Analyzing works written by other people can be a challenge, as not only do you have to explore and pick apart the piece of writing, but you have to understand it and the message it is trying to portray. While it is not an easy thing to do, it is important because it gives you insight into the message the author is trying to portray and gives stronger meaning and influence to the words they have written. On the outside, a story or song may be about a family who was once perfect and loving, and throughout their lives, they grew together and bettered one another. However, analyzing those same words can lead to a different message, one hidden behind a facade that can be so easily skipped over and purposely ignored because it shows the darkness and taboos of a subject; of a society.

Being able to analyze situations and especially individuals can be an extremely important and useful tool whether in literature, or real-life scenarios as the actions of a person can tell you far more about them than their words can through answering a simple question. This becomes important in libraries as to many, they are not only a place of information and learning but a safe space where they can access the informational resources they need and find ways out of negative situations with the help they might not otherwise receive. As such, being able to determine what types of resources a patron might need from a simple conversation is vital to maintaining efficiency and integrity in the library field.

Jubilee, written in 2013 by Kirstin Valdez Quade is a prime example of this, as her story is telling a specific message that can be expanded to encompass more than just one idea, but the basic concept of the story must be understood first. At the heart and soul of Jubilee is the story of Andrea, a Latina girl who is disgusted at the idea of returning to the home she grew up in, built on the land of a wealthy family who hired her parents as workers and cleaning staff. Throughout the entirety of this story, told from her point of view, she has disdain and contempt for everything and everyone she sees around her, bittered by her past and souring what might have been a healthy relationship with her friend Parker had she of not destroyed her image.

As the story of Jubilee continues, it becomes clear that Andrea is socially stunted in some way, so focused on trying to escape the past that she's been forced to return to that she's destroyed her own happiness, and doesn't understand the consequences of her actions. She uses her friend Matty's presence at the event to further distance herself from anything that might've connected her back to her family and ends up becoming a toxic cyclone circling so quickly into the darkness that she can't stop, not even to sound empathetic and understanding to someone who had attempted suicide.

Jubilee points out the concept of understanding one's situation, and the importance of maintaining a balance in one's own life. It talks about the idea that everyone is dealt a different hand of cards; given a different roll of the dice, but if we let ourselves succumb to only see the negatives of our lives, we are no better off than Andrea, left wandering alone into the darkness we loathe.

Poetry and the analysis of such works have always been something I have struggled to understand and conceptualize, as unlike most written works, it often doesn't hide behind man-made structures, and instead carries the full impact and intent of the author. Whether it be in the form of verse, musical lyrics, spoken word, or any other style, poetry is something that breaks down the barriers and unleashes the raw emotions being poured into it.

For this assignment, we were tasked with selecting a poem written in an older style of the English language, and transcribing it into a more modern version. In doing so, not only did it force us to break down and understand the meaning behind the words of the original poem, but find a way to pick up the pieces and sew them back together again into something that made sense and kept its original meaning. I chose the poem "A Ballad of Death" written by Algernon Charles Swinburne in 1866 as part of his Poems and Ballads collection, depicting the taboos, morbidity, and moral consequences of the world.

In rewriting this work, I focused on staying close to the original message I found in the poem and expanding on it, giving more description and information to the reader to better understand this scene Swinburne was painting. In my analysis, I stated that the poem seemed to be from the voice of someone standing at the doors of Death, their spirit calling out to their lover(s) to come and weep over their body as they pass into what comes next, whether that be endless darkness or an afterlife of some form. I also make note that in changing the words, the voice of the speaker's changes from one of sadness and mourning to one of anger and desire throughout the poem, no longer mourning his death and instead mourning the loss of someone who loved him in place of another who fed him lies.

"In changing the words, (...) this ballad begins with the desire for his love to mourn him, but it quickly pulls back the curtains and cuts through the charade of lies, exposing her torment as he dies. (...) His soft and kind words twist and distort into a curse of sorts, wishing for the song he gave birth to with his final breath to gather the spirits of the dead and bring ruin to the lives of those who lied to him, and drown out the songs of those who would dare oppose him even in death. (...)" (Estey, T. 2019c).

The concept and process of analyzing and more specifically critically reading can be difficult, especially concerning the type of work being scrutinized, and the context of which it is done. This in turn can make it frustrating and difficult to enjoy reading something critically as most times when we read, we want to do so for our own entertainment and pleasure, not for writing long analytical essays on the psychology of a particular individual.

For this Marked Discussion, I was tasked with analyzing the way that I break down literature and determine what aspects of the critical reading process I struggle with. In doing so, I admitted that I sometimes struggle to keep my thoughts clear of biases, as in analyzing works, I often fall into digging for the darker and more morbid messages or concepts hidden in a work. Another thing I struggle with is trying to understand the author's true intentions in having written the work, as where I do know personally know them, I can only make assumptions about their thought process; a dangerous thing to do in itself.

In answering the second half of the question about whether or not I thought it was possible to read something critically and enjoy it, I stated that many of the stories I had read and analyzed I had enjoyed. The example I had used was Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, a story that uses the psychological impact on the life of two characters to not only distance them from each other and themselves but eventually bring them together in an understanding. In this case, you could read the duology and enjoy it without further exploring and analyzing and just the same, you could break it down and critically read and re-read it.