I am so glad that he addressed this topic. I think it about it a lot. (Well mainly when I'm studying/teaching difficult poems or when I'm reading the answers to the AP Hamlet study guide we will use--did Shakespeare REALLY think that deeply when he was writing about the child actors? I don't know.)
However, I do think Foster brought up some good points. Those of you who love to read are probably stronger writers--you learn something from every book you read, even if you don't realize it. While I'm not sure that every classical author truly meant for us to interpret themes and ideas in the ways that we have, I think they definitely had to put much more thought into what we are reading than we can even imagine.
I know that when I write something it takes much longer to write it than it takes for someone to read it--and I'm not trying to relay some subtle theme...What do you guys think? Is everything on purpose? Do the authors really intend for us to make all the connections to all the allusions and all the symbols and all the themes etc...???????
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I believe that the authors do not intend for all us to make out all of the allusions and connections in the work, but leave them in there for the careful reader. I believe that when an author goes to write what he or she does, they always really think hard about it. They think about what underlying meanings or things can they put into their work that only the careful, interested reader will understand. If you read a book and don't really pay attention to hte small things, you wont get the same experience out of it if you see that little things, that usually add up to give you a stronger understanding and revelation in the end of the work. Thats why it takes longer to write someting, because it is a thought out, thorough puzzle of items pieced together and the fun comes in piecing it back together again.
ReplyDeleteWell...I think it can go either way. I think that a lot of times, people look waaaay too deeply into some of the things they read. Some people interpret every little sentence they read to have some deep and mystical meaning, and a lot of the time (not all the time) it really is black and white. On the contrary, sometimes people don't read enough into what they're reading...or they just kind of read it and not really pay attention to the details. The little details are what really make or break a peice of literature. Sometimes I just sit and think of how hard it would be to be an author and have to think out every little detail of what I was writing.
ReplyDeleteI think that most things that authors write are on purpose. I don't think that the author's expects us to catch all the allusions, themes, etc, but they do write them all "on purpose." I think Jake worded it well when he said that those elements are put in there for the "careful reader." When a lot of people read books, they just read it quickly without really paying attention to what's being said. If you read the book slowly and really think about what you are reading, you will begin to catch the allusions and other elements that the author adds.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that everything is on purpose. Of course many things the author intends when they're planning the novel. But then again, sometimes you may not even realize it and you're writing about something and alluding it to something you read in the past. You do it subconsciously, many times it happens with the Bible, because it is read by so many people so often. There is also times when people read too far into novels, sometimes writers just intend for it to be simple (and sometimes that's the hardest parts to understand, because you're expecting something deep and meaningful and it's really just in plain sight). Then sometimes, I often do this, we overlook the details that show us what really is going on, we forget to "read between the lines." I tend to do this if I'm really not that into what I am reading.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the people that have already written. Unless I can really get into a book, I basically just skim read. I pay little attention to things I should cath or allusions I should get. I think it's harder to pick up on those things when your not really enjoying what your reading(such as Shakespear). But, give me a Picoult book and I could tell you the plot inside and out. I think that every author puts allusions and things in their writing that they want readers to notice. But, only the careful and skilled readers get the symbols and such. In the long run though, I think anyone could notice allusions in any writing. We dont now simply because it is not something we look for, or better yet, we dont really try.
ReplyDeleteI think that authors write what they do on purpose. Every allusion, and symbol, are there because it has to do with the topic in the book and helps to explain it. Most of the time, I don't get an allusion unless I read through something more than once. Some readers might notice more or less allusions, but they are definitely put there for the reader to understand.
ReplyDeleteIts true that in my experience I've written something that was just an idea I had, and my friends that read it told me it had so much emotion or meaning that I didn't even really notice I was writing into it. I'm always surprised that I never noticed what I'd written into my writings that meant so much to the person that read it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the great writers like Shakespeare wrote what he wrote just as he wanted not knowing how truly deeply his works' meanings were. I think to the writer who writes something with such deep meanings it is as it should be, writing it just so because it feels right. Its the readers who are intended to feel the deepness of it, not the writer, because the writer already feels or knows the deep meaning they are trying to convey. That's what makes a great author, I think, the ability to convey the deep meanings of their writing.
I just typed a whole long comment and It could not post request and deleted it! But once again I do think that most things the authors write is on purpose. I do not think they intend for us to catch all of the things they write but I do indeed believe they are on purpose. You would have to know a lot about the author personally to be able to understand everything he says.
ReplyDeleteWell i don't really feel like agreeing with everyone else's post so I will say that authors do not intend for everything they write to be alluded to something, or have a specific symbol or deep them/meaning. I do believe authors insert some allusions etc to get you thinking in their writing but there are several different ways to interpret every story or literary work. Some authors just write to make a story and then we find a deep theme that we can associate it to, whenever we don't really know if they meant to or not. Edgar Allen Poe is a great example. Sure he wrote great stories, but did he really mean for all of his works to have so many deep interpretations and literary devices.
ReplyDeleteI beleive there are times when we look a little too far into things. Sometimes you read poems or stories and there are possible things you can connect to it but that wasnt really the authors purpose of something you just assumed. For instance take the bible of which people have read over and over and some people take it all literally and some people take it figuratively. I believe there may be some times when the author just leaves you to come up with your own opinion anyways and there aint any meanings.
ReplyDeleteI believe that in a lot of books that the author expect you to pick up on allusions and I also think they use allusions as things to get your attention. I know that in Just Listen Sarah Dessen tries to get your attention by having the narrator say things about things in the past that she wishes she could go back and change. I like allusions that make you wonder what is going to happen not ones that are mostly like a dead give away. But then again I do think the authors choice of words (denotation hahaha) are usually trying to tell you something that you are not going to expect from the beginning of the book but they are usually always there.
ReplyDeleteI think that the author wants us to make most connections but I think that sometimes they accidently add stuff that they didn't mean to be a connection. I dont think that authors expect people to make all the connections because most people are intelligent enough to make the connections.
ReplyDeleteI personally don’t think writers intend on us figuring out every symbolic thing or every allusion in their story. It’s possible some things they write are on purpose, but not always. Every author has a different way of writing something, and everything they write could have a different meaning to everyone. They might write something and mean it to be one thing, and when one reader reads it, they could think it means something totally different.
ReplyDeleteI think that everything is put into a book on purpose. As others have said i believe that there are several allusions and things put into a books for different people, because different people catch on to different things. There are those careful readers who look deep into what is being read, and will catch more than what the others who just "read" the book.
ReplyDeleteI think that authors do put little things in books on purpose probably not all. But the majority don't mean to put everything in there. Sure they will try and get something across but i believe that some readers do a lot of over analyzing. Making something into something it wasnt meant to be although those people can make an author look like some kind of super genius i doubt that al of it was planned. But for the authors that can actally do that i don't think they believe everyone will catch on.
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