Charles E Bressler - the Diversity of a Fictious Mind - Essay Example

The piercing is dependent on the will, vision and pressure, and the needs of the individual (Bressler 65). Reader-oriented criticism is effective in situations where a reader can assign meaning to the text, and thus be regarded as an active reader. This school of literary theory helps people view literature as a performing act whereby each reader has the authority to give birth to his/her own story. Charles uses this quotation to bring to life the role a reader plays in bringing the story to life.

The use of Henry James' preface aids in explaining the diversity in meaning literature tends to be subjected to by the difference in knowledge and beliefs of readers. Charles uses this quotation to bring out the diversity in meaning that can arise from a single text. Just like a house has a million windows (Bressler 65), a text can be subjected to many meanings based on how each reader engages in the text. Moreover, no matter how many times a text is interpreted, reading it afresh brings new meaning.

Types of Readers

There are two ways that a book should be read; the active and passive ways. The former is where a reader fully engages in what the writer is trying to bring out, and he (the reader) creates in his mind images and scenes that bring this to life. It involves synthesizing, visualizing, predicting, and making a connection with the literature. The reader’s mind is so engaged in the text that he can predict the scenes that follow, and ask questions as he tries to obtain knowledge from all the available sources. On the other hand, passive reading is a situation whereby a reader has a negative attitude toward reading. In this context, the reader reads without thinking critically or rather reading purely for information or rather as a summary of a given assignment. It involves reading without reasoning, and the reader expects the author to motivate an interest in him or her. A passive reader can be easily distracted when studying. The reader usually resists compelling study systems and other memory strategies. In passive reading, there is no connection between the text and happenings in real life.

Most readers, especially students, can be categorized as passive readers. This is so considering the form of reading they involve in is to pass examinations after they forget all they have read. A passive reader can make a transition to being an active reader by adopting a positive attitude towards reading. He or she can start by trying to visualize the scenes the writer has created in literature, predicting the next move, and asking the question that critic part of the text (Rosenblatt 54).

Classification of Reading

According to Rosenblatt, efferent reading is reading for the sole purpose of obtaining knowledge. This entails concentrating on the writer’s message, as opposed to the intended message. This reading conveys a similar meaning of the literary work to all readers since no alterations in the text. The reader obtains information from the text without adding any information to it. The aesthetic reading emphasizes the inclusion of the reader’s feelings and images in bringing the writer’s text to life. Rosenblatt focuses on aesthetic reading revealing the importance of both the reader and text in influencing the meaning of the text. This reading is controversial as each reader has the mandate to create their own story leading to conflicting opinions on the intended message.

Currently, majority of the universities and colleges use the efferent reading approach for the common understanding of the text by all students. However, Rosenblatt would advocate for aesthetic reading in these institutions, especially for literary criticism courses. Her theory emphasizes the meaning of text arising from the reader’s interaction with the text, as opposed to the meaning brought by the text alone (Rosenblatt 59). She further supports her claims with the explanation that no written work has the same meaning for everyone as each reader interprets the literature based on their knowledge, beliefs, and interest they put in while reading.

Conclusion
The reading one is to engage in should solely depend on what one hopes to achieve from the text (Rosenblatt 60).
However, if one feels the mind is triggered in situations that require efferent reading, the aesthetic reading mind may be brought into play and the situation analyzed from two sides or more. Thus, a reader should not be limited to being an efferent or aesthetic reader but should use the available literature to trigger his role as a reader. Read More