Moscow Metro announcements

[Christopher Tessone]

On Thursday, June 3, 2004, at 02:16  PM, Anne Lounsbery wrote:

> If the last thirty or so years of literary theory have taught us
> anything,
> it's that there's more than one way to read--and certainly more than
> one
> right way to read.  Even secretaries reading Tolstoy over lunch
> (really, how
> dare they?) might have good reasons for reading the way they do, and
> for
> creating their own versions of the Tolstoy that some of us seem to
> think we
> own.

This strikes me as a bit too relativist.  The last thirty years of lit.
theory may have taught us there's more than one right way to read, but
it certainly hasn't taught us there are no *wrong* ways to read.  If
someone approaches the novel on Oprah's terms, they will be less likely
to get at what actually makes it a great novel and has given it a
lasting place in the canon the "Harlequin romances of the day" didn't
get.  I know many people who struggle with reading the holy writings of
their faith tradition in a critical way for exactly this reason.
They've been raised to believe the "Oprah" version is an accurate
representation of the text, so to speak.

Cheers,
Chris

--
Christopher A. Tessone, OBK
Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois
BA Student, Russian
http://www.polyglut.net/

---
[This E-mail scanned for viruses by Declude Virus]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------