The Struggle is Real // Emmett Bryant

 I have to admit, it was a struggle for me to read chapters 1-11 of Bleak House. I am the kind of person that likes to have everything figured out about a narrative so, for Dickens to leave so many of my curious questions unanswered, is an absolute pain. When he wrote that there was fog everywhere, I think he wrote that knowing just how confused the reader would be when starting to read Bleak House. It is as if while reading the words there is a slight haze of fog obscuring some of the words on the page making it hard to know the true meaning of the words. There are certain important aspects that can be seen and you grasp onto those, but it is as if at the same time you know you're missing out on a major part of the story. I really do think that Dickens did that on purpose; he wrote Bleak House in a way that would keep the full picture of the story hidden from the reader. It is as if we're viewing the story of Bleak House like trying to view a magnificent painting of Van Gogh through a tiny hole in a cardboard box. This extremely frustrates me to say the least. 

I commented on Raygan and Braylan's posts. 

Comments

  1. Abigale BellOctober 25, 2021 at 7:18 PM

    Hi Emmett! To me, Dickens is laying the foundation for a great story with every question left unanswered. The complexity of this story is increased as he adds new layers of intrigue. Only giving us the story in parts creates an anticipation for the reader to follow through to the conclusion. Although this anticipation can easily become frustration.

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  2. Taylor ViceOctober 25, 2021 at 9:19 PM

    While reading "Bleak House", I too kept getting confused. It seems as if Dickens kept leaving holes in the narrative, but I feel as if he was actually just trying to make us look deeper into the story than he was showing. "Bleak House" is definitely a story that requires thinking beyond the surface level of the words on the page. // Taylor Vice

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  3. Emily OttsOctober 25, 2021 at 10:59 PM

    I definitely agree that the fog shows how hard it is for the reader to understand the story, just as it is for the characters to see through it. The story probably will not make sense until the fog in the story and the metaphorical fog clear up.

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  4. Breanna PooleOctober 26, 2021 at 8:16 AM

    "Bleak House" is not a story for the faint of heart, as it takes considerable work to get through it. The complexity of the mystery is what keeps the reader going, and it certainly helps that it creates a large reason to keep the reading the story. But I too like to have as much figured out as possible before reading, so it is a bit of struggle to get through this book.

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