Blog Post #1: LENS SELECTION - Rama S.P.

Out of the five lenses to choose from: Psychoanalytical, Feminist, Reader-Response, New Historicism, and Postmodernism, the Critical lens that I decided to chose was the Psychoanalytical Lens. Looking through the Psychoanalytical lens the reader has to understand what a character's psychological status is and how this effects their actions. A character might be stable or disturbed because of past events, relationships, or conflicts. So we have to use this lens to understand where they are coming from.

Last year we read "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin wherein the main character, Edna, is unhappy with her social life. She decides to commit suicide by swimming out far into ocean to "escape" her life. If we didn't understand Edna's whole life how her relationships with lovers and society plays into this decision we would think Edna is irrational. Understanding her reasoning behind committing suicide, we can sympathize with the character. She doesn't want to conform to societies' rules and this is what disturbs her throughout the whole novel.

Another lens that I have considered is the Post-Modernist Lens. Using this lens the reader needs to read text without using bias. This means disregarding past knowledge while reading the novel. This allows the reader to not pass judgement or be biased.

I personally believe that everyone has a back story and their past experiences makes them who they are today. They might be dysfunctional because of a horrible accident or event that took place that impacted them negatively. It is our job to understand where the other person is coming from and not judge them by their actions. I am hoping to get a better understanding of using a psychoanalytical lens to understand a characters perspective and all the topics associated with this lens.

(#Likethebackground?)