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Critical Lenses for Reading Literature

Why is this important?

Critical reading lenses allow readers to understand different ways the text can be interpreted

According to research, understanding and using various reading lenses can improve the quality of student comprehension and their ability to create arguments in high school and college

Furthermore, it allows readers to find the invisible meaning deeper within a text

8 Critical Lenses

Lets begin!

  • Religious connection lens
  • Psychoanalytical lens
  • Feminist or gender lens
  • Historical lens
  • Archetype or narratology lens
  • Marxist lens
  • Readers response lens
  • New criticism or structuralism lens

All the following examples will be from the novel series Harry Potter, even if you've never read the books, the explanations are there to make the example clear

When the Prezi prompts you to give an example, please refer to worksheet attached on Showbie

Note

Religious Connection

Read critically by looking for biblical allusions and connections to religious issues.

Religious

Connection

Religious Connection

Example

Harry Potter is known as the “chosen one” and must be sacrificed by the closest example of a father he had– Dumbledore. This alludes to the biblical story of Jesus being sacrificed by God, who is also known as the Heavenly Father, as a way to save mankind.

What are some examples you can think of?

Your Turn!

hint: Let's begin with Lord of the Flies....

Psychoanalytical

Lens

Read critically by analyzing the conscious and unconscious motives of a character or author.

Author

Example

Perhaps J.K Rowling chose to put such an emphasis on the power of a mother’s love in the Harry Potter series because she lost her own mother at a critical stage in her life. The Guardian reports, “JK Rowling has spoken of her sadness that her mother, who died from complications related to multiple sclerosis at the age of 45, never knew about the success of her Harry Potter novels.” (Flood 1). During this sad time in her life, Rowling channeled the loss of her mother into the feeling of loss that Harry bears.

Note:

This can also be done with the character

maybe a character is unconsciously being angry and aggressive toward students at a new school, they are taking out anger and choosing not make friends in a new town because they have moved so often,and therefore, deep down they feel as though making friends is not worth it. This is manifesting itself in a bully sort of way.

Character

What examples can you think of ?

Author?

Character?

Your Turn!

Feminist or Gender Lens

Feminist or Gender

Read critically by analyzing how gender plays a role in the interpretation of the text.

Hermione contradicts stereotypical gender roles in which males are typically viewed as having the most power and intelligence in relationships. Hermione is the voice of reason, the most intellectual, and the key decision maker in her, Harry, and Ron’s friendship.

Example

What are some examples you can think of?

Your Turn!

Historical Lens

Historical

Lens

Read critically by analyzing the context of the time period in which the text was written.

Time Period can tell you ALOT about author choices based on events happening when the book (or movie) was written!

Since the Harry Potter series was written in the same century in which the Holocaust took place, one cannot help but to draw parallels between the two. Mudbloods are viewed as inferior to purebred wizards which mirrors the twisted views of the Nazis who thought that Jews were an inferior race.

Example

What are some examples you can think of?

Your Turn!

Archetype or Narratology Lens

Read critically by analyzing character types or narrative formats that are repeated in other works.

Archetype or Narratology

Lens

Example

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone follows part of the Joseph Campbell Hero’s Journey which includes:

1. The Ordinary World- Living with the mundane Dursleys

2. The Call to Adventure- Getting his Hogwarts’ letter

3. Refusal of the Call- Harry feels that he is unworthy when Hagrid tells him of where he is about to go, "Hagrid looked at Harry with warmth and respect blazing in his eyes, but Harry, instead of feeling pleased and proud, felt quite sure there had been a horrible mistake. A wizard? Him? How could he possibly be?” (Rowling 47).

4. Meeting with the Mentor- Harry meets Dumbledore

5. Tests, Allies, and Enemies- Harry faces many tests and

is able to tell friends from enemies.

6. The Ordeal– The climatic battles Harry must face

Journey Continued

Other works that follow this journey...

Journey Continued

Matrix

The Wizard of Oz

To Kill a Mockingbird

Marxist Lens

Read critically by analyzing how class systems and wealth play a role in the interpretation of the text.

Marxist Lens

Example

The Weasley family represents a lower social class. The disadvantages of being poor affect Ron the most. He feels embarrassed, inadequate, and inferior when he doesn’t have enough money to live the life he wants to live.

However, Rowling is sure to point out that even though the Weasley family is poor, they are rich in the things that truly matter such as love, loyalty, and laughter.

What are some examples you have?

Your Turn!

Readers Response

Read critically by connecting your own experiences, thoughts, and mood to the text.

Readers Response

Example

When Harry sympathizes with the snake that is

trapped in the enclosure, this may bring back

nostalgia from childhood. An adult may remember being the only kid on the zoo field trip who felt sad rather than excited to be there; sympathizing with the enclosed animals

and imagined how much happier they would be if they were in the wild. Maybe that feeling of sadness was symbolic of a

desire to not be entrapped by my family’s location.Wanting to believe that one day they'd

venture out and live a life of freedom.

Give an example of a book that you connected to and why

Your Turn!

New Criticism

New Criticism

Read critically by analyzing the

text independently without background or outside knowledge. Only focus on the meanings of words and how they interact.

Passage: "They just looked at him, smiling. And slowly,

Harry looked into the faces of the other people in the

mirror and saw other pairs of green eyes like his, other

noses like his, even a little old man who looked as though

he had Harry's knobbly knees - Harry was looking at his

family, for the first time in his life...The Potters smiled and

waved at Harry and he stared hungrily back at them, his

hands pressed flat against the glass as though he was

hoping to fall right through it and reach them. He had a

powerful kind of ache inside him, half joy, half terrible

sadness" (Rowling 151).

Rowling uses a paradox formation here to precisely

describe the emotions one would feel by getting to see

their parents for the first time but not being able to

embrace them.

Example

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