The Purpose of Reading (Prompt #5)

Foster stresses the importance of fully understanding a book instead of quickly skimming the pages in an impetuous manner. If the reader finishes a book but does not comprehend the message or hidden meanings within the book then it could be a complete waste of time. The important ideas of the experience of reading is to set aside pre-conceived notions about the book or any other bias thoughts regarding the author and read the book through the eye's of the writer. As Foster says, "don't read with your eyes... Instead try to find a reading perspective that allows for sympathy with the historical moment of the story, that understands the text as having been written against its own social, historical, cultural, and personal background." (Foster 234) If a reader fails to do this ahead of time then they might be blind to the entire literary meaning behind the words. Another important idea of the process of reading is understanding why the author adds certain aspects into their writing. For example, when Foster says that rain or water typically means rebirth, how each season is tied to a different emotion, and diseases are cast upon characters for more than just trying to get rid of them. This book was tremendously beneficial to me because I was an inexperienced reader who didn't quite catch the hidden messages the author was implying, the allusions I was supposed to be referencing in my mind, or the symbolism within things. This book will also be helpful in the future because if I am confused about an author's writing then I can reference back to this and remind myself of what I should be searching for or doing differently.

Conner Way

Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 11, 2017 at 7:22 PM

    When discussing literature, it is easy to bring to back to personal experiences within reading and writing. As a big fan of romantic comedies and romance novels, it is easy to observe the same story line over again, but continue to enjoy the clichés and usual happy endings. The same can be seen in your example with music. The continuous patterns found in music and in novels create a bond within the person; therefore, broaden the whole experience. As readers, I think we gravitate towards subjects that we are comfortable with and that we will guaranteed to inspire an emotional response. By highlighting the patterns found in music, it allowed me to make a connection to similar plot points and story lines found in visual media. After reading your post, I was able to connection literature to other patterns found in different types of art forms.

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  2. UnknownJuly 22, 2017 at 12:47 AM

    I agree that it is important to set aside any preconceived notions about the book or author so that you are able to fully understand the book. I really liked the quote you used about how you shouldn't read a book through your eyes but through the author's because you are trying to understand the message he is getting across, not trying to create your own. I also agree that it is very important for readers to try and understand why the author mentions a season or the weather since it adds a deeper meaning. I never noticed these hidden meanings until I read this book.

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  3. UnknownJuly 31, 2017 at 8:22 AM

    When reading through the eye of the writer, one can understand and interpret a book in an entirely different way. This reminds me of when i was younger and i would play hide and seek and i would always think of where i would hide if i was the person i was looking for. This made the game so much easier, similar to how it makes reading and understanding literature much easier. Also I agree that you must put aside biased opinions before reading a piece of literature because going into a book with an open mind makes it much easier and much more fun to interpret the book in a way that makes you enjoy it as well as keep you invested in the reading throughout the entire story.

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