Perhaps people place too much importance of the author's interpretation of any given text. Too often is the question asked, "What was the author trying to convey when he or she wrote this?" An excellent point was brought up in class, that every reading of a text is a misreading. Every person that reads a text has their own, personal interpretation and has something different to bring to the table. That is part of what makes honors seminars so interesting, is hearing every individual's opinion on a text. So really, writing to convey one, single idea or concept is practically impossible. The great thing about reading is the fact that one can take their experiences, beliefs, and memories and apply them to a text. Someone may read the text at two different points in their life and feel as if they had read two completely different texts.
If someone's personal experience contributes to their misreading of a text, does this mean one's ignorance makes for a poor misreading? For example, when reading Joyce Carol Oates' "Where are you Going, Where Have you Been?", I was unable to make the connection between Connie and Persephone due to my lack of knowledge pertaining to mythology. This made for a very superficial reading of the text. In this case, perhaps guidance from the author would be beneficial.
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