Conclusion

After thoroughly reading "A Good Man is Hard to Find" and taking into account different ways in which to read it and interpret it, I feel that I still follow my initial interpretation. However, by closely analyzing it through these different approaches, I feel that I have been enlightened in many ways on how a reader can make meaning of text. Although I still follow my initial interpretation, I was still moved by my findings and found that others interpretations and ways of analyzing added to and further emphasized the meaning I gained from the story.

In relating the story to the writings of May, Lynn, and Lohafer, I was able to determine different ways in which readers approach text. Through these relations I was able to step back and take a closer look at the story and the elements that each author was trying to note. I was able to relate the story to the romanticism and realism conveyed in short stories through May's writings. Through discussion of Lynn's writings, I was able to better understand the kind of reader that I am by exploring the way I approach and analyze the text. By relating the story to Lohafer's writings, I found different areas of the story that I thought would be suitable enough to bring the story to a close and why these points of the story may appear as ending points to me. Again, by using the points that these authors were attempting to argue in their writings, I was able to further consider my interpretation of the story and develop a better meaning/understanding.

Through discussing the story with a friend, as well as relating it to an unknown reader's response, I discovered new ways in which one might interpret the story. Different elements and aspects of the text were brought to my attention that I had not fully recognized through my reading's of it. By exploring the different ways in which individuals read a story, I was better able to understand the ways an individual can make meaning of text. I found that discussing as well as reading the thoughts of others to be the most helpful in my evaluation of the story. To be able to actually sit down face to face with an individual and hear the meaning that they pulled from the story was extremely beneficial. It allowed me to put forth my interpretation to the individual and get their feedback on why or why not they agreed with what I had to say.

I feel that in order for an individual to fully understand a reading, they absolutely must take different steps in approaching the text. This is the only way that one can recognize all of the aspects and elements that go into the writing and how each is relative to the point the author is trying to put across. By re-reading "A Good Man is Hard to Find" as well as taking different approaches to the ways in which I read it, I feel that I not only better understand the story, but I also have an all around better understanding of the ways in which people read and make meaning of text.