Less is More

There are certain times in lecture that I've found myself wondering about the meaning of the novels. Professor Ogden seems to find meaning in every single sentence. We seem to analyze the book in so much depth that I sometimes wonder did the author even intend for us to interpret it like that? Must everything need to be examined and stripped bare to get its "true meaning"? I'm not doubting his knowledge or teaching skills but sometimes I think if I were to read the book by myself I wouldn't have linked so many things with the novels. For example, I woud not have linked the four characters in Hey Nostradamus! ( Cheryl, Jason, Heather, and Reg) with Heaven, Purgatory, Limbo, and Hell. Prehaps it is because I am not religious and thus could not connect to the novel in that way, but that is excatly my question. If I had read the book on my own and did not discover all the meanings of the book Professor Ogden mentioned but found meaning to it in my own way, would I be missing something from the story? Prehaps that is what an english course is for-to help us learn to interpret and analyze works of literature. However, I think sometimes we do not need to analyze every word to enjoy a piece of literature. Not everything needs an answer to it, sometimes it is better to say "Just because."