TOW #16 - How to Read and Why (IRB 2.2)

The second half of my IRB, How to Read and Why, is much similar to the first – the only difference was that this half focused on novels and plays. Unfortunately, that means that I was not a big fan of the book. But regardless of my opinion of the book, the author, Harold Bloom, still uses rhetorical strategies in order to achieve his purpose. In his piece, How to Read and Why, Bloom uses the exemplification mode of writing to attempt to teach the reader what to look for in a book – more specifically, why we read at all.

For each section (e.g. novels and plays), Bloom introduces famous examples to serve as good books for the audience to read. For example, when discussing novels, Bloom goes into detail about In Search of Lost Time, by Marcel Proust, The Magic Mountain, by Thomas Mann, and Emma, by James Austin. I have never read any of the pieces of work that Bloom explained in the entire book, and for that reason, it was very difficult to follow. After giving each example, he essentially summarized and analyzed it. While this seems effective if I were actually reading the books he was discussing, I’m not reading the books he was discussing. Because of this, I don’t think his exemplification contributes to his purpose (and exemplification was the most prominent strategy used in the book).

In the end, I don’t think that Harold Bloom did a sufficient job in teaching his reader exactly how to analyze, or even why we analyze. I think that he did give the audience some examples of good books to read, and from there the audience can analyze some famous works. But his purpose was to teach, not to guide. So, if there was anything to take from this book, it was that I now have tens of new IRB options.