Whose Text is it Anyway Communication between author and reader - Essay Example

? Day Month Year Whose Text is it Anyway? A is similar to an artist. The written page is like a blankcanvas on which the author can feel free to create. Much like paintings, some written texts are easier to understand than others. Consider Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. For decades, readers have fallen in love with the fairy tale novel, yet few seem to really understand it. Much like Alice spends much of the book frustrated with the happenings inside of Wonderland, the reader spends hours trying to figure out the message behind the words. Perhaps that is exactly what Carroll was aiming for. In a similar fashion, millions around the world adore the paintings of Picasso. They hang in art galleries and adorn hallways in private hallways, yet few truly understand the true meaning behind the masterpiece. In fact, volumes have been written just trying to understand what ‘each picture is saying’. Could the answer be as simple as ‘nothing’? Does an author or painter actually have to communicate an exact message via his or her work that is understandable by everyone who reads the book or looks at the painter? The simple fact of the matter is that any given text is the author’s alone. They are free to do with printed words as they please. Perhaps part of the joy that some writers receive is in knowing that many readers struggle and grapple with the meaning behind what was written. In this way, they are promoting a depth of creative and critical thinking skills that is sorely needed in society. Other writers, however, do write to a specific audience and their words are quite easy to understand in context. Even under these conditions, however, the writer retains control over what they have written and the interpretation is to be largely left up to them. This is accomplished as they use their own artistic license as a mechanism for sharing a story of idea with the reader. In addition, the writer brings their own personal experiences and ideologies to the page each time they set out to write any given text. It would be helpful to consider a classic novel in which the author writes about a fictional story that could certainly be reality. Huck Finn is a product of poor rural America. He is a character that many people can identify with. Mark Twain, the author, certainly paints a wonderful picture with this novel. He begins by taking the reader on a journey through Southern America. There are racial undertones, class wars, and simple general mischief presented between its pages. You could ask ten different readers what social message Twain was trying to convey and you would likely get ten different ideas. This seems to be the beauty of literary license and is the reason why so many readers keep coming back to the classics, such as this one. Each time you read it, a different message seems to come to the forefront and you find yourself reliving the story all over again. This relates back to the theme of ownership and demonstrates how readers often find great job in trying to determine the purpose behind any chosen novel. That is part of the joy of reading. In answering the question of ‘Whose Test is it Anyway”, it is important to consider novels such as Huckleberry Finn. In this one novel, the author has created multiple themes centering on racism, slavery, morals, what role society plays in our life, and others. In addition to this, Twain touches on issues related to childhood, the way we lie and con people out of things, and he presents various superstitions and folk ideas. The reader needs no background with these issues, as Twain educates as he writes. One can easily begin to wrestle with these deeps ideas facing society, while having fun at the same time. Twain accomplishes all of this and more. In essence, he owns the reader because he has captivated them so. He can do what he wants simply because of the way in which he writes and the issues that he brings up. It is perfectly acceptable for an author to place more importance on the words contained on the paper than they do on the reader’s ability to understand at first. Twain is a perfect example of this. In addition, so are artists. The average artist does not consider who is going to view his or her work. They do not take into account the viewers perception before picking up the paintbrush. They paint because they want to create. From the outset of this essay, Lewis Carroll’s and Alice in Wonderland was mentioned as a perfect example. Carroll obviously did not consider the background of his audience. In fact, we can assume that Carroll never anticipated just how big of a hit his book would have become. Part of the enjoyment of writing is the process. An artist enjoys his work, respective of whether or not anyone else does. Sure, writers want to be noticed and they want their words to impact people, but that is often not their primary motivation for taking up the job, nor should it be. Consider again Huckleberry Finn. We can assume we know what the meaning of the text is, but as mentioned, there are so many themes and undertones interwoven throughout the text that it is difficult to know for sure. In Alice in Wonderland, the reader gets even less of a glimpse into what Carroll was trying to communicate. As we have read in class, nearly every chapter brings a different idea, concept, and adventure for Alice. Each chapter is different than the one before. It is not until subsequent chapters that the reader even begins to see how the characters relate to one another it, at least, a superficial manner. If there were ever a book that was as an interesting to analyze as a picture, it would almost certainly be Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Author’s also demonstrate their ownership over a text through the tone that the use. Throughout Carroll’s book, the reader notices a tone of confusion and bewilderment. At the time, we see a girl that is truly enjoying life and trying to find some meaning in it. She stops at nothing in her efforts to understand what is going on in Wonderland and how the society is structured. In a similar fashion, we see this in Mark Twain’s novel as well. His tone is one of lost innocence and the hardships of life. As the reader takes part in the story, they cannot help but feel sorry for Huck and his band of friends. The reader does not create this feeling; rather, the author does. Were it not for the tone in each of these novels, the original purpose of the writing would likely be lost. In this way, we continue to see that the writer of any given text is truly the owner. The reader, if you will, is just along for the ride. Now, of course, unless a writer has no care in the world about whether or not anyone reads what they have written, they do have a target audience in mind. We can really only guess who that audience, but it is often made relatively clear. For Mark Twain, the audience would be readers who are interested in Southern culture and issues of slavery and poverty. For Carroll, the original target audience likely consisted of deep thinking adults who like to ponder the mysteries of life. Because of his use of imagery and other literary devices, however, the book was easily transformed into a series of children’s stories that remain popular to this day with children of all ages. It is not likely that Carroll, nor Twain, considered that their audience would so large when they first set to write their respective novels. Instead, readership of both has increased as readers around the world have desired to learn from each writer and to escape to another time and place. Again, the author does this, not the reader. In conclusion, artists and writer’s alike generally create for their own enjoyment first, and their viewer’s/reader’s second. A true artist is interested in perfecting their own art in their own way. Writers tell stories that impact them, and then they hope that those same stories will impact the lives of others as well. It is not wise to say that the audience is not considered at all during the process, but it is feasible to say that they do not play as large a part in the creative process as we would like to think they do. Just an artist own his canvas, the writer most certainly owns the words he or she puts down on the page. Works Cited Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-glass. Chicago, IL: J.G. Ferguson Pub., 1992. Print. Twain, Mark. Huckleberry Finn. Chicago: Scott, Foresman &, 1951. Print. Read More