The Pooh Perplex: A Freshman Casebook
These are trying times, but it is always still OK to laugh.
If ever you have a moment of doubt about what we do here on goodreads; if you have ever wondered what could possibly be said about your latest read that hasn't been said before, enter 'The Pooh Perplex'. Written by Frederick C. Crews as a send-up of the pomposity of the then-current schools of literary thought and how they can seemingly tear apart anything they turn their pens to. The 'Perplex' is a way out of seeing any piece of literature through only one lens, and deflates the idea of criticism for criticism's sake.
Crews chose the perfect work to feature in his "case-study". The twelve essays come complete with discussion questions and research tips for the young scholar - suggesting even that after he's read through all the case-books and analyses he might check out the original work - if he has time. The 'Pooh' books are rife with material for the bored scholar. Catching these essays individually it would be impossible to detect the joke, so thoroughly does Crews inhabit the characters of his scholars: Harvey C. Window, Woodbine Meadowlark, Simon Lacerus - 12 in all. They snipe at each other, debunk each other's theories and each of their contributions has a bio that scans well.
I've read this several times and I still laugh when reading about Rabbit as the capitalist busybody working to keep everyone organized and downtrodden, Owl as either the obfuscating fog of the masses or the high-brow hero, Eeyore as Christ, Kanga as the fearful feminine energy dragging the Hundred Acre Wood out of its perpetual latency. Its amazing - and I discovered years and years after it came out - there's a sequel!
Pooh Perplex
Next: 'Postmodern Pooh'
