7. Where or how does ambiguity come into play in a reader's experience? How might ambiguity work within a piece of literature (or art of any kind?) How does it impact our understanding, and appreciation of a text?
Ambiguity is found in many works of art, and literature, and can be quite confusing at times. As in people thinking that their interpretation of the idea is wrong or is not specific enough. However, what most don’t realize is that these ideas can be portrayed in many deffierent aspects which can cause many to feel out of place when announcing their thoughts.
It can be portrayed in many ways which may include what the piece is talking or supposed to be about, or what the creator wanted to get across. People have different opinions so when someone speaks their mind on their interpretation it gives others like them the opportunity to understand where they are coming from and state their opinion as well. It shows readers alike that many people have different meanings for things, sometimes being based on their personal lives and personal experience.
Sometimes ambiguity is less about confusion and more about the power a work of art has to mean many things. I love the idea of a great work of art being about to hold many possibilities. Ambiguity seems a necessary thing for art.
ReplyDeleteI think you are right in saying that ambiguity is most relevant we it comes to figuring out the meaning of a piece of text, work of art..etc. When everyone is open about sharing their interpretations like you said, it allows room for readers to see where they think alike and differently in some aspects. This can then lead to further discussion and for more complex thoughts to arise as we now several different view points to examine. These viewpoints will vary often due to (like you said,) personal experience which I think makes the idea of ambiguity that much more important. Having our own personal experiences allows for us to create our own personal understanding of not just a piece of text, but the world as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of ambiguity being confusing. I feel that reading is like a rollarcoster. As you first open a book you never known what concepts are going to be on the next page or what symbols are you going to need to understand and research. This is why I love to read, the situations at hand are often complex and keep me on the edge of my seat. Yet, by the end of the book most of the questions are answered and you now have a story that you understand. The best joy of it all is when you are able to talk to peers who have also read the same work and they have a different view point.
ReplyDeleteI agree that ambiguity in art can create confusing situations where you feel as though you aren't interpreting meanings correctly or maybe you think you don't understand where the artist/creator is trying to take the piece. What I think is interesting about this kind of situation is that when it does happen, it doesn't always mean the observer is wrong simply because they interpret it differently than someone else, but that both interpretations are equally true. I have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about how generally in life, two contradicting things or beliefs cannot simultaneously be true, which is called the Law of Non-Contradiction. If one person sees the color of an object to be blue and another sees it as red, both of those beliefs simply cannot be true at the same time. This concept becomes quite interesting when you apply it to differing religious beliefs, a situation in which most would simply agree to disagree and accept that the other person's belief is equally as true for them as their own contradicting belief is true for themselves. I've always believed without hesitation that the Law of Non-Contradiction could be applied to every situation in life until I learned about ambiguity, but I still stand on the fence about whether or not a single truth can exist behind any piece of art that an artist creates with an ambiguous nature.
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