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March 26, 2006

response to O'Connor

Roberts, Appendix C -- Jerz: American Lit II (EL 267)

"The work...is not fully created until readers make a transaction with it by assimilating it and actualizing it in the light of their own knowledge and experience."

This description of the reader-response approach seems to be a vital part of O'Connor's work. It often seems that her work requires the perception of the reader, since the characters themselves often fall short.

Posted by JenniferDiFulvio at March 26, 2006 08:04 PM

Comments

That's a good point Jennifer. O'Connor really works on us, since her chacters so rarely "get" the message O'Connor's stories convey.

Posted by: Dennis G. Jerz at March 26, 2006 11:57 PM

Jennifer,
Your right that we do need to connect a work to our own lives. If we can connect to what an author is writing then the author did his/her part. In O'Connor" the stories do fall short and not sure one can really connect them to their own lives unless they are "pregnant" or in a dangerous situation or looking for "spiritual" direction. Then the O'Connor stories could connect to someone's life with the individual's own ending. This would also in be connection with what Robert's was saying in Appendix C.

Posted by: LisaRandolph at March 27, 2006 09:12 AM

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