I really need help with my homework that's due tomorrow. what are Formalist questions?

Question

We watched "Huck and Me" in my American Lit. class last week. And now we have to write 10 interpretive questions using the formalist approach.
But I have no idea what the formalist approach is.
I would really appreciate it if anyone would give me an example of a formalist question.
THANK YOU SO MUCH.

Answer 1

I will tell you this.. It reminded me of my homework days.. I surfed all over to find answers for you.. although I understand the term sort of, I will be a monkey's uncle if I can figure out how to put it into a question for you.. sorry I did try..
This is what I hated about school..don't give up though..

Answer 2

Start here, with the definition of formalist approach and let's see what else we can find. I'll add something if I find it. I am not familiar with the specifics of Huck and Me anymore, so I can't help much there I am afraid. The link below will take you to the definitions of different literary approaches.


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Formalism / New Criticism

Definition:

A formalistic approach to literature, once called New Criticism, involves a close reading of the text. Formalistic critics believe that all information essential to the interpretation of a work must be found within the work itself; there is no need to bring in outside information about the history, politics, or society of the time, or about the author's life. Formalistic critics (presumably) do not view works through the lens of feminism, psychology, mythology, or any other such standpoint, and they are not interested in the work's affect on the reader. Formalistic critics spend much time analyzing irony, paradox, imagery, and metaphor. They are also interested in the work's setting, characters, symbols, and point of view.

Terms Used in New Criticism:

tension - the integral unity of the poem which results from the resolution of opposites, often in irony of paradox
intentional fallacy - the belief that the meaning or value of a work may be determined by the author's intention
affective fallacy - the belief that the meaning or value of a work may be determined by its affect on the reader
external form - rhyme scheme, meter, stanza form, etc.
objective correlative - originated by T.S. Eliot, this term refers to a collection of objects, situations, or events that instantly evoke a particular emotion.
Practitioners:

I.A. Richards, William Empson, John Crowe Ransom, Robert Penn Warren, Cleanth Brooks, Allen Tate, and others.

Advantages:

This approach can be performed without much research, and it emphasizes the value of literature apart from its context (in effect makes literature timeless). Virtually all critical approaches must begin here.

Disadvantages:

The text is seen in isolation. Formalism ignores the context of the work. It cannot account for allusions. It tends to reduce literature to little more than a collection of rhetorical devices.

Examples:

(1) A formalistic approach to John Milton's Paradise Lost would take into account the physical description of the Garden of Eden and its prescribed location, the symbols of hands, seed, and flower, the characters of Adam, Eve, Satan, and God, the epic similes and metaphors, and the point of view from which the tale is being told (whether it be the narrator's, God's, or Satan's). But such an approach would not discuss the work in terms of Milton's own blindness, or in terms of his Puritan beliefs. Therefore when the narrator says "what in me is dark / Illumine," a formalistic critic could not interpret that in light of Milton's blindness. He would have to find its meaning in the text itself, and therefore would have to overlook the potential double-meaning.

(2) A formalistic approach to the short story "Silence of the Llano" by Rudolfo Anaya might force us to see the incestuous relationship that is established at the end of the story as a positive alternative to loneliness. If we were to take into account external things, such as morality, we could not help but be horrified at such a conclusion. But in studying the symbols, setting, and structure of "The Silence of the Llano," we get an opposite picture. The setting of the llano, its isolation and desolation, make its loneliness the primary evil of the story, in contrast to the town where people can escape the loneliness, where Rafael can find love, and where men can talk. The only way to survive the llano is to make it more like the town--to fill it with love and words and anything to escape the loneliness. "Words" are positively contrasted to "silence," as is "winter" to "spring" and "growth" to "death." The silence of the llano is constantly referred to, and Rafael's parents die in winter. But when Rafael marries, his wife makes a garden to grow in the desolate llano, and he can hear her voice. When Rafael establishes the incestuous relationship at the close of the story, he finally speaks to his daughter, and words break the long silence. He tells her that the "spring is the time for the garden. I will turn the earth for you. The seeds will grow." (182). Growth, spring, and words--the primary symbols which are positively contrasted to death, winter, and silence--are all combined in the close. The disadvantage of this formalistic approach is that it does not allow us to account for most readers' natural (and appropriate) response of disgust to the incestuous relationship or to examine how that affects the ability of the author to communicate his story. Some would argue that an understanding of the text is where criticism should begin, and not where it ends. We should also relate the text to life, ideas, and morality.