The Importance of Books

[Poliester]

is

[running_alone]

This is some stuff I've actually been thinking about. I'm guessing this thread won't go anywhere if I actually go to bed now, so I'll post a long post with some thoughts and hopefully helps in the morning. Hope that's okay for you and your deadlines.

[Nights Mistress]

I can seriously sympathise; I'm doing a honours thesis for university on a superhero comic series that I adore and it is seriously strange to write about symbolism and metaphor about something that I just read for fun!

I was wondering whether you're thinking of drawing parallels between wizardry and the idea that we live in an age where a lot of power is tied up in information and data? (I mean, look at Google, Apple, Microsoft etc etc) Our generation is one where we have access to more forms of information then we ever had in the past (easier access to the written word, radio, TV, internet) and a lot of these developments are paralleled by the manuals that the kids all have in the books. The manuals themselves are unique to the individual (Nita and Kit have different emphases in their books - SYWTBAW) and so when they come together and do a team wizardry, what they're doing is synthesising the information in their manuals to come up with something better than on their own.

So then the books become an allegory (...parable? Metaphor? One of those) for the idea that having access to more information is better to create better things -- and that the reason why Nita and Kit are so easy to relate to is because they're us in the 21st century, with so much information to hand that if we find it and manipulate it in just the right way, we could do anything.

...or something. I've probably overshot the mark and this is probably too ambitious for a high school paper.

[Wizardprincess]

cool idea

uh how about words are more important than we think and what we write doesn't go away idk

[Poliester]

Night's Mistress: Thank you for your input! Really cool suggestion. The only thing is this is supposed to be all internal, like everything contained in the book. I'm not allowed to go outside. It's a literary analysis thing and not like an ethics discussion. That really threw me off; I wrote a bunch of stuff but it was too close to Theory of Knowledge and not literary analysis.

I still don't really know what I'm going to do. I think I'm going to do the aspect of travel in her first four books? Maybe? Like, why they travel so much, what she's saying by all that. Or maybe the eternal battle between good and evil, but I don't think I'm prepared for that. Maybe I'll just stick to Duane's reaching her audience. I have no effing clue.

[running_alone]

AHHH! You know Theory of Knowledge?! I love you! Okay, not really.

I really do have thoughts. Getting them written.

[Poliester]

Running Alone, I'm still waiting for those thoughts! Hah, I'm really interested in seeing what you have to say.

Unfortunately, my topic changed. I just couldn't write on it, no matter how much I wanted to. So instead I'm writing about the role and significance of the aspect of travel in the first three books. Had you ever noticed that the major adventures depicted in each book happen outside of a familiar environment? In SYWtBaW it's Dark Manhattan, the parallel universe.

My main point of my new essay is that travel represents the internal development that happens during adolescence.

[hushpiper]

Good idea. If you're having trouble with a paper, it almost always helps to narrow your area of focus. I think that your new topic is very interesting as well! You make a good point. The action/conflict of the books always seems to be set in an unfamiliar place, e.g. Dark Manhattan, the ocean, Ireland, outer space, inner space... Do you mind sharing some of your ideas for discussion?

Another question: Are you writing this paper only on SYWTBAW, or on the entire series?

[Silverclaw]

Hmm, very interesting. I always thought DD just liked to write about interesting settings. But then, I'm not much for analysing books.

[Priellan]

Hmm, very interesting. I always thought DD just liked to write about interesting settings. But then, I'm not much for analysing books.

Well, that's probably mostly true. A lot of the things that we analyze about books in English class are subconscious. A lot of them are conscious, too, but this could easily be subconscious or conscious on DD's part. She'd probably have to answer that one to let us know. That's the nice thing about having the author around, unlike most literary classics; if she wishes to, she can tell us when we're bang on the head with our interpretations or way off the mark with what she was thinking. It's also nice to interpret works the way we wish to without total regard for the author's thoughts, but I don't think death-of-the-author taken to the extreme is a good idea. [/ramblyrantthing]

[NickRyan]

You could possibly write about how the characters grow and mature in all aspects of life and ability. Or how through their travels they are able to learn new things about themselves.

[Dragon Writer]

I would point out, that, as important as she claims books to be, she also gives a nod in other directions - by making computer and wizpod manuals, it can be said that, while books might have the most power, other things can be just as important when it comes to making an impact on someone's life.

Or she could have just thought it would be a fun plot point putting them in. But on a paper, you can generally get a lot more from going along the first line of thought.

[estar9821]

Yeah, every book has an unfamiliar setting. Or at least all the ones I've read so far. I think DD is trying to open up our imaginations to the endless possiblitlies out there...by showing us different prespective on life. We go out of our puny human prespective.

[Poliester]

Results

So my essay turned out to be about how the setting and travel reflects how the characters mature and grow into young adults. I knew it was a really bad essay because I didn't take nearly enough time to write it or do research. I changed my topic a month before it was due, and it was a BIG project.

Well, my teacher hated it. She sat me down and told me that it was a piece of garbage. Of course, I agreed with her. No matter how much I love the books, the subject, everything, it WAS poorly written. I personally thought it was an interesting topic, but the presentation was sub-par. The one thing I liked about the essay was that it was split up into sections, one for each of the first three books, so it was easier to read. There were some good points in it, but really nothing worth shouting about.

I hated it, my teacher hated it, she had other people read it and they thought it was so bad that they called me in for a meeting. They thought I had cheated on a successful previous essay because the difference in writing ability was so drastic. I cannot believe they accused me of plagiarism, but that's their deal. I didn't cheat, I am actually a little smart. Thanks for the boost, teachers...

Anyway, the essay was turned into the International Baccalaureate, the program I wrote it for. My fingers were constantly crossed for the 3 weeks I had to wait to get my results. I cringed as I logged into the website to check my results, expecting a D or worse and... I saw a B!

I seriously did a double take and sat there staring at the screen. My voice trembled as I called my mother in to witness the glory, and she thought it was something bad because I sounded so shocked, haha! My teacher would be shocked. In fact, I'm going to visit her the next time I'm in town during the school year and see what she says!

I'd like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to this thread, as well as everyone I ever met on these forums. You guys really did help shape my life and my passion for this series. Most of all, I'd like to thank Diane Duane herself, of course, for writing the series and being there for her fans. It was amazing to be able to talk directly to the author of my favorite series.

Thanks everyone and good luck on all your school projects!