By Karlee Wells
“Writing Expresses and Shares Meaning to Be Reconstructed by the Reader” by Charles Bazerman expresses the idea that writers need to involve the thoughts of the readers when considering how to use words and phrases. Bazerman states that even when the words flow from the author’s mind, the readers might feel a disconnect if the connotations of the words are different. To solve this authors will take comments from a select audience to better enhance the writing process, but sometimes the comments and feedback are not always welcomed with open arms. Though the job is not all thrown on the writer the readers must also place some work into deciphering the words and means as well.
As an avid reader and apprentice author myself, it has been a challenge to train myself that what I write doesn’t have the meaning to everyone who reads and interprets it. In reality we are thought to think this way in high school through comprehension classes, as well in college. When the teachers ask “what do you think the author meant by ____?” they are not asking house question because they want to judge you. It is the beginning steps to getting into the habit of thinking about the disconnect there is between the reader and author relationship.
“Readers share only the words to which each separately attributes meanings. Thus, meanings do not reside fully in the words of the text nor in the unarticulated minds, but only in the dynamic relations of writer, reader, and text.”
When reading “Writing Expresses and Shares Meaning to Be Reconstructed by the Reader” the quote stated above, really stood out to me. It explains in two sentences what I could try and explain in a whole essay: comprehension depends on the the author vs. reader concept. Though no ingle group reigns victorious, it is a shared victory. The author has produced a work of art they are proud of an the reader has indulged in new texts.
The relationship between both parties is a continuous cycle from the authors ideas, the text that they produce, then to the audience for comprehensions and feedback. Once feedback is given the author will continue to change and adapt to the feedback. Thus, continuing the cycle of the dynamic relationship.
But why is it so important to understand this relationship? To keep it simple it is to essential to understand that every reader will interpret a story differently. The worlds that the writer puts on paper don’t belong to him, but how he comprehends it and the ideas behind the worlds are theirs entirely. The audience will never know what the author was thinking, they can only assume, and give their best guesses. That being said, the words can take on new meanings and connotations based on who the audience is. As someone’s prepares to create works, they need to keep in mind how the audience will react to the worlds and ideas presented to them.
Just like in the game telephone, comprehension can be lost in translation.
