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 essential when reading literature. It completely determines whether we understand the text, or miss the point of it completely. You must read with an open mind, and disregard all previous opinions, or personal experiences that have led you to have specific thought processes. Everyone Has different viewpoints and if you don’t put yourself in the mind of the author, you won’t be able to understand it the way you should. It adds much more value to the book that is necessary when you go into it with an open mind.
I agree that it is important to stay open to other people’s interpretations of texts and to attempt to understand the author’s intended message. However, I disagree with the notion that you have to leave all of your personal experiences and opinions out of the reading process. I think your own world view allows you to connect to a text in a manner that is completely unique to you, and can lead you to different conclusions and realizations than other readers. Especially in a group setting like this, I think it is important that everyone bring their own interpretations to discuss and compare instead of believing their is a “right” and “wrong” way to interpret.
ReplyDeleteIt may be a wise idea to try to think of it from a different viewpoint, however, when it comes to trying to figure out what the author is stating, it might be a bit trickier. Trying to leave yourself from all previous experiences is practically impossible. There is not really a way to disregard all your feelings and beliefs that you have for something. Especially if it is temporary. Instead, I would say that one would need to try to find an alternate viewpoint. This is just thinking of something really hard. Something is bound to come up.
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