Our last reading assignment was about how to find out what a text means. When we read something, we want it to mean something or help us gain something. We tend to look for a certain theme or moral that we define as the “message” of the text. When we are looking for just one idea or moral, we may be missing out on a lot more that it has to offer. One quote that i liked was “If we translate a poem into a statement, we risk losing the very qualities that made it a poem.” The other details that we kind of threw to the side may have had importance and great meaning as well. 

I believe that our tendency to do this is probably just because of simple laziness. We like it when they “cut to the chase” and “break it down” into one idea. We like to get the main point and move on without taking the time to really emerge ourself into a text and explore what all it has to say. Critical thinking is not the easiest way out, but I am sure that we would appreciate the details of the text if we allowed ourselves to take the time to “give them our ears.” 

Another quote that I liked was “One goal of conversation should be to open up ideas and possible interpretations of the story. Finding a moral is satisfying, but it often requires us to overgeneralize about the text in question.” So, when we try and find one moral to a story, there are no questions left to be asked. If we critically read it and try and find the moral, it leaves room for us to be unsure and ask questions. This leads to a chance for us to explore different ideas which is the ultimate goal of having our own “conversation” with the text.