My dad always has said that I should read more. He always said that the more I read then the better I will be at understanding texts. He said this especially when I would complain about the ACT or an assignment for one of my classes. I would kind of scoff or ignore him. After reading this book, I feel like Foster explained what my dad meant in a more elaborate and logical way that also showed with evidence.
Foster says that the more that we read, the more we allow ourselves to understand future books we read. He says that all books are connected. Every plot connects to every other plot. However, the most notable lesson and skill to be had from this book is that of ambiguity. Every reader takes their own meanings from a piece of work than another person does. That ties in with the prior experiences of the individual. What they have seen, been through, and read will influence how they view a work. The message that the author wrote is not necessarily the message that the reader gets.
Then we have what it means to be literate and what it means to be able to read. To be literate means being able to understand all parts of a language or text. Just being able to read means you can say the words or look at the words and you can't necessarily do much with them. As high schoolers, we have to learn a second language. When you first started that language, you knew how to say and read the words but you didn't know what they meant. So, you weren't literate. This books has made me realize that I can only get better at reading and understanding and the longer I try then the better I will do. No person is as good as they can be when it comes to comprehending texts and reading. There is always more to read.
My only objection is to the phrase "all parts." I don't think our goal should ever be to understand all parts or everything. Any work that would allow that kind of understanding is probably not worth our time. I think we need to give ourselves permission to NOT understand everything. That is the beauty of art.
ReplyDelete