I believe ambiguity is one of the things that makes reading, and really all of the arts, so beautiful. As opposed to math and science, writing and reading is open to interpretation and subjectivity, therefore opening the door to new perspectives and views. It is not condemned to the stone cold interpretation that we delegate to numbers and figures. No laws govern a reader's experience. I believe everyone approaches texts differently. We come to them bearing our individual personalities and experiences, which influence our interpretation.
Reading is both the journey that the author intends and a somewhat personal journey. Ambiguity is in no form a roadblock, but rather a path to deeper and more broad interpretation. Many readers crave a sense of resolution in the form of definite outcomes, but the indefinite is vastly more intriguing and provocative. The inherent nature of art is that of ambiguity and a sense of obscurity. There is no pleasure in being told how to think of something, rather the pleasure comes from personal revelations, from a connection or epiphany that a consumer of the art finds within themselves. That's why different pieces of art speak to different people. We do not all approach it in the same manner.
Ambiguity often has a negative connotation, something that I have never understood. I think as humans many of us crave solidity and certainty and to not have specific resolution can be frustrating. However, it can also be freeing. In life, we may crave resolution, but might not always find it. Understanding this is a step to appreciating the subjectivity that reading (and the world) offers. Ambiguity in my mind is the nemesis of a parochial world view. It's the ability and desire to expand. The entire world is ambiguous. We perceive it based on our experiences and thought processes. While this description may not sound satisfactory to some, to me as a reader, satisfaction is born from the knowledge that the outcome isn't definite.
For me, ambiguity in literature can be frustrating. I have always been drawn towards math and science and prospered in those fields. Knowing that there is a right or wrong answer pushes me to find out how and why exactly that answer is correct or incorrect, while fully understanding the execution. So naturally, literature poses some problems for me as I try to find the correct answer, in which, Rachel, you are right; there isn’t one. After reading How to Read Literature Like a Professor, I have further come to understand why authors write as they do. Apart from struggling to find the right answer or correct meaning to a passage, I am beginning to develop the skills to form a guess the more that I read. While it is almost unsettling that there are so many possibilities to be right, creating your own understanding does prove to be pretty cool when you can connect a passage back to your own life in a way that numbers never could.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Elizabeth. I have always been a math and science girl. We have always been taught there is a right or wrong way to do something. Therefore there is a specific way to get one solution. The thought of having many interpretations to a thought or idea makes me nervous. I worry about having the wrong answer. In math and science figuring out the correct answers gives you a sense of confidence and ability. In literature there are multiple ideas thrown around over one concept and could leave some clueless on their exact thought of that concept. Personally I would rather have one definite answer and know that its correct then have multiple answers and figuring out which I believe is correct while someone else thinks the total opposite.
ReplyDeleteAmbiguity is like not being part of the inside joke. It is incredibly confusing and disheartening. Therefore, reading literature at this level is draining because I am constantly missing the hidden messages and intertextuality. I want to know more, read more, and understand more. Because of these desires, it drives me to practice in literature. In this way ambiguity is wondeful because it pushes the reader to encircle themselves in literature's richness. I feel empowered when I am in control and aware, so I will continue to submerse myself in text.
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