Flexibility
In chapter 12 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Foster says of symbols, "The thing referred to is likely not reducible to a single statement but will more probably involve a range of possible meanings and interpretations" (Foster 98).
An interview comes to mind. My favorite band's lead vocalist responded to an inquiry once over his intent behind the lyrics of a popular song. Instead of broadcasting how he felt this or how he meant that while composing, he simply declined an explanation, reluctant to make the fan's interpretation subjective to his own. It's like always listening to a song you love in your car, then finally catching the music video on MTV, and it just doesn't agree with the mental picture you had. Now every time you hear the song your mind drudges up that video. Reading a book is no different. If the author told you in his introduction every reason for his every thought, books would loose relational caliber. When a person can connect to a book or song on a personal level that is when the piece is truly invaluable. Of course the authors' intentions are there within the work, reason for some interpretations being more accurate than others, but without flexibility wouldn't the story be stale?
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Nikita McClellan on Flexibility: I undertstand that the imagina
Rachael Sarver on Flexibility: I really enjoyed this section
I really enjoyed this section because it had that "Yeah!" factor. Something else that comes to mind is when films are made about books. You read a book, you have the characters, scenery, storyline, and even symbolism figured out...right? Well, until you watch the movie. When the imagination aspect is taken from literature, its kind of ruined.
I undertstand that the imagination aspect is quite important and without having it, the story can be ruined. Don't get me wrong, because I do agree with that. But I think it is also nice to see the take on the book that the author had in in mind just to see how it the author and I compare and contrast in meaning. That does not mean that I have to ever look at the book that way myself though. And chances are I wouldn't. LIke your example with the music video, even if the video wasn't to your expectations, wasn't it still interesting to see the take on that song even if it differed from your own?
Sometimes a story can hold a special fondness to someone because they associate a certain idea or symbol in the story to their own lives. When the author leaves something for the reader to create a mental picture of what they think is happening, they are prompting the reader to use their own personal experiences to help figure out what is happening in the story. I would agree that in a lot of situations this technique keeps the story from being stale, and without such a technique an author would need some other clever way to involve and keep the reader interested.