Developing Reading Maturity: Interpreting Meaning (1964)

[Music] no no no no no no words are symbols this is not a stick but this is the word stick is just the symbol something which stands for the thing in the same way these words symbolize this when the words big stick bring to mind this sort of big stick we're taking the words literally when you think of the literal meaning of these words speak softly and carry a big stick perhaps something like this comes to mind of course when Theodore Roosevelt used these words he didn't expect them to be taken literally he intended to suggest other meanings to find Clues to these meanings that lie between the lines it will often help you to read more fully what an author has to say Roosevelt continued if the American Nation will speak softly and yet build and keep a thoroughly efficient Navy the Monroe Doctrine will go far so speak softly referred to the behavior of the United States and big stick to the powerful American Navy but can we interpret this statement in other ways and apply its meaning to other situations we certainly can today the idea it suggests might apply to the military force of one nation or the combined might of the United Nations or the big stick might even refer to your teacher's power in grading you even though he may speak softly so by reading between and Beyond the Lines we found several interpretations of the meaning of Roosevelt's words how the mature reader learns to explore fully the author's Clues to meaning and then to test these against his own experience and knowledge frequently as in the example we've just seen effective interpretation hinges upon finding the less obvious meanings of single words or groups of words there are many examples of this John Duff an English author of the 17th century wrote no man is an island and tire of itself literally of course a man is not an island you can find the deeper meaning of this statement by looking for other possible meanings of the word Island what does an island suggest to you isolation the lack of connection with anything else then what interpretation can we make of no man is an island perhaps John Donne meant that no man can remain completely apart from his fellow man his later words in this same passage suggest such an interpretation you may also wish to consider the meaning of the phrase involved in mankind does it mean neighborliness does it mean the humanitarian works of an Albert Schweitzer the dedication of a Gandhi by considering such possibilities you can arrive at a Fuller and richer interpretation of the author's meaning here interpretation required finding the meanings suggested by certain words many times though words represent ideas that may have an even greater range of meaning for example consider the word happiness in this phrase from our Declaration of Independence some interpretation of this word is necessary to clarify its meaning what does happiness mean to you does it mean this or this and what about the pursuit of happiness how does one go about pursuing happiness the interpretation of some words will always vary from person to person take this line from Emerson's famous essay self-reliance whoso would be a man must be a non-conformist two words need clarification man and non-conformist by man does Emerson really mean man as distinct from woman or is he referring to certain qualities of character and intellect which distinguish men from animals and what about non-conformist here's one in our day but is this the kind of non-conformity that Emerson had in mind or is it more like that of an Albert Einstein who didn't hesitate to present new and unconventional ideas he believed were true by exploring the possible meanings of non-conformist and man you can move toward an understanding in depth of these words of emersons here interpretation involved a single sentence often interpretation is required of whole passages not specific words and phrases take the book Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift one passage in it describes the way honors are won by the little people of Lilliput the emperor holds a stick in his hands while the candidates sometimes leap over the stick sometimes creep under it backwards and forward several times in the story whoever performs this test with the most agility is given the highest award the situation is much too ridiculous to be taken literally was Swift laughing at how Royal honors were granted in his day he was a master of satire and often did this kind of thing can we find parallels in our own day think about it are many awards being granted today for such silly reasons that their value is meaningless asking such questions can give you new insights into ideas you might not have questioned before interpretation can also be applied to whole Stories books and plays this book is a good example of such a work and so is this one Shakespeare's play Hamlet if you know the story you know that it's about the struggle Prince Hamlet of Denmark has with his conscience in making a decision to avenge his father's murder if we look beyond the story for some further interpretation of its meaning we may find a clue in these words spoken by Hamlet thus conscience doth make cowards of us all and thus the native Hue of resolution is sickly adore with the pale cast of thought Hamlet seems to be saying that our conscience may make us cowardly afraid to act perhaps by thus reading between the lines and translating them into our own words we can say too much thought May prevent action is this a reasonable idea we can try to apply it for example could Edward Jenner have experimented with vaccinations if he had not been able to make a decision to risk the life of a patient can a business executive take any action on a problem unless he can bring his deliberations to an end the tendency to think about things rather than Act made Hamlet a man of indecision does such indecision play a role in your life too and may indecision tend to hinder the actions of all of us your interpretation of Hamlet's dilemma will help you answer these questions so you see the interpretation of meaning of words phrases sentences of whole selections involves several steps which we can summarize in this way understand the literal meaning what does the author say explore all possible meanings what does the author suggest check your interpretation is it reasonable for this author and for you apply your interpretation does it help you understand other people and events and yourself taking these steps as you read will speed you down an exciting and rewarding path toward maturity in your reading [Music] thank you foreign