Mr. Bishop Mission Viejo High School

CLOVERLEAF MAP, 1581

WORLD MAP

DYMAXION MAP, 1943

“BLUE MARBLE,” 1972

Interpretation is essentially the interrelationship of a variety of ideas Popular literature (The Road): sells books = economic factor Artifact within the social framework Apocalyptic: exists within tradition (Shelley) Reflects political, intellectual, ideological frameworks INTERPRETATION

Past is a series of events selected by the present to represent a particular understanding of the past. As new facts enter (revision); still affected by present selection (the problem of selective historiography) Only later will authors appear explicitly aware of place within historical framework Past related to itself and its past (used to interpret present) React to past and present to create understanding Experiences lead to understanding of “truth” HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Literary meaning changes over time as notions of truth and meaning change What has value? Most writers will attempt to assert/define given their particular understanding of reality Later, postmodernists begin to argue for a conception of reality with revealing an absence of truth “TRUTH”

Reality is based on interpretation of symbols If the framework of symbols fails, what is the replacement? What “is” and what is “perceived” is complex Problem becomes the task of framing the subject Restraints of language: How do I explain how I think, feel, etc. Restraint of experience? Can I believe or understand beyond that which I perceive? Must “play” with texts to form meaning found in the interrelationships of symbols Meaning is necessarily subjective? UNDERSTANDING OF REALITY?

Given the complexity of our experience/understanding, our task is to CREATE meaning from a given text. MUST come to terms with the fact that our interpretation is not (ever) objectively correct. Must remain open to reevaluation/reinterpretation over time and space. Must conduct “an infinite variety of experiments.” THE TASK AT HAND