Prompt 7 - Ambiguity

Before reading Foster's work, I as a reader, have had trouble interpreting the author's meaning or intentions. This has always been one of my major problems when reading prompts, essays and novels. The reason I find it so difficult is that sometimes there can be multiple interpretations of one single piece of literature. For example, when reading for pleasure, it is easy to find meaning in the literature because it is open to the interpretation of the reader. On the other hand, one might not be looking for the author's intent, but simply enjoying the story. But when it comes to reading assignments such as our pre-requisite/summer reading assignment, we are instructed to find the meaning of the story within the words the author gives us. The meaning is not always clear, and this is what I struggle with. Finding the "correct" meaning of a work of art, such as a book, an article, a painting or even a film can be difficult due to the range of past knowledge and experience a reader carries with them. Despite not always agreeing on the author's intentions for writing the novel, I can enjoy it nonetheless because I can assign my own meaning to the work and make it relatable to my own experiences. This is what Foster means when he says that sometimes ambiguity can make a reader's experience more personal and can reflect a greater appreciation of the literature.

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 7, 2017 at 7:48 PM

    I have never considered the different mechanisms from reading for pleasure and reading on mandate. You're absolutely right. When you’re interpretation is under scrutiny, whether from a professor or your peers, it can be really tough to find “the correct” interpretation. I’d love to believe one interpretation of what I read, but oftentimes, I have to stop and think about the lens the author would have written, rather than the lens that a modern day high school student would see through. Sometimes I even have to reread a scene to catch a new detail that can change the entire mood of the scene.

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  2. UnknownJuly 15, 2017 at 6:14 AM

    I understand what you mean with by struggling to find "the correct" interpretation. It is like the one author Mrs. Mahoney told us about whose poem was in the AP test but she could not answer any of the questions best college board interpreted differently than she did. I always have to read passage more than once to be able to understand the full meaning of what the author is trying to say.

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