Table of ContentsIntroductionLiterary CriticismConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionThe literary theory of reader response criticism was recognized as a true literary theory from the 1960s to the 1980s. It was actually developed by two men, Louise Rosenblatt and supported by Wolfgang Iser. Of the literary theories I looked through and researched, I found this one the most interesting. Indeed, although this theory was recognized as an initial theory only 45 years ago, humans have been giving answers to stories and literary works since the beginning of literature itself. We respond to stories, create our own understanding of the literary texts themselves, and respond based on what we think in our minds. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay As an audience, it is our role as readers to read, understand, and respond to work of any kind. However, reader response theory of criticism goes a little deeper than simply navigating a literary work. It is a true in-depth examination of all parts of a story, deducing and understanding the real meaning of the story in all its elements to the best of our ability, and then creating a critique based on our own personal thoughts and beliefs for the literary. Wikipedia offers the most basic explanation of what a literary theory of reader-response criticism is: "Reader-response criticism is a school of literary theory that focuses on the reader (or "audience") ) and its experience of a literary work, in contrast to other schools and theories which focus attention primarily on the author or on the content and form of the work. best statement from a website other than Wikipedia. I felt I had to put this quote here because from a reader's perspective, if you had never heard of this review before, you would usually look it up and find Wikipedia to be the easiest to find. However, I want to post an explanation that suits me better and express why I find it more appropriate than the Wikipedia definition. The explanation I find much more apt is from Aresearchguide: “Typically, reader response reviews revolve around “Reply to Reading” phenomena. The theory identifies the reader as an important and active agent responsible for conveying the real meaning of the text by interpreting it. The modern school of thought argues on the existing perception of literature. According to him, literature is like a performing art that allows the reader to create their own unique performance related to the text. “I prefer this quote much more than Wikipedia because it really implements what reader criticism is, the reader. It's much more understandable and a great way to phrase things rather than just "focusing on the reader." I like that this actually explains how it focuses on the reader. Literary Criticism Before we properly discuss and apply literary theory or reader response to my chosen story, we must understand and know effectively who the author of the story is. Louis Erdrich is the author and creator of the short story The Red Convertible. She is particularly known for her range of stories related to Native Americans and their struggles. I found this interesting after reading The Red Convertible and realizing that the two brothers and family featured in the story are actually Native Americanswho struggle to live on a Native American reservation in the 1970s. She has won a wide variety of awards for different stories such as the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Being originally Ojibwa herself on her mother's side, this allowed her to focus more on this topic in her writing. The group and their culture. It was quite interesting, considering that she grew up in Minnesota, which is typically a cold and picturesque state due to nature. Reading his literary works allowed his story of the landscapes of Minnesota and North Dakota to flow through the pages even though the book was not written. exactly in Minnesota. She is particularly known for her ability to create such well-rounded and interesting characters through her characterization techniques. There weren't many stories I read this semester in which characterization was such a crucial aspect of a story. Although his popularity and recognition has more to do with his many beautiful novels, his short stories are just as well written as the longer works of literature. The Red Convertible was a very sad story which, knowing Erdrich's past writing themes, a sad atmosphere was to be expected. The story of The Red Cabriolet was that of two brothers, with the narrator being the younger brother. The two were very close, living with their parents and younger sister on a Native American reservation in the 1970s. The brother narrator talks about how he was very lucky to grow up with money and talks about how he and his brother went out and bought a red convertible together. Technically, the older brother owned it and continually tried to give it to his younger brother to keep. The narrator continues to tell the story of the incredible adventures he and his brother had with the red convertible until his brother was drafted into the Vietnam War. When the older brother returned from the war, the story moved from happy times to dark times. where the family did their best to keep their distance from the brother who was now suffering from a severe case of PTSD. They did everything they could not to provoke him and talked about the various quirks the older brother would do because of his psychological trauma. The younger brother struggled a lot after a while, talking about how he could no longer handle the lack of connection he had with his brother. This led him to take a risk that he thought would be worthwhile. He went out into the garage and destroyed the red convertible as much as he could, hoping that it would do something to his brother and make him come back and reconnect. However, this did not work. The brother actually worked on the car, but once it was fixed, it didn't fix his mind, only the material object. They decided to go for a drive to remember old times. Unfortunately, they fought over who should take care of the car, causing the brother to jump into the river they had camped near and kill himself. The brother tried his best to find his traumatized brother and failed, sending the convertible after him as if trying to find him. I found the way this story depicted PTSD and the relationship between two brothers to be incredibly interesting. The way it detailed how the brother would sit and watch color television in a constant state of flight or fight was really sad. Another example was how the brother accidentally hurt himself without realizing he was doing it. He bit his lip at one point and ignored it. Erdrich did a great job describing how heartbreaking PTSD can be for.