SLOW READING AS A METHOD FOR REVEALING IMPLICIT MEANINGS IN THE LITERARY WORK

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is to develop the basic methodological principles of slow reading of literary works with deeply veiled subtextual content. The subject of the research is the short story “Cat in the Rain” by E. Hemingway, whose literary style is clearly manifested by the Iceberg Theory as a well-known way of artistic expression of the implicit meanings. Research questions are to analyze E.Hemingway’s “Cat in the Rain”, using slow reading in order to demonstrate its basic principles; as well as to develop the main methodological principles of the analysis of a literary work, the application of which enable both the identification of the means by which the author creates the implicit plan of the text and mechanisms for decoding subtext meanings by the reader. The considered scientific coverage of the problem of slow reading in the works by M. Adler, D. Mikiks, J. Miedema, and others. The impact of the features of the computer era on the nature of reading is analyzed, the need to counteract the superficial perception of texts caused by clip thinking is indicated. M. Adler revealed in detail the concept of reading comprehension. D.Mikiks developed a number of methodological principles for slow reading of literary works of various genres (novels, short stories, dramatic works, and even essays). J. Miedema explained the importance of a slow way of perceiving texts from the perspective of psychophysiological science. Slow reading of a literary work is the slowest pace of its analysis, an effective method for penetrating the depths of content and the implicit level of the text. It is appropriate when the object of analysis is a highly artistic literary work that implies the depth of its content and the effectiveness of expressive techniques that create an aesthetic impact on the recipients. The slow reading methodology requires the application of certain basic methodological principles. Since there is an implicit level of a text, the interpreter must decode information that is not explicitly stated. This decoding process is based on three main points. Firstly, slow reading requires a conditional division of the text into episodes, each of which expresses an artistic meaning, all of which together form the main idea of the work. In turn, the method of analysing each episode involves identifying the artistic meanings expressed in its visualised moments, as well as dialogues (polylogues, internal monologues). In a highly artistic text, each image contains an implicit meaning. The ability to analyse the visual leads to decoding the unspoken. This also applies to the language of the characters. To demonstrate the method of slow reading, the short story “Cat in the Rain” by E. Hemingway was chosen, which exemplifies the “Iceberg Principle” cultivated by the author. The conditional division of the story into episodes allowed delving into the artistic world of the story and understanding how the meanings and motives of individual episodes form the main artistic meaning of the story. A detailed analysis of the visualised moments of the work made it possible to trace how the writer introduces the reader to his artistic world, creates the illusion of being present in it. This increases the level of the reader’s empathy – his/her ability to feel the internal emotional states of the characters. Nevertheless, the analysis of dialogues lets the reader reveal the psychological content, create a psychological behavioural model, and understand the internal psychological states of the characters. Such a dual interaction of the text components “visualisation – dialogue” forms the subtextual meaning of the work. The slow method of reading the short story “Cat in the Rain” makes it possible to reveal the hidden artistic meanings of the work. It raises the problem of family happiness that requires mutual understanding and spiritual intimacy between spouses. The story deals mainly with the inner states of an American woman. They centre around one single idea, which is the desire to have a real family and a home. Likewise, the method of slow reading allows us to understand the image of George as a representative of the “Lost Generation” which was one of the objects of artistic reflection in Hemingway’s works. George is a typical representative of that generation. He is one of those young people who, having survived the war, cannot find themselves in the post-war world. At the same time, the main artistic meaning of the story can also be interpreted as an expression of the idea of the global loneliness of people, the alienation of human existence, that is embodied in the images of the American couple, the hotel owner, and the writer himself as an “image of the author.” Slow reading should be based on an understanding of the theory of a literary work as a systemintegrated entity. The main categories of this theory are the concepts of the integrity of a literary work, the system-forming factor, and the system of artistic means interpreted as “techniques”, each of which has its own function. Thus, the aesthetic impact of the literary text is revealed that is the main goal of true art.