Applicability: Difference between revisions

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{{trope}}
{{trope}}
{{quote|''"I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse '[[Trope Codifier|applicability]]' with 'allegory'; but one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other resides in the purposed domination of the author."''|'''[[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]]'''}}
{{quote|''"I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse '[[Trope Codifier|applicability]]' with 'allegory'; but one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other resides in the purposed domination of the author."''|'''[[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'''}}


When it comes to writing thematic stories, there are essentially two methods to go about it: allegory or applicability. Which method you use will depend on how obvious you want your theme to be.
When it comes to writing thematic stories, there are essentially two methods to go about it: allegory or applicability. Which method you use will depend on how obvious you want your theme to be.


[[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]] himself hated formal allegory because the reader was forced to see nothing but the author's POV on what the author considered the theme. In answer to the many allegorical readings of the ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''—which he eventually got tired of getting letters about—he stated the book was not an allegory, but had ''applicability''—the story simply happened to be comparable and applicable to many [[Real Life]] issues.
[[J. R. R. Tolkien]] himself hated formal allegory because the reader was forced to see nothing but the author's POV on what the author considered the theme. In answer to the many allegorical readings of the ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''—which he eventually got tired of getting letters about—he stated the book was not an allegory, but had ''applicability''—the story simply happened to be comparable and applicable to many [[Real Life]] issues.


Applicability is the reader interpreting what the ''theme'' of any given work is. Sometimes a reader's interpretation of the meaning of the story is very different from authorial intent; Works written to be [[Anvilicious]] despite hammering the creator's purposed theme will have an alternate interpretation of the work on part of the audience. Or put another way, writing something that is able to have multiple interpretations, only some of which are those that the author specifically intended. Applicability can give a fictional work different interpretations even on different readings, and is one reason [[Alternate Character Interpretation]] and [[Wild Mass Guessing]] are such active topics in fandoms.
Applicability is the reader interpreting what the ''theme'' of any given work is. Sometimes a reader's interpretation of the meaning of the story is very different from authorial intent; Works written to be [[Anvilicious]] despite hammering the creator's purposed theme will have an alternate interpretation of the work on part of the audience. Or put another way, writing something that is able to have multiple interpretations, only some of which are those that the author specifically intended. Applicability can give a fictional work different interpretations even on different readings, and is one reason [[Alternate Character Interpretation]] and [[Wild Mass Guessing]] are such active topics in fandoms.
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== [[Literature]] ==
== [[Literature]] ==
* [[J. R. R. Tolkien|JRR Tolkien]] kind of coined the word, as seen in the quote at the top. He always denied his Middle-earth works to be an allegory of anything, but said that because they were just so archetypical and universal (literally a lost mythology), their stories and themes could be compared and ''applied'' to many real-life/historical/fictional stories and issues. It's one of the reasons why ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' is so difficult to pigeonhole and figure out what the theme is—he didn't put [[Anvilicious|any obvious one]] in. This explains why people from a wide spectrum of viewpoints tend to read the same book and yet get widely different interpretations of the theme of the book. This lack of an obvious theme also makes it hard for some readers to get into the books because they expect the books [[Anvilicious|to clearly show what theme it is]].
* [[J. R. R. Tolkien]] kind of coined the word, as seen in the quote at the top. He always denied his Middle-earth works to be an allegory of anything, but said that because they were just so archetypical and universal (literally a lost mythology), their stories and themes could be compared and ''applied'' to many real-life/historical/fictional stories and issues. It's one of the reasons why ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' is so difficult to pigeonhole and figure out what the theme is—he didn't put [[Anvilicious|any obvious one]] in. This explains why people from a wide spectrum of viewpoints tend to read the same book and yet get widely different interpretations of the theme of the book. This lack of an obvious theme also makes it hard for some readers to get into the books because they expect the books [[Anvilicious|to clearly show what theme it is]].
** In later editions of the book, Tolkien specifically goes into detail about the incorrect notion of his book being an allegory of [[World War II]], which was probably a comparison he was tired of. He argued that if his book were based on [[World War II]], Saruman would've gone into Mordor during the chaos and found out the knowledge needed to make his own Ring of Power. The War of Ring would end up being a war with [[Evil Versus Evil]] with Hobbits being destroyed in the process.
** In later editions of the book, Tolkien specifically goes into detail about the incorrect notion of his book being an allegory of [[World War II]], which was probably a comparison he was tired of. He argued that if his book were based on [[World War II]], Saruman would've gone into Mordor during the chaos and found out the knowledge needed to make his own Ring of Power. The War of Ring would end up being a war with [[Evil Versus Evil]] with Hobbits being destroyed in the process.
** The Eowyn subplot can remind western readers of the story of Joan of Arc. To Chinese readers Eowyn's story can easily be seen as a version of the story of Hua Mulan.
** The Eowyn subplot can remind western readers of the story of Joan of Arc. To Chinese readers Eowyn's story can easily be seen as a version of the story of Hua Mulan.
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