Monday, September 14, 2009

First Class; First Clash

"So what? What's the larger meaning?"

What if there is no meaning? Meaning is subjective and open to interpretation and manipulation. Everything means something different to everyone else, so even if it means the world to the writer, it can mean nothing to the reader. "Unearthing meaning each layer down." Meaning is what you make of it, and you may make nothing of it.

Now I'll turn around and debunk myself. Meaning may be what you make of it; it's what all of us make of it actually, and unfortunately, majority tends to rule. If a collective group derrives the same meaning from a piece of work, generally, it's accepted that over all, that is what that particular piece means. And the outcasts, the ones that pick out something else, are basically told they are wrong.

For everything that anyone says has meaning, there will always be someone who says there is no meaning.

So where's the happy medium? The middle ground? It's the ones who "suckerpunch" you and ask "So What?" all over again.

4 comments:

  1. Hi Amanda,
    Reading your post was really interesting and made me think a lot about how we're expected to be individuals but kind of forced by the majority (if that makes any sense). Really Great Job!

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  2. Hey, this is a interesting expression of your feelings towards English, literature… life perhaps. I feel this piece is relatable because it is in itself rather subjective. I would push this piece further by perhaps including a story that can be taken by a reader as having little to non or multitudes of meaning, moral, or a greater picture. I don’t know how, or if it is possible to achieve this, but I think it could add something. Thanks,

    Nicole Tupper

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  3. Thank you both =) Wasn't exactly sure what these blogs were supposed to be like sooo this was the spawn of confusion and impatience.

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  4. I like the way that you have started your entry. I think that the question of “So what? What's the larger meaning?" is a great way to start. In a few simple words I understand what you are going to write about as well as your attitude towards the topic.

    I really like the paragraph where you say that “if a collective group derives the same meaning from a piece of work, generally, it's accepted that over all, that is what that particular piece means. And the outcasts, the ones that pick out something else, are basically told they are wrong.” I think that this is very true and leaves us to question the way that we as a society, especially those in education see meaning.

    I also like that at the end of the piece you echo your opening questions with your questions of “So where’s the happy medium? The middle ground? It's the ones who ‘sucker punch’ you and ask ‘So What?’ all over again.” It really opens up the question to the reader to create their own opinion about what you have written.

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