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Reader response criticism and new criticism
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Reader Response Criticism of "All Bears"
710 Words2 Pages
Recommended: Reader response criticism and new criticism
When an audience reads a piece of literature, the author is often not over their shoulder interpreting the text as he or she meant it to come across. The readers are usually equipped with their own previous knowledge, as well as society biases based on his or her previous life experiences. Solely from the use of these tools, as well as the reader’s vocabulary, will a reader interpret the words in front of him or her.
Reader Response Criticism argues this very point. The point of any piece should be subjective, as in, it should give everyone the right to explore their own interpretations rather than seek ones that some other nameless face has published. In other words, “knowledge is made by people and not found” (pg 69). Why should the instructor crush the passions and enthusiasm of the eager reader? By interpreting the text as readers see fit, they not only introduce new ideas into the literary community, but they allow the student insight into his or her own consciousness, which is each person’s ultimate goal. “Our values... are a kind of reader response to our culture and history...
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