Make Up Your Own Mind!: Reader Bias, Interpretation and Expectations

I think it is important to address the argument of authorial intent. Being an English major, I am ashamed to admit that at one time I thought that some of the "classics" we read today were simply written to put bread on the table. I was that close-minded. I refused to believe that there was anything truly existential about Camus or that Beowulf was anything more than some warped historical record.

Of course, this was before I had a professor who could actually teach literature the right way. Once I did, I saw EVERYTHING in a new light. I had to re-evaluate all forms of text. Movies I once hated (Citizen Kane and Garden State to name two drastic examples) became some of my most cherished. Books I once loved started to collect dust because they weren't really trying to say anything. And the more I began to submerge myself in the art of text, the more I began to understand that it is just that-art. There is an artist (or artists) who has/have the ability to craft every angle of the story.

I now enjoy poetry, short stories and alot of other texts that I used to find pointless. This begs the question, how much do our expectations affect our overall interpretation of a certain work?

To use this week's assignments as an example: I was able to more fully comprehend Lord Byron's "When We Two Parted" opposed to Coleridge's "Rime," simply because my mind saw how many words were in each. Going into Coleridge's poem, I was looking for Christian symbolism and elements of the supernatural simply because Dr. Hochenauer told us to. Whereas, in Lord Byron's work, my interpretation was based on what I knew of heartache.

And now for a broader example: Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn recently starred in the film "The Break Up." This movie did not do well, but is actually a very good film (I think). It didn't do well because Jennifer Aniston is associated with chick flicks (or romantic comedies to be PC) and Vince Vaughn does (with the exception of the Psycho remake) screwball comedy. The film was marketed as a chick flick, thereby setting the audience up with the expectation that in the end the guy would get the girl and life would be beautiful. Instead, the film is a closer look at a dying relationship-which can also be beautiful. Audience expection was built up by the trailer ads and was not fulfilled with the actual film.

Of course, I didn't know that at the time I saw the film and I (originally) hated it as much as anyone else.

Back to the literature aspect of things. I believe for every ten authors who try to make a grand statement on life or morals or religion, there is one that is not. But even if that is not their intent, they somehow will address something of importance. It is up to our interpretation to determine what.