Critical Reading

Although one definition of criticism is "to censure," its larger meaning is an evaluation, a judgment. A rave review of a new book which contains no word of censure is just as much criticism as a review without a kind word to say. In both cases the critic is offering his own judgment, and of course you may not go along with him either way. The critical reader does not blindly accept opinions. He reads them for their own interest and reserves judgment till he gets hold of the book himself.

In the previous chapter I talked about the growth which a person takes on when he becomes a better reader. One of the best examples of this is in critical reading. What you read has deeper meaning once you are evaluating and judging the con­tent of all kinds of writing.

Nonfiction

The simplest kind of evaluation takes place with nonfiction — articles in which an author's opinions are up for judgment. You are reading partly for information here, because the author is marshaling evidence to support his conclusions. But his main purpose is to interpret the evidence according to his opinions.  The reader will be judging whether he has made a good case and deciding to agree or to challenge parts of the argument.

Newspaper editorials are a good example of this kind of writing. The newspaper's editors take a position on a subject of local, national or world importance and justify it in a reasoned discussion. Columnists are frequently arguing a controversial point of view. Books and many articles in magazines set out to discuss causes or focus on conditions they feel need cor­recting.

There is no drill to learn in critical reading, but there should be two processes going on actively in your mind as you read. The first is to ask questions; the second is to judge state­ments the author makes in terms of whether all of them are readily acceptable.

1. Ask questions. You do not approach this kind of writing with the idea of finding fault. You simply read with questions in your mind. Probably you have always done that to some extent. With heightened reading skill and faster pace your mind absorbs ideas more quickly and is geared to take a more active part in evaluation. This adds a great deal to the stimula­tion of reading. There is nothing more challenging than match­ing intelligence and knowledge with an informed person, and this becomes the reader's purpose with critical reading.

Many of the questions that come to your mind will depend on the nature of the article itself. But there is a general pattern that can be followed with most articles. Let me illustrate with an example.

Suppose you are about to read an article titled "Your Money Goes Down the Drain." The subject is our govern­ment's aid program to underdeveloped nations. The title grows out of the author's discussion of what he claims to be a badly conceived and wasteful project for draining swamp lands in a Latin-American country. You know nothing about the situa­tion under discussion. But there are some perfectly intelligent questions you can ask:

a.         What is the author's experience? Did he work on this project, or visit the area?

b.        What is the author's background — economist, agronomist, journalist, Congressional committee-man?

c.         What seems to be his purpose in writing the article?

d.         Does he appear to be an objective observer, or do you feel he is swayed by prejudice?

e.         What sort of evidence does he offer?   Does he present a series of reports? Or, on examination, is much of what he says simply his opinion?

Questions of this sort will govern the amount of skepti­cism which develops in your mind, and this will make your reading more interesting because your mind is actively engaged. Your questioning attitude will also alert you to distinguish between what is first-hand report and what is opinion.

2. Judge statements. The most believable statements in any article or book will be those which cite authorities or are made from personal observation. These are reports. When the author departs from documented reports he is presenting opinion. It may seem quite plausible opinion, but you should be reading to question whether the opinion seems justified in the light of known facts. Let me illustrate with a short para­graph about fishing:

"On the evidence of the authoritative book, 'North American Game Fishes,' the Gulf Stream off Florida's east coast is one of the world's finest sport fishing areas, with most of the notable large game fishes of the world. In a single afternoon I have seen sailfish, white and blue marlin, sleek tarpon and huge deadly sharks. No fish provides finer sport on a rod and reel than the blue marlin."

Of the three sentences in this paragraph, the first is report, since it cites an authority. The second is also a report, since the author makes the observation out of his own ex­perience. The third, however, is opinion, even though the author could probably have justified it on the basis of personal battles with various kinds of fish. You could not dispute statements one and two. You might want to challenge the third.   The author has offered no support for his opinion.

Broader Forms of Nonfiction

Up to now I have been speaking of articles and books designed to give information which is then interpreted by the author's opinions. A somewhat different kind of critical alert­ness comes into play with nonfiction which has an important literary quality — a fine biography or book of memoirs, essays, a study of some period of history, philosophy and the other humanities. You are no longer simply asking questions and judging statements. You are also judging quality.To do this, a reader's taste in literature now becomes part of the critical equipment.

In a biography, for example, the author will be telling the facts about his man — bringing out the early influences on his life from parents, boyhood friends and environment, showing how these played a part in shaping the course of his develop­ment. The author will be both interpreting the facts and using his literary skills in order to give you an estimate of the man and his times. The critical reader is now not only asking questions and judging statements but forming his own estimate of the author's literary performance.

He will consider the quality of the book's style and how well the period has been re-created. And he will also be forming his own opinion of whether the author's interpretation of events is justified by the research which supports the con­clusions. Some of this will be part of the text. Often it is cited in footnotes, or in additional "Notes" to the chapters usually placed at the end of the book. My advice is to ignore these as you read, since they can be irritating interruptions of the narrative and often give no more than the source of an anecdote. But this documentation should all be taken into consideration when you are reaching a final evaluation. It is the justification of the conclusions the author has drawn.

It is in this final evaluation that your own taste plays its part, since judgment will be based on a comparison of the book's quality with the quality of other biographies you have read. This same element enters into evaluations of all kinds of fine nonfiction which are read for self-enrichment. By the breadth of his reading a person learns to evaluate the book he has just finished and to give it a proper place in companion literature.

Imaginative Literature

Another kind of critical reading comes into play with imaginative literature — fiction, plays and poetry. The person who has read fiction only for its entertainment quality will find that critical reading introduces a rich new dimension to its enjoyment. Without making a point of it, he becomes his own reviewer, his own critic, judging a novel with an added gauge of its beauty. He will weigh the novelist's latest book against his earlier ones. He will consider style and the author's particular genius for evoking mood in his scenes. He will be alert to how well the author creates characters and keeps their actions plausible. Instead of simply pushing on to find out "what happens," he will be thoroughly involved in a reading experi­ence.

The same sort of critical apparatus is brought to bear in reading plays. The reader will appreciate the dramatist's skill in giving quickly a sense of the situation through the dialogue at the beginning of act one and then building his action toward the effect he intends to create. If you were watching the play, the actors themselves would create much of this effect for you. Reading a play is a sharper test of the dramatist's ability. Now his lines must bring the stage and its characters to brilliant life in the reader's mind.

Reading poetry — and especially the more obscure pas­sages of contemporary poetry — is an experience which many people say they never enjoy. But if you have not been reading verse lately, try it with your new reading skill alert. You may find that with your mind quickened to absorb ideas more easily what had seemed obscure and difficult before takes on new meaning and enjoyment.

These adventures in self-enrichment are the sophisticated reading experiences. They are part of the growth which I mentioned in the previous chapter. Now that the drudgery of reading is overcome you are freed to interpret as well as enjoy. These are the lasting rewards of better reading.

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