Who else struggles to listen to lectures on literature, even though they love books?
I love books. I love human histories but I never liked literature classes. For a long time, I couldn't put my finger on what the problem was. Then I read Nassim Taleb’s Fooled by Randomness, and it clicked.
I feel like most literature professors are "fooled by randomness." To them, nothing is accidental in a book they admire. Everything is symbolism. Every tiny detail has an explanation or some secret meaning that—by the way—isn't accessible to just any reader. These professors use their symbolism to suffocate the literature. They stack so many layers of meaning on top of each other that the actual essence gets lost. They turn authors into gods, forgetting the simple fact that they were humans, too, prone to human flaws. That kind of idolization actually makes me feel a sense of loathing toward the author. To me, it feels like a deception, and I don't like being deceived.
Furthermore, this omnipresent symbolism makes literature feel inaccessible, as if it’s only for the "chosen ones." It feels like it strips you of your right to read and your right to have an opinion if you aren't an expert. I am certain that literary works were not written for literary experts. These experts also take away your right not to like something. They don't allow you to dislike a recognized masterpiece. In this setup, when you read a book and don’t enjoy it, you don’t think the book is silly (you aren't allowed to); you think you are the silly one for not understanding such a "masterpiece."
Who else gets an inferiority complex because of all this symbolism? And who else feels like this symbolism sometimes borders on the absurd?