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...???????
I have two separate thoughts on this blog. I believe that most authors make everything towards a purpose, focusing on a theme or main idea. But there are other authors, who make books based on gossip and try to just relate to a certain crowd.
ReplyDeleteHonestly I really don't think that everything an author writes is done on purpose. I think that as we read everyone interprets things differently and so therefore that's how we get the different connections and all the different allusions. Now that's not to say that some authors may actually sit and think of ways that they can connect but I don't feel that they mean to all the time.
ReplyDeleteI think writers do write everything on purpose. I think the author intends for us to understand all of the allusions and symbolism the include in their novels but certain readers don't always understand allusions/symbols. Sometimes, it takes me two or three times of reading over something to pick up on it. Some people don't always take the time to reread and understand something because they don't want to. I think the author intends for his/her readers to understand what he/she is writing about but, it's up to the reader to really grasp the concept.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that there are a lot of authors out there who wrote a book or novel for a purpose. Maybe they wrote about something they experienced or wanted to experience. Maybe they want to include hints, allusions, and themes in their story so that they could make the reader feel like they are in the story. I also believe that some authors don't really write for a purpose, they just simply write. I think that is where you get a lot of good stories because it's totally random and it's up to the reader to decide what "really" happens.
ReplyDeleteI think that everything is on a purpose, some people just write and when others read it they interpret more than one purpose. Some literary works, though, we're written for specific purposes. Authors do expect us to put together the allusions, symbols, and themes or else they wouldn't include them in their writings. But I think the readers may look deeper into the writing than the author himself and find more meaning to the story. Either way yes I do think that authors put literary devices in literature for the reader to pick up on and find the true meaning of what they are trying to say.
ReplyDeleteI think that writers put a lot of thought into a piece of literature but at the same time they don't expect you to make all of the connection between the writing. In most writings that we have talked about it this class we have found more than one way to interpret what the author is trying to say. So the author can't expect all of his readers to understand what he was thinking when he was writing that piece.
ReplyDeleteI believe that most writers generally write everything on or with a purpose. Most writers (especially good ones), are very clever and usually put these sort of things in their pieces with the intention of having the reader think long and hard about what it says. However i also think that sometimes the Author of a story puts something in a story for it just to simply be what it is and nothing more.
ReplyDeleteI think that some authors do write for the purpose to make us relate back to all of the connections between events now and all throughout history. Even though most people don't realize or make the connections, they are there for a reason. I also agree with Samantha when she said that some authors write about gossip and teenage drama, which doesn't have a very deep meaning or any real purpose at all except for entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI dont think that when an author is writing that they are thinking about all these deep meanings. Some do it just to make a story line, while others might actually think deeply about it.
ReplyDeleteI think that they all do this on purpose. However, most of the author's ideas are from their personal experiences, especially poetry. People can't always relate to someone and their personal experiences. Besides poetry, I think authors do everything on purpose. They want readers to really get into and make a deep connection to the story and that is the best way to do it. Then again, authors might just try to say something simple and we can put way too much thought into it.
ReplyDeleteI'm so torn on this one. There are definitely times that authors will do something on purpose. They use allusions and plant subtle hints that make us go "AH-HAA!" and we instantly get what they're trying to convey, and some authors are INSANELY good at doing that. But I have to wonder, how much of it has been put there subconsciously? I wonder if some authors write straight from their brains and put in some tiny little allusion that they didn't recognize until they read over again? I don't have any real significant experience to answer my own question. But I do think that we sometimes will over-think things that an author has said (which I don't think is a bad thing.)
ReplyDeleteI believe that all authors always have a purpose for writing a piece of literature. They know that they are using allusions, and they know that if they give a character a certain name, someone is going to catch on to the their hint. I believe it takes a lot of thinking and planning to be able to write a piece of literature.
ReplyDeleteOk so we all know there are some people in this world who are smarter than others. i think most authors try to put that deepness into there stories. but where some succeed other fail miserably
ReplyDeleteI do believe that a lot of authors write for a purpose and write for the reader to be able to make some connections with their stories. I'm sure there a lot of times where english classes over think the meaning of a story and try to make it deeper than it really is, but i also think that some authors have a talent for including allusions and deeper meanings into their stories.
ReplyDeleteI think that it can go either way. I think that some authors think about everything. Every allusion, metaphor, symbols, themes, etc. But other authors just write what they wanna write and may realize after they wrote it what allusions, or metaphors they randomly added it.
ReplyDeleteI think that authors really do write certain things on purpose, they try to connect things and stuff to portray a certain allusion, so the reader will get a feel for the idea or thought that the author is trying to get across.
ReplyDeleteSome authors do try to put deep meaning, allusions, or symbols like George Orwell does in Animal Farm. I do think some writers put in material that they don't mean to be interpreted the way it is. Sometimes that interpretation is good or bad, I can't recall specifically but I remember hearing about an author having a death sentence put on him by a different country because they interpreted his work wrong. I even truly think some authors throw stuff in there to see what people will say about it. :P
ReplyDeleteI do believe that some things that are put in a story are put there on purpose whether it be to allude to something specific or to foreshadow an upcoming event. A lot of times though i believe it is just the way the reader interprets the poem or novel rather than how it was written. We can all pick things apart and then relate them to other things.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that some things are on purpose, not all but some. I mean if an author didn't mean for any theme to be there on purpose the whole book would be confusing. I think that they want us to make most of those connections because often those allusions and references are the genius behind the book but i don't think it's at all possible to make all the connections because it's not like they use 1 or 2 often they use a lot more with my guess being somewhere between 20-40 maybe more but to be able to make them all would take an immense amount of knowledge.
ReplyDeletei dont believe that authors do everything on purpose. Most people just think of things to deeply and can't take this at face value. But some authors make connections on purpose. I sometimes wonder if some authors like to test there readers. They might put some random detail in there and try to see what there readers get out of it.
ReplyDeletedon't think everything the author writes is suppose to have this huge amazing AP english type answer. If I was one of these authors and I said the girl wore a green dress.. I probably just liked the color green. The green dress does not in my opinion show that she likes the great outdoors and that later in the story she is going to be rolling in green grass. I would just say green cause I like the color. Now on occasion there are things that you can tell the author obviously put in for you to get a deeper meaning. Like in The Chronicles of Narnia the author meant for there to be biblical allusions. I believe that on occasion author put in info so we get a deeper meaning but a lot of the time I think we look into it to hard.
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe that everything that authors put into their stories has some purpose for being in there. If it didn't, why would he/she put it in there. No, authors don't usually intend for us to make all the connections to all the allusions, symbols, and themes that they put into their stories. I said "usually" because there are always exceptions to every rule. It might be typical for books and stories to follow one thing. However, this will prove not true because some author might break that rule. Rules are always broken. Some on purpose, to prove a point that there is no rules when it comes to literature. Others accidently, to tell their stories in ways that they either need or want to in order to tell the story. A lot of times, writers will put allusions and symbolisms in their story for their own enjoyment. An example of this is found in the movie Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back. Kevin Smith, the writer and director of the movie, made a character in the movie named Marshal Willenholly. This is an allusion to the TV show Land of the Lost where the three main characters were Marshal, Will, and Holly. Kevin Smith put this in there not for people to try to recognize, but for his own enjoyment.
ReplyDeleteI think that if you look at some of the author's that have written poems and books, that have immense meanings and subtle meanings. I think that if the author did not intend to lay on some subtle meaning he wouldn't use diction, syntax, or connotations to display the meaning of his work. I think that sometimes we do over exam poetry, sometimes when a good man dies its not an allusion to jesus dying for our sins, sometimes its just about a man dying.
ReplyDeletei dont think authors write stuff on purpose. i honestly think they just write whatever they want. and us as humans try to over analyze and over think everything that is in front of us trying to find something that actually isnt there
ReplyDeleteHmm I think maybe we put them in their subconsciously some of the time. It depends on what we know. Sure, I think naming the woman Oedipa was on purpose. Beautifully done too. To me though, it makes sense to write in a storm when two characters are fighting, when something terrible is happening. It's what's going on emotionally to your characters. Why not clue in the reader? At the same time, a writer may put in whatever symbolism they please and let a reader interpret it as they will. Art is about interpretation. I think it works both ways. Sometimes, it's purposeful. I wouldn't name a girl with some linguistic speaking/telepathic superpower/ability to speak/charm anyone any other name but Rose. I.e., Rosetta Stone, the singular item which helped us understand each other long, long ago. I may name the best swimmer on a swim team Ty because you know he's ballin in the water so he's Poseidon's man, and Poseidon's symbol is the trident. Just works like that. Sometimes something will sound so on, so right, you can't resist. Sometimes, you won't even realize you're doing it. When I write, I feel like I'm not creating the characters, their lives, their stories. They were already there. It's just my job to make it sound good, to make sure people understand them, to put that story out there. Then again, I don't write as much as I'd like. That's just how it feels to me.
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