The first step: thematic reading.
Just understand what this book is about.
——The theme of the book can be summarized in one sentence: "The Godfather" is a gangster novel. It tells the story of the gangsters originating from Sicily and their activities in the United States, revealing the decadence and corruption of American imperialism. The decline has exposed the emptiness and confusion under the fading capitalist system... and so on.
——The theme of the book can also be explained with a larger dose of text than the original text: since ancient times, the Tao has been conveyed, and the leopard can be seen in the tube. The reason why the book "The Godfather" has become a classic is because it breaks away from the conventions of gangster novels and uses human nature as a perspective to show us the inherent laws and potential laws of human society. "The Godfather" is not a book, it is a history of the evolution of human nature. It is not the superficial history of the origin of gangs, but the history of the development of all associations in human society, or to be clear, it is the history of the development of enterprises. Yes, there are constant gunshots in "The Godfather", but it is not about violence or blood, but about love.
This is the first step in interpretation. Some people think it is over after reading this step.
——Wrong! Reading is for application.
If there are a thousand readers, there will be a thousand Hamlets, and there will be a thousand thematic interpretations, but thematic reading is just the wind passing through the water. Although there are countless ripples, your heart remains the same.
With thematic reading, you will only see what you want to see and what is inherent in your heart.
——It will only strengthen the readers’ inherent prejudices and shortcomings.
That’s why some friends, who have read thousands of books, still remain stubborn because their reading only stops at the first step.
Step 2: Structured reading.
What is structured reading?
It is the broken character that Du Fu said, "Reading can break ten thousand volumes." You must penetrate the confusion of words and find out the basic structure of a book.
How to find it?
Take "The Godfather" as an example. This book has at least three structures.
Potential is thought.
What is conveyed is emotion.
What the text embodies is the character.
——Then let’s start with the character structure.
With this structure, you can do emotional interpretation and gain ideological benefits.
"The Godfather" interprets the gangster Don Corioni family. The first generation is founder Tang, who has four children, three sons and one daughter.
Overview of the personalities of the four babies. The eldest baby is fierce, the second baby is timid, and the third baby is brave and smart. The only daughter closes her eyes and doesn't look at reality, just hoping that the years will go well.
Step 3: Read out the worldview in the book.
——Worldview is your view and perspective on the world.
——World view is the starting point of a person’s intelligence. All human actions are based on the thoughts in the mind. If your understanding of the world is wrong, then you will hit a wall everywhere and everything will go wrong.
Having a wrong worldview is like playing according to the rules of basketball on the football field. On the marathon track, you start sprinting 100 meters. A considerable number of people in this world are not incompetent or incompetent, but because their worldview is a little skewed, no matter how talented they are, they cannot use them. Being shunned by your colleagues in the workplace, bullied by your love rival in the workplace, and making you jump all over the place and scold your mother every day is in vain.
Step 4: Read out the outlook on life in the book.
——All industries are underworld.
——They all have hardships and hardships that only insiders know.
——In all industries, there are founders like Lao Tang, and there are founders like Dabao, who compete with others. People with the Erbao type tend to be timid when meeting people. There are those who are the daughter of the Old Tang Dynasty, who do not acknowledge the existence of the external world at all, and only want to make the world according to their own ideas. If they are not satisfied, they will cry to you.