping out the inside of the pumpkin, leaves the rind, which she taps three times, and immediately it becomes a golden coach.

3. The fairy spies six mice alive in a trap.

4. Cinderella lets the mice out gently, and as the fairy touches them with her wand, each becomes a fine, dapple-gray horse.

5. Cinderella brings the rats, the largest of which the fairy converts into a handsome postilion with a fine pair of whiskers.

6. Cinderella finds the six lizards behind the watering pot, which become the six sedate and dignified footmen clothed in livery.

7. Cinderella's rags are changed to wonderful clothing bedecked with costly jewels.

8. The beautiful glass slippers are provided.

How real these incidents all seem! What art is shown in bringing in real things to give food to the imagination and to stimulate the interest that carries the little reader away from herself where she may riot in the wonders her active mind can so readily conceive. Some time when she has grown much older, and cares have wrinkled her smooth cheeks, she may see that the only fairy godmother who can clothe a Cinderella is hard work, and that mice become dapple-grays, and footmen are made from lizards behind watering pots only when she has earned the right to them herself. Just now it is enough for her to see that fairy godmothers come to good children only, and that good princes do not care if their wives have worked in the cinders, provided they are beautiful in gentleness and service to others.

Children like to understand what they read, and are never so happy as when talking over their favorite stories with those of their elders who have the power to enter sympathetically into the child world. By no means do all boys and girls like to be taught; in fact there are not many more certain ways of prejudicing a child against anything than by making it the subject of a formal lesson. Still, every child loves to learn, and is seeking at every moment to add to his information and to exercise his mind. Yet he must do it in his own way and with the things in which he is interested. If those facts are borne in mind, no parent will have difficulty in interesting his child or in leading the juvenile mind where it ought to go.

To apply these ideas to teaching the plot of such a story as _Cinderella_, let the parent who loves his children, and who wishes to be no stranger to their interests, joys and sorrows, seat himself among them some time and begin to read to them. Pausing now and then to explain some word whose meaning may be obscure to them, or to comment on some phase of the story that may be of special interest, let him read on to the end without attempting to do much more than to make the story a vivid tale where the interest centers in the incident.

When the story has ended, the pleasure has but just begun. Children like to ask questions, but they are no less ready to answer them if the questions are on things of interest, are related to the things which children know and are put in such a way that the genuine interest of the questioner is always evident. The I-know-it-all-and-you-know-nothing style of questioning; the I'm-the-master-and-you're-the-pupil style; the because-I-ask-you-must-answer style are all fatal to interest, and will soon prevent that hearty sympathy and living spirit of coöperation that the parent wishes to secure.

If we suppose it is _Cinderella_ that has been read, we may begin our questioning in this manner:

"That's a good story. I like it, don't you?--It is rather long, though; I've almost forgotten how it began.--O, was that the first thing that happened?--Was the father a rich man?--Did the story say he was rich or did you just think he was?--If he had not married a widow could things have happened as they did?--How did the widow and her daughters treat Cinderella?--If Cinderella had not been mistreated would her fairy godmother have come to her aid?--If the fairy had not appeared could the story have been the same?--How did the fairy make the golden coach?--Could she have made it out of anything else?--If she had made one just as good out of something else, could Cinderella have gone to the ball just as well?--If Cinderella went to the ball in good style did it matter how she went?--If Cinderella had not gone to the ball, could she have met the prince?--Was it as important then that she should have a coach made from a pumpkin as that she should go to the ball and meet the prince?--Can you think of something else just as necessary to make the story come out right as that Cinderella should go to the ball?--Can you think of other things that must have happened just as they did to make the story come out right and just as it did?--Can you think of some things that might have happened differently and still not have hurt the story at all?--Let us put together all the things that must have happened to make the story right and leave out the things that could be changed. Now, what are they?--Now let us find a few things we could leave out or change. What are some of them?--If we left them out the story would come out the same, but would it be as good, as interesting?--Would you like Cinderella as well if these little things had been left out?--Would you think as much of the prince if he had found Cinderella right away as you do when he has to do so many hard things before he finds her?"

Every one must realize the impossibility of providing a scheme of questioning that would fit exactly any given case, but will not the above suggest a method that may lead to many a happy and profitable evening at the family round table? Even if there are older children in the group they will renew their interest in the old stories and get more good from them when it is seen that father and mother do not deem it beneath their dignity, nor outside the range of their interests, to read and study a fairy tale.

In _Journeys Through Bookland_ are here and there outlines and questions designed to lead the children to see for themselves what it is hoped others will take pleasure in showing them. Examples of the selections which contain outlines, questions and comments designed to help in the study of the plot may be found as follows: