Question about themes

dr gonzo

I'm reading Gulliver's Travels at the moment which i've never gotten around to before now but have always meant to read. I'm enjoying it immensely so far but the thought struck me the other night that i didnt truly understand the underlying themes of the story which obviously, as one of the worlds best satires, means its being somewhat wasted on me.

My question thus is: Is a book with such an important underlying message a lost venture to read if the reader is not able to comprehend whats beneath the surface?

Also to what extent would others on here think they understand the true message of authors like Swift etc?

Mardy Bum

I think it depends what you are reading. If you are reading classic children's literature then by all means it can go without being understood as the book was primarily written for children who don't understand underlying themes but the story will always be interesting and enjoyable- Huck Finn, Alice in Wonderland (personally hated it), Wizard of Oz, Treasure Island etc.

However if you are reading something like Hemingway, Joyce or Caver's short stories for instance and don't understand the underlying themes then yes this is a waste of time.

Manach

On the other hand, perhaps it is best to let the theme take a back seat to the story. For instance, man hunts whale is fairly unique to Moby Dick. But there are seams of richness within, from travel, to quest etc that to focus on one theme neglects others.

Latchy

Gulliver's Travels was one of the first books I read as a child and the theme of giant being accepted and adopted by the inhabitants of Liliput impressd me so much that I assumed all similar childhood books would end in happy ending, including Peter Pan and Snow White .Then a few years later I read William Goldings , The Lord of the Flies , one of the first to shatter the good adventure and same with Orwells Animal Farm ...which I both accept as not primarily being childrens books

Sorry this doesn't really answer your questions OP but just thought I would throw it in

Eliot Rosewater

I think it very much depends on the particular book. Ernest Hemingway is a beautiful writer, so there's a lot to be experienced at surface level. Perhaps it's inevitable that lay readers like myself and the OP and others will never get everything a book has to offer, but I still think there's pleasure and insight to be had if you "connect" in any way with it.

It's been a while since I read Gulliver's Travels, but I recall understanding very little of the deep stuff. I was only new to serious reading back then. In my experience your critical skills improve the more you read. I've been reading as past-time for about two and a half years now, and I've developed much better skills out of that than my 6 years of secondary school English, which was pretty much useless.

Permabear

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