Criteria for a Good Novel - FICTION EXAM

Michael Stutz

Intro To Fiction Final

Dr. Burchmore

3-14-9O

First and foremost, I'm going to define what I believe is the

ultimate purpose of novels. To me, the novel's prime purpose in life

is to gain some sort of insight on life itself - it should be realistic

so that you 'lose yourself' in it. This insight can be gained in many

ways, such as by a philosophical viewpoint that the novel takes, a funny

or comical view of something in the novel, or anything really, just as

long as the reader learns something. Anything. (But we have to stick

'about life' after that. If all you learn is that Abe Lincoln was

a US President, it's not a novel, you could read a fourth grade history

book for that. So you have to learn something about life and living,

especially as it relates to life on this planet.)

Now that my definition is clear (I hope), I can define the

criteria for a good novel. Above all, it must fulfill the definition

above. It can do this using any/all of the techniques below, and

probably many more that I just haven't thought of right now at this

moment:

Characterization: REAL people. No Batmans or soap opera types, but

people that you run into in everyday life, or ones

that you WISH you'd run into. I can't say I've

ever known a Cliff Huxtable, but I've encountered

many a Jason Compson.

Description,

Imagery: I want lots of good descriptions and imagery that

is useful (relates to themes and ideas). Good

stuff will make you want to read a book at one

sitting, and good images will remain in your

memory for a long time. (I still remember

reading Joyce's "The Boarding House" and the

images that the poor Irish house was given.)

Plot: I like suprises, but if a plot is all suprise and

just a trip from point A to point B, it's boring

and no fun to read, especially the second time

around. So I like complex plots that use all of

these other things and tie it all back to the

theme. The more interprative the better.

Setting: I'm VERY myopic about this. I will NOT read

anything about Russia, Europe, or Egypt. I like

settings that I can relate to, so American novels

only, please.

Motifs: To me a novel is like a piece of music, and motifs,

like music, blend the themes together, sometimes

recurring at different volume levels and tones.

I like that.

Tone,
Atmosphere: This kind of stuff I really get into, also.

To me, atmosphere and tone are EXTREMELY important

elements of fiction, partly because they portray

the author's feeling, and if you don't know the

feeling, you can't interpret it. (Well, to me,

anyway)

Point of View: I put trust in the author in that he/she has

written the novel in the best point of view for

it. (Does this make sense?)

And now, my two favorites and two worst:

WORST

Moll Flanders: I respect DeFoe, he was the first novel writer, and

his journalistic quality is really getting 'hip'

again, with people like Thomas Woolfe and the New

 Journalism (there's nothing new under the sun).

But, the characters were so shallow and it was so

old of a book that it got in the way of my reading.

Pride and Prejudice:The characters were like "Dangerous Liasons",

they didn't do anything. Unless I win the lottery,

I'll never be able to relate to them.

BEST

The Sound and the Fury:If I could only get MY thoughts down on

paper like Faulkner did!!

Native Son: It was gripping and it made me look at racial

prejudice from a different perspective. That's

one thing I really can't stand and so I was

intrigued while reading this novel. Besides,

when I was at the library taking it out, this

old man said to me, "I saw that play 35 years ago

at the Hanna." And his eyes lit up like he really

enjoyed it.

Michael Stutz
3/14/90