Reading fiction provides an experience of pleasure or pain through feelings elicited by the story. Interpretation of fiction involves four intellectual acts: observing details, connecting details, inferring significance, and concluding meaning. Properly evaluating fiction requires understanding the context in which it was written, making judgments on its quality and values, and determining if it succeeds in its aims.
2. The Experience of Fiction One of the primary reasons for reading fiction is to feel pleasure or pain, to laugh or to cry. Licensed via Creative Commons
3. The Interpretation of Fiction What is happening in this photo? Licensed via Creative Commons
4. Four Intellectual Acts of Interpretation Observing Details about time, place; language, etc. Connecting Making connections amongst details Inferring What makes these details significant? Concluding Deciding on a meaning for the story based on this information
5. What are we observing here? How do those details connect? What can we infer from these details? What is the meaning of this image?
6. Reading in Context What do we know about the story? Why was it written? When was it written? What do we know about the author? What else do we know about the context of this story?
7. The Evaluation of Fiction Judgment Was it good? Did we like it? Was it successful in its claims? Values What values does this story endorse or refute? Why? Judgment Values
Editor's Notes
Discuss briefly what makes each student read – what do they hope for? Emphasize the individual experience as well. Everybody feels something different each time. Why?
Discuss the multiple possibilities for the interpretation of the photo/literature.
Not necessarily a step by step process. We often do this without realizing it. Go back to the original photo using these steps
The values of the story directly influence our judgment of it – sometimes for better or for worse. What we know and believe influences how we accept or refute what the story is telling us.
