Critical Response 2

Nate Fuller

Critical Response 2

            The smaller installments of Bleak House have a much different feeling to reading them over the thick novel.  The fact that they are the originals is just one aspect that one must think about.  They could be replicas or re-made in some way, but the fact that they are the original published copies makes the reader feel much more into the story and Victorian Era.  It is also much less overwhelming only holding a small thin pamphlet over holding a thick and hefty novel. 

            I really enjoyed reading the advertisements and seeing all of the neat items that people were selling in the Victorian Era.  Having those interesting items and advertisements bombard the reader before opening up to the story is a good way of catching initial attention to the pamphlet.  There many have even been people that only read the installments for the advertisements.  Since only about 1/3 of the population could read at that time, the pictures may have been quite intriguing and eye catching to the general public.

            While reading the pamphlet I noticed the feeling that the installment put out.  First of all it felt as old as it actually was.  The pages were brittle and the fonts were much different from the thick book.  The form of how the installments were read really made a difference in the feeling of the story.  Since the paper was brittle and brown it constantly reminded me that I was holding a piece of history.  Knowing that in the back of my head changed the way I looked at the story and changed my entire perspective on the feeling that the story gives me while reading it.

            It is quite an experience reading something so old and historical in a novel, but reading the actual published copy is a rare and uplifting experience.  The class and story would not be near as interesting and as easy to stay focused on if we only read the novel.  In every other class we have only read the re-published novels and never get to see the piece of history it was made from.   Being able to see the format, font, and pictures of the original copy opens the eyes of the reader to what life was like when the installment was written instead of just imagining it for oneself and possibly getting the wrong interpretation.