Theme Of Reading In The Book Of The Quixote

Ironically, Joseph Harris stats "There are few things harder to do than to explain a joke without seeming a bore." Before that he introduced an anecdote of Pierre Menard from Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote. His mentioning of not trying to seem like a bore, is what is most ironic. His introduction was rather dull and boring. Overall throughout the entirety of the chapter, his writing was entertaining and worthy of binge-reading. The rarity of reading in today's society, makes Harris' writing that much more noteworthy. Being able to capture a reader's attention has become increasingly difficulty as society has gone away from reading. Maintaining an unconventional tone, flow, smooth transitions, and the specificity of his information allows

You are in or out, hot or not, on the bus or off it. But academics seldom write in an all-or-nothing mode" (p. 26). When Harris describes the win-lose style of academic writing that appears in many college classrooms, he raises curiosity which is great because not only does it stop the reader, it allows to reader to engage with his text. The reader will think outside of the text. The reader could would engage with the text and possibly coin academic writing as a debate-style product, where students are encouraged to defend their viewpoints in a pro versus con mentality. However, true academic writing, according to Harris, reflects an inquiry, an examination of further or other possibilities that exist beyond a simple pro-con representation, and Harris explains how to write in this manner: "you need to push beyond the sorts of bipolar oppositions that frame most of the arguments found on editorial pages and TV talk shows" (p. 26). When Harris writes in such a sophisticated manner, it makes his points more compelling. His sophistication through his writing is found throughout the entire text. Ultimately, his main advice to readers is to think about rewriting as a way "to add to what has already been said….to rethink and reinterpret the texts he or