Best of Week: Form is Content

"Form is content:" this is a concept that I've been thinking about throughout this week, not only to Kite Runner but also to other aspects of life where 'form is content' can be applied to. To start off, I have to be honest and say that the idea of 'form is content' has never crossed my mind until Mr. Allen introduced the idea. Well, that is to say, never in an obvious way. I've never read a passage of a book or look at something and say "Oh! That's a good example of 'form is content" until now. But as I reflect back upon it, this idea has been indirectly running through my mind for years.

The idea of 'Form is Content' is EVERYWHERE. I mean it! Think about it: the way people dress or make themselves look is an example of 'form is content.' The way someone communicates to you: phone call, email, written letter, a text, meeting in person, Skyping...those are all examples of 'form is content'. How? Let's take the difference between a written letter and a Skype chat. If someone writes an email to you, that shows that they want to send you something personal [with the logic that a written letter is more personal than something typed on the computer] but they are not interested or willing to talk in person, or they do not find it vital to hear your voice or see you to have this conversation. With the Skype chat, it shows that the person is technologically advanced [to some degree] and wants to converse in a more intimate way by seeing the other person and being almost 'face to face.' Lastly, the person who would prefer to have a Skype chat is probably more outgoing and comfortable with the idea of talking to people in person and having a conversation with them, whether it's a stranger or a peer. The person who writes the letter is probably less outgoing, preferring a more distant way of communication, but still sustaining the personal aspect to it by writing out a letter as opposed to an email. To some this observation may seem like I'm looking way too much into the matter, but I personally find it really interesting to find almost a hidden message in the way people interact.

Let's take the example of the way people dress. Think about it: two women walk in for a job interview. One woman is wearing nice clothes, has her hair done, and walks in with a smile on her face. The other woman is wearing a simple white tee-shirt with ripped jeans and flip flops, has uncombed hair around her face, and looks like she just woke up. These things make impressions on people and shows how this person wants to be perceived. Form is content: the way content is shown! Connecting this to the example, the first woman probably cared about the way people saw her at the interview. It's clear that she woke up in the morning knowing what she was going to wear and that she spent time on her appearance. She probably believed that the way she looked would influence the way people would think about her. Even more, she probably believed that the way she acted in general was a way of her, herself, being shown to others, so the things she did would need to be appropriate or just in her eyes. The second woman probably believed that looks don't matter. She probably thought that as long as they see her personality, the way she would dress was just a superficial aspect that didn't matter for the job interview. Her values were most likely to be herself: that included the way she dresses, acts, etc. Dressing up would be something abnormal for her, thus being a shallow way of expressing herself.

But besides the everyday examples of 'form is content', it can also be seen in the books we read. Kite Runner is a great example of that. The language, punctuation, spacing, capitalizing, lowercasing, bold, italics....EVERYTHING, every aspect of the book is an example of 'form is content.' Every little aspect of the book was thought about and analyzed to really portray the emotion in the book. Since books are written, it's hard to express emotion and feeling since there is nothing but text. So, the author must rely on the little things mentioned above to show the feeling of characters in their book.

Something to note about 'form is content' in literature is that it can often times be perceived as 'incorrect writing' or 'grammatically incorrect.' Unfortunately, in my opinion, many student believe that the only way to write well is to follow the rules. And sadly, they're often taught that. When reading a work of literature by a student, 'form is content' can many times be taught as an error. And yes, sometimes it could just be an error. But I think it's important for us to realize that sometimes the best parts in literature or the best works of writing are achieved only by breaking the 'laws of writing' to achieve those great emotions...to achieve the 'form is content.'

This gets me right to the importance of understanding 'Form is Content': as a reader, a writer, or even just a person. The idea of 'Form is Content' really lets you dig deep into things, and lets you realize things that you may have never realized before. Getting 'Form is Content' can do a lot for you. It can teach you WHY an author writes the way he/she does; why they did what they did in a book. It can help you write a great essay or story that will get your reader saying "Wow, I don't know what they did or how they did it, but I really felt the emotion in her. I can hear their voice!". It can teach you about people: how the different things people do reflect who they are as a person.

So, like I said, the idea of 'Form is Content' is everywhere: in your environment, your friends, books, movies, music, etc. You just have to look for it. So, where can you find it?