In everyday life, criticism refers to a person making negative judgments. People may criticize others’ appearances, attitudes, or thoughts. Within literary works, however, criticism is using details from the text to unlock the author’s true meaning. In Literary Analysis by Celena Kusch, she describes criticism as making negative judgments. In my daily life, I admit to doing this quite often. Upon my entrance into the class English 203, I was critical of the pieces we were reading, specifically regarding I am Not Sidney Poitier by Percival Everett. The class began reading the book with assignments of a few chapters at a time. Throughout the first few assignments, I really enjoyed the book. I thought it was an easy read and the content was simple. The book was only telling the life story of a boy named Not Sidney Poitier. I even went as far as to remark during class time that I thought the book wasn’t deep. By this, I meant that the book was simple, and there was no underlying meaning that Percival Everett was trying to convey. Beth then told me that this may be one of the deepest books I will ever read. I couldn’t believe this. How could a book that appears to be so simple on the surface be one of the deepest books I will read? Later on, in the class period, I realized she was right. The name of the main character should have been my first clue that the book was not as simple as I had previously thought. Throughout several more class periods of instruction and discussion among my peers, I made the discovery that I am Not Sidney Poitier is full of so many elements that I could not fathom that an author fit it into one novel. A majority of the stories told within the novel relates back to a film Sidney Poitier starred in. Each story also contains an underlying meaning that a surface level reader, such as myself, may never discover without being critical.
There is a certain level of importance when deciphering between being critical and being a critic. Being critical refers to the negative side of criticism. The word has a negative connotation for a reason. The Merriam Webster dictionary defines criticism as an expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or mistakes. I viewed the novel I am Not Sidney Poitier as a simple book because on the surface it seemed like an easy read in comparison to other novels I have read that seemed to be similar such as The Help by Kathryn Stockett. This was my initial comparison because they were set around the same time period and told several stories within one novel. Comparison can be a helpful tool in criticizing books, but it can also hinder a person’s ability to analyze literary works with an open mind. The helpful side of critical comparison can help a reader identify certain literary techniques and analyze them more effectively in order to find a deeper meaning. The hindering side of comparison can lead the reader to make assumptions within the text that lead them to not analyze the meaning at all, or insufficiently. The story within I am Not Sidney Poitier I would like to focus on is the storyline from the film The Defiant Ones. The film is set in the 1950s and tells the story of two prisoners that escape prison while shackled together. One man is black and the other is white, and they work together to escape the police hunting them down. It was controversial at this time to see a black and white man working together and developing a friendly relationship. We viewed the film in class prior to reading the novel. While reading this section of the novel, I was able to make the connection between the movie and the film and criticize the book to find a deeper meaning within the story. I believe Percival Everett wanted to highlight the type of character Sidney Poitier tended to play in his films. He was strong but always ended up helping people even if it didn’t benefit himself. Critically analyzing literary works, and making comparisons help a reader figure out the deeper meaning of texts.
Using criticism while reading is a crucial skill to develop. Though, one must be cautious while using criticism. Using a critical eye while analyzing literary texts is helpful when finding the true meaning of a text. A reader needs to identify elements, patterns, and anecdotes within a text in order to make connections to find deeper meanings. Readers need to develop the skill of differentiating between being a critic and being critical.