Prompt 6 - Ambiguity

Ambiguity in literature proposes an interesting situation for the reader. On the one hand, ambiguity makes it more difficult for the reader to follow where the author is going with what they are writing. If the reader does not understand what the characters are doing or what is happening in the plot, it can lead to a frustrating and unenjoyable reading experience. In addition, it becomes especially difficult to find a deeper understanding of the text if one cannot even read the lines, let alone between them.

On the other hand, the author could be aiming for ambiguity. Authors might want to keep their readers confused and in the dark for a specific purpose. In his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster reminds his readers to “pay attention to what you feel about the text. It probably means something.” Authors who write confused characters often not only want their characters to be confused, but their readers as well. In this way, readers will more intensely understand the characters’ befuddlement and empathize with them better than if the author spelled out the characters’ confusion in a more easily understood fashion. Sometimes, it is their intention to keep readers in the dark until the point of a big reveal when all that previously baffled the reader will suddenly make sense. Sometimes, the author does this to comment on the randomness of the universe and humankind’s inability to ever fully comprehend or control what happens to them and those with whom they interact, as in the case of Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead or Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland.