Question

In a transactional view of reading, what is the importance of what readers bring from their own experiences compared to what the author writes?

1) The publisher and critics are to interpret the literature read by children
2) What readers bring from their own experience is not as important as what the author writes
3) What readers bring from their own experiences is just as important as what the author writes
4) The teacher's role in the classroom is to interpret the literature read by children

Answer 1

The transactional view of reading highlights the importance of the reader's personal experience in creating meaning from the text, which is why a teacher's role is to facilitate diverse interpretations, not enforce a singular perspective.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a transactional view of reading, the importance of what readers bring from their own experiences is as significant as what the author writes because reading is a dynamic and interactive process. Readers' personal histories, values, and emotions imbue the text with individual meanings. This subjectivity means that each reader's interpretation is unique, informed by their life experiences and the text itself.

The teacher's role, then, is not to dictate a single 'correct' interpretation but to facilitate students' engagement with literature in a way that cherishes diverse perspectives. Teachers can guide students in applying critical thinking and literary theories, like feminist analysis for example, in order to unlock new understandings and discussions about texts such as Kate Chopin's 'The Story of an Hour'.

The ultimate goal is for students to see literature as a mirror reflecting universal aspects of the human experience, allowing it to become learning for life. Properly applied literary analysis respects the text's complexities and avoids reducing it to a mere set of facts or stripping away its multifarious significance.