Ambiguity is an important idea to understand when taking in literature. Ambiguity basically means that a text is open to more than one meaning or interpretation. Ambiguity most often comes into play through ambiguous symbols. In his book How to Read Literature Like A Professor, author Thomas C. Foster uses a variety of different stories to emphasize his point that symbols can have many different meanings. This ambiguity leads to different interpretations of a piece of literature, this is very important as each different interpretation presents a new meaning to the piece of literature. This makes for a great place for discussion about the book but it also can lead into discussions about why one person saw it one way and someone else saw it another way. Ambiguity is an important tool for authors because of how it can make the book remain fresh years after release. Ambiguous endings are one very good example of this, an ambiguous ending can create a new level of discussion that perfectly sets up the book to be talked about for years to come or as it has been commonly used in more recent times, to set up a sequel. Ambiguity is an interesting concept because it affects each reader differently. If something is given ambiguous meaning it can allow the reader to create their own meaning that is influenced by everything from past experiences to the reader's mood at the time of reading. Many different variables go into how one interprets ambiguous symbols and that interpretation can change the meaning of a text. These differing meanings give texts deeper layers to be discovered and allow good readers who can identify the different interpretations to come to a much deeper understanding of the piece than the average reader would.
I also chose this prompt and said something similar about ambiguous endings to stories. I very much agree that leaving the ending unexplained can harbor many new conversations and ideas. My example was The Handmaid’s Tale from Lang class, and how the fate of Ofwarren is undisclosed at the end. I thought this was a great way to include the audience even more in the creative process, urging them to conjure up their own thoughts based on their interpretation of the text.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you mentioned that interpretation can be affected by many things, when mood. I never thought about how analysis can change so drastically based on your emotions and thoughts, but it makes a lot of sense.