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Literature: how much do you point out deeper meanings, allegories, etc?
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I was just doing some pre-reading of A Wrinkle in Time and it got me to thinking….
How much do you directly point out symbolism, allegories, and other kinds of deeper meaning in books?
When, say, a 6-10yo reads Narnia or really many other books they are getting the storyline, the adventure of it all. And that’s a wonderful thing. I might see all of these other deeper meanings and morals and other such things in books they read independently, but they usually do not see these things on their own (or at least they don’t often mention it). I have often just pointed out selective themes, symbolism, etc., or sparked a discussion to help “guide” them to these discoveries, but I’m debating if there’s a better way.
When we actually read a book together or spend time in a discussion/analysis of it (like “Teaching the Classics” style), it is much easier to do this gently. But the mid- to late-elementary (and beyond!) ages read a lot in their own free time. Obviously not everything needs to be discussed, not every book analayzed or narrated. But I’m curious how others deal with that.
I’ll give this one a stab and see if it’s helpful…
I don’t directly point these things out, but I do ask somewhat “probing” questions along the way. For example, my children were 6 and 7 when we read the Narnia series. After the chapter when Aslan breathes Narnia into creation, I asked my children, “Does this remind you of anything we’ve read from the Bible?” They replied, “It’s like when God created the world!”
Also, when Aslan was killed on the Stone Table, I asked them, “This seems familiar to me. Does it to you?” And they replied, “Aslan was like Jesus dying on the cross!”
I remember once reading Horton Hears a Who with them; you know, “He meant what he said, he said what he meant. An elephant’s faithful one hundred percent”? I’ve probably read that book 100 times to them since they were babies. One evening, we were reading about God’s faithfulness, and without prompting, both kids shouted out, “He meant what he said, he said what he meant! Our God is faithful one hundred percent!” I got teary-eyed.
Oftentimes, children won’t make a connection until much later, after the reading. I can’t tell you the number of times my children have come across something in one book and compared it to a book they read long before. Or a situation happened in real life, and they’ve been able to correlate it with a certain character’s situation in a favorite book. It happens naturally!
It amazes me how much children really do “get” if we just step back and allow them to think for themselves. Will they get every allegory, symbol, analogy, or deeper meaning? Of course not. But even at 6 and 7 years old and with a little prompting, children can make connections on their own.
Blessings,
Lindsey
What has been interesting is to teach them the tools for looking deeper. Not through a specific piece of literature but in a more isolated way. I know, I know … not so CMy! But done in the right atmosphere it is like putting a tool in their tool belt. Knowing what things are called, how things are defined (terms) and where resources are for literay analysis is kind of like a small tutorial hook that they can then call on when they need to or feel lead to.
I’ve experienced enough moments of real connection between subjects, between lessons, with their faith, between characters, in comparison to current events or their own lives at this point so I know that the deeper thinking is happening organically on its own time. However, when the task is to take those oral and silent narration and analysis skills to pencil and paper, it can be terrifying. I find that’s when the language of that type of work comes in handy. No fear! You’ve got the tools you need to go there. Forward ho! 🙂
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