Foster’s discussion of the relationship between the reader and the writer brings up interesting points as to how readers, even young children, interact with texts. Most people reading books will get clear images of what the characters and scenery look like as they read, almost like a movie in their head. This interaction suggests that the readers interact with the text individually, and bring a text to life in their own way, thus creating a different experience for every reader. Additionally, readers bring their own life experiences into reading, which may mean that one reader adores a character and another despises them for reminding them of someone they dislike. Because the reader who doesn’t like that character has made that connection, it brings a new level to the story and a deeper meaning for that reader, and it works in reverse. Perhaps if a reader really likes a character, they imagine the character as looking somewhat like them, or having traits that they share. Reading into characters and metaphors are an interaction for the reader between what the writer has written and what they have included themselves. By bringing a new level to the character, that reader has essentially created a story for the character that the author did not. This reaction and deeper level can spark something else creative in that reader, such as inspiring them to paint something or write something that reminds them of the book that they enjoyed, meaning that what Foster says in the quote “reading is an event of the imagination…a reader’s imagination is the act of one creative intelligence engaging another (the writer’s)”.
Beth Anne, I like all of the points you made to show how each person may have different feelings throughout reading a story because most of these we do subconsciously. Looking back on it, I can see how I have done many of these myself without even noticing it. It is interesting to me how each person can have such a different experience while reading the same text. I also like how you mentioned that we create “a new level to a character”. The writer invents a character with their idea of that character in mind, but the reader can see that character as something entirely different. The difference between these imaginations is truly intriguing.
ReplyDeleteI really liked when you said that when most people read they can see images of the characters in their minds like a movie. I never realized that my mind does that when I read books until you pointed it out. It makes reading the stories seem more real when you put faces on the characters that you are reading about. I also enjoyed how you said that when readers engages with a character that another writer created that the reader creates a story for them that the original author did not. Many times after reading a book that I enjoyed I picture characters in different situations than what they were in and find inspiration from that. This made me realize how the stories people write are truly unoriginal.
ReplyDeleteDear Beth Anne,
ReplyDeleteYou have added a new layer to the idea of a relationship between a writer and an author. I hadn’t even thought of the notion that readers add to the narrative as they read. Looking back, I often create a new story for characters in my head. Most commonly, I sympathize with antagonists, and I create backstories to explain their heinous actions. For example, when I read The Hunger Games when I was in middle school, I came to the conclusion that the ruthless participants only acted as such out of fear. Additionally, I analyzed implied backstories. So, the children that hailed from districts that required training from a young age only became killers because they were taught to be. This extended relationship with the writer stimulates my imagination. In my head, I have created a new story, one that speaks to the original.
Madison
ReplyDeleteBeth Anne,
I thoroughly enjoyed reading your post and like the extra depth you added to the relationship between the reader and the writer. I especially like how you said the reader creates a movie in their head when given the character and scenery of the book; I know I certainly do that. This action allows me to be more engaged with the text and I often predict what might happen, adding my own twist to what I believe is to come later on in the book. I never really realized the extravagant stories I come up with in my head until I read this chapter of the book and your post helped me further see the relationship between the reader and writer.
Beth Anne, you brought up good points with regards to how the reader’s imagination engages with the writer’s. I also liked how you mentioned different readers will have different ideas or feelings about the same book because they resonate with different things or different characters. This can make the reading more personal and change the story in a way that the author himself may not have intended. It’s more than likely that the reader will be influenced to create something similar to that, which may explain why we so often imitate our favorite artists or anything else we feel truly embodies us.
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