#aplit16kingmerit

Using these guidelines for King’s “Four Seasons”, I would have to say that this book does have something to offer. I believe there are clear messages in each of the novellas within the book and each of them can be related to society. When I think of this requirement, I think of Apt Pupil, which sends the message that not only can the thirst for knowledge become a slippery slope, but there will not be a happy ending for someone who falls so far off from the straightened arrow of society. I also found that this book fulfilled the requirement that it helps the reader develop views on something they may have been struggling with. For me, this new perspective came from the Shaw shank Redemption novella. I did not know what to think of the people in prisons, did they deserve what they got? This book helped me develop the perspective that no man deserves the cruelty of such prisons and they need to be changed. Lastly, I agree that this book was entertaining enough to draw an audience and people will see these traits throughout the book. 

As for Stephen King’s “Different Seasons” I would say that it isn’t. As a whole book and because of how I see it and the criteria I use to judge it, I believe that the book isn’t scoring home runs. The reason I say this is because not all the novellas add up to literary merit. “Apt Pupil” and “The Breathing Method” are just there for the scare of it. They aren’t really meant to show any life changing meaning or political messages, so that’s why they didn’t make the cut for me. They just didn’t really have anything beneath the surface.

Not only has King inspired pop culture with his works, but he has also developed a name for himself through his twisted, horror fiction writing. Three out of the four novellas included in Different Seasons have been made into films and this is mainly because the book showed complexity by having fascinating plots. The first criteria under literary merit stated that the work needs to entertain the reader and the second novella “Apt Pupil” accomplished that by exploring a different theme, focusing on the human capacity for evil. Throughout the entire book, the disturbing characters, innovative writing style, and “original” plot brought the stories to life. Also, the differences in themes throughout all four novellas depicts how King altered his horror writing to have different focuses (ex: hope and character development). These novellas were compiled together in order to show King’s writing in a new light, proving that he is an innovative writer who adapts his writing to his audience's wants and needs. Lastly, horror fiction writer Ray Bradbury develops each of his books to have rhetorical moves and thematic depth which when viewed closely, is no different from the works of Stephen King. In Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the plot is centered around a dystopian society who burns books. Bradbury wrote this novel by having a different perspective and from doing this, it isn’t cliched at all. King’s “Apt Pupil” is similar to this because it also contains a plot twist by having a golden schoolboy character who transforms into a psychopathic killer. If we compare both books, they each have strong characters (Guy Montag and Todd/Dussander), complex passages incorporating figurative language, and have been showcased in pop culture through book to film adaptations. All in all, Stephen King is an innovative writer who deserves to have Different Seasons be of literary merit.

I think our group could have focused less on the universal appeal part of the list, but other than that I really don’t think we did that bad. We all got a little bit irritated, and I guess a little bit too focused on things, but all in all it wasn't too bad. The other group was just like ours basically, sometimes they would get stuck on things and change views a lot, but they did pretty good too. 

Considering that, what do we make of the question “Does Different Seasons by Stephen King have literary merit?” The answer is we don’t. I do, and so do you by following your own criteria. I consider Different Seasons to be worthy of literary merit. The book itself was engaging and insightful. It did what a story should do, immerse me in it. In each story, I found myself feeling awe, suspense, disgust, joy, and relief. I’d cheer on Andy, tremble at the thought of Todd, or get irritated at Vern. And that’s only the surface. Books should make you feel emotion! Apt Pupil really gave me some chills. It wasn’t scary, it was just creepy. The story got me thinking about “what ifs?” and how realistic it could be. Overall, I found each story in the book drew me in and got me thinking. Each one entertained me, gave me insight, and changed things up. I believe Different Seasons is worthy of literary merit. 

Yeah I know, I’m not funny at all I just wanted to be somewhat creative. Anyway literary merit is something I am seriously having difficulty understanding. I get what makes something of literary merit (it’s literally just a checklist) but someone just made that up. So if I fail this tumblr post ok but I don’t think I’m fit to say weather or not Different Seasons is of literary merit. In all honesty I’m still confused as to whether or not it needs to have every single thing on the checklist and if it doesn’t wouldn’t that mean that everything is of literary merit? No seriously think about it. Every book in the world has at least one of the things on the list or else it wouldn’t be a published book. So as we’re harknessing and everyone’s telling me that it doesn’t have to meet all of the qualifications on the checklist they’re basically telling me everything and anything can be of literary merit, right? Or are they saying that nothing is of literary merit? Is Different Seasons of literary merit? I can’t say because I don’t believe it’s a actual thing and I also don’t believe I am fit to judge a man’s work who makes more money than I’ll ever see in my life. So I apologize for saying it isn’t of literary merit earlier today but I don’t believe it is an actual thing. 

Sooo what is the actual definition of a literary merit? Honestly I don't think there is a specific one because everyone has their own definition and opinion on whether the book is of literary merit or not. I believe that "Different Seasons" is a book of literary merit, but not everyone agrees to that. Therefore, we can't really give a definite answer to the question, even if the book meets all the requirements on the checklist to be labeled as a literary merit. Yes the quality of the book is excellent and King's idea of joining four books with multiple themes together in one was genius and it obviously had to be done for a reason. However, I think this way! This does NOT mean that everyone thinks like this. Everyone has their own opinion.

Do I think “Different Seasons” will be in every English classroom in 15 years? No, not a chance because it is so out of the normal of the books we read for school it has stories that trigger your mind to think “eewww that’s creepy” and wants you read more. That’s the main reason why I think it is of Literary Merit it made the reader dig for some messages and search for some.