Yahoo Image Search
Over the years, I’ve gotten into a few discussions about fiction that revolve around the hidden meanings of stories. Like how ‘Hunger Games’ is all about wealth inequality or ‘Lord of the Rings’ is an analogy for WWII. Some of the translations make sense while others are rather odd. For example, I met someone who claimed ‘Twilight’ was about the Cold War and I kind of turned off when they began with the fact that there was snow in the story. Anyway, this is only the set up for a mini-rant off the top of my head.
As an author, personal thoughts do slip into what my characters say or do. It’s inevitable and usually accidental. When on purpose, my intention is only to get the emotional react right. I might use my personal thoughts on poverty and homelessness to make sure I’m pulling on my own heartstrings. A civilization may touch on an aspect of our world that I think is flawed, but roll into something else. My confusion on there seeming to be an endless parade of divorces is a big part of Bor’daruk’s creation. It does move toward an opposite extreme too if you really pay attention to the entire tradition. This is problem the biggest and most intentional example of me accessing my personal thoughts for a fictional story. Although I’ll admit that Luke Callindor wanting to be a hero does sometimes mirror my younger thoughts on becoming an author.
Did I want it to start a conversation with Bor’daruk? Not really because my main goal has always been to entertain and provide escapism. If a debate happens then it happens. As I said, my personal beliefs and curiosities come through in my writings if there’s the opening. Typically, it isn’t even the whole belief because that would be too preachy and I immediately cut it off. It also gets chopped down in my own editing runs if I fail to notice what I’m doing. Other times, I use what I feel and do the opposite. My emotions guide me and not only the positive ones. The negative ones tell me I’m doing right by a villain or going in the right direction for a character that I would disagree with. At least I think so because it doesn’t come up as often as people may think. Again, entertainment author here and not somebody who is trying to change society beyond providing a fun escape.
A funny thing is that many people do read a story and search for the hidden meaning, which they’ll always find. Not because it’s there, but because they want it to be there and already have it in their head. Go into anything with an agenda and you’ll be able to uncover evidence. This can cause trouble too. A reader may despise an author because of what a villain does even though the author doesn’t support the action in real life. I’ve had a few complaints about Stephen Kernaghan because he’s a sadistic rapist and some people seem to think his existence means I support him. Uh, he’s a villain and writing his death scene will be (or already has been) a true pleasure because he’s pure evil. His actual purpose is to pit the champions against someone who is a true monster and has no redeeming qualities.
My point here is that you can’t take what a character does or says and think that’s what the author truly believes. Especially if there are other points of view in the story and these things are more for character coloring than plot. People seem to want authors to always stand for something, but that might not always be the case. Sometimes a story is just a story for entertainment. Looking too far into it can mar the experience and make you miss out on the fun. I always think that intention is what we should look at before making a judgement and that holds true for this. There’s a big difference between an author writing fiction to make a social point and one doing it for entertainment.
So, do you go into stories looking for social context or hidden meanings?
Legends of Windemere 
I often miss it if there’s a hidden meaning, or I’m generally aware that it might be trying to make a point about society or something, but I’m not exactly sure what! I think I got put off analysing stories beyond what is written during school days of Shakespeare analysis, where every line is analysed for its many different meanings and you find yourself thinking “I’m sure Shakespeare didn’t think of all this when he wrote these lines!”
LikeLike
I remember those classes. Just getting through Old English was tough and then we had to hunt for the meanings. To be fair, I was crazy enough to take a college course on Shakespeare . . . at least I have the textbook with an old syllabus from such a glass.
You have a good point that we are taught to look for hidden meanings and this can turn people off to doing it later in life. For myself, I just think we look so far into a story that we miss the actual story. I know a lot of people who do this and it’s hard to discuss beyond the meaning with them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
While I might be aware of a theme, I don’t actively search for a hidden message in a story. I read a book to be entertained. If I wanted my social conscience raised, I would look at the news. But unless I have to analyze a book for a review or an essay, I take the story at face value without thinking, “This is a treatise on man’s inhumanity to man.”
I agree that authors often write within their own pulse beat. I tend to write stories of alienated people, because I’ve often felt that way. But I don’t want to beat someone over the head with a certain message like, “Don’t alienate someone!” I usually write about someone who comes to terms with where he or she is in life.
LikeLike
What if it’s a treatise on man’s inhumanity to nature? 😛
I think one of my most common themes is using a hero that is out to prove himself. Whether it be to a family member, the world, or even themselves, I gravitate toward a character who is out to reach a big goal.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I also like a story with characters out to prove themselves. And if they entertainment while doing that–great!!!!
LikeLike
An added bonus. 😀
LikeLike
Great point here. We are not our characters. Sometimes you just need a monster.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup. There has to be a separation at some point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like that. Sometimes you just need a monster. That’s why I watch Godzilla films.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t go looking for hidden meanings. Sometimes they seem obvious, as in “Animal Farm.” In “The Hunger Games” there are fairly obvious allusions to ancient Rome, but people can still enjoy the trilogy without knowing anything about history or Latin. I like to simply read and enjoy the story, but a social context or theme can be an important part of the story. It just really depends on the book and the genre.
I think Shakespeare was very much aware of what he was writing. He was probably very conscious of his social and political milieu–and what would please or displease Elizabeth I or James I–as well as what would please common people in the audience. They would have understood the jokes without the explanations required today.
LikeLike
Shakespeare is a curious example. He did plays, so he probably did have to take the political and social climate into consideration. Things seem to change when your words are being heard and not just read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Charles, this is a great post. I read a story for pure entertainment, no matter what the story is about. Meaning, if I’m into murder and mayhem or romance, I want the author to do his/her best at writing it. Whether or not it comes from personal experience or pure imagination, I don’t care! I care about the quality of writing. I read the post, excerpt from your book, and thought…what good writing! Charles really knows how to punch up his characters! Yikes, I hope the bad guy Stephen gets it in the end! Chryssa
LikeLike
I’m the same way. Entertainment first and philosophical stuff second. Nothing wrong with the other way, but it’s not me as a reader or author. As far as Stephen . . . he’ll be getting his comeuppance when the time is right. Hardest thing was to pick who got to take him out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m copying from an older post of mine:
“Runaway Smile has been described as “a humorous book with a serious moral”. People have made similar comments, but I always wonder which moral they’re talking about. An author sits down and writes, and only later does he analyze what he has written. Or at least that’s the case with me. So, I’d be happy to share my personal take on the story, but that assumes I have got the same thing out of it as everyone else.
What prompted this thought is a strange call from a psychologist family friend the other day. She said she loved the book, because it said exactly what she had been struggling to convey through her own unfinished book: that all men would turn into criminals if not for the mother’s love.
When I indicated that this was not my personal understanding of the story, she refuted me, explaining that I obviously did not understand what I had written.”
I guess what you’re saying is similar to my experience. Dare I say it’s probably a common occurrence?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m the same way and I typically don’t have the same translation as all the readers. You have to figure if there are multiple translations then the author only meant for one or maybe even none.
Honestly, it drives me nuts when I’m told that I don’t understand my own stories. What does that even mean? Was I possessed by a ghost who is the real entity behind the story and it forgot to leave the translation with me?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yep. A ghost sounds about right.
LikeLike
Wish the one working with me now had a better sense of geography. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol – fair enough. Mine seems to be on holidays. Looking forward to having it back 🙂
LikeLike
Does it send postcards at least?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sigh… Not a word… Wait – not true. Gave me a call the other day, though. Wrote a short story in record time, then vanished again.
LikeLike
Sneaky specter. The one with me now gave me some future ideas for the new cast, but it’s winding down. 1 more chapter to go.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So you aren’t like Robert E. Howard and have a ghost whispering the story into your ear as you write? You’ve shattered my illusions about being a fantasy author. 😦
LikeLike
Sorry. Just the voices that aren’t so much ghosts as living beings from another dimension. 😉
LikeLike
I don’t read into a story anything that is not there. When I read the classics, there were meanings that were fully obvious. When an author describes and develops a character, it is a process of making the character come alive in the story context. I don’t see how people can assign a particular idea that the author is working through that character to somehow make a statement. I think you are right when you say you draw and various emotions to strike a note of believability. I have read four of your books so far and I can honestly say I have no idea of where you stand on social issues.
LikeLike
I think it stems from thinking there is a trick to the story. It seems many people enjoy peeling back layers more than reading the story. So when someone that is casually reading sees a barking dog for a barking dog, another will consider it an embodiment of how we can become protective of things or whatever the scenario is.
LikeLike
I never go looking for a hidden meaning in stories, I’ll even ignore them if I see them, I want to be entertained, not be preached to.
LikeLike
Preaching can be the worst in some books. I can only handle it when the character has demonstrated a tendency to preach or has a good reason.
LikeLike
Personally, I anticipate the crackpot theories of representation that become of what I write.
LikeLike
Seems rather inevitable.
LikeLike
I don’t specifically look for hidden meanings, although I’m open to a metaphor if one seems apt. As you say, it’s all to easy to only see what we want to.
LikeLike
Yup. This is why I try to go in with a clear mind. Though some people say that’s just my natural state. 😛
LikeLike