I couldn’t agree more with the definition in slide nº 7: “no text provides self-contained meaning; literary texts do not exist independently of readers‘ interpretations. A text …is not finished until it is read and interpreted....religious, cultural and social values affect readings” (Kennedy and Gioia, 2005)

I see literature as a recipe in which a chef adds pages full of words, punctuation marks mixed with thoughts and feeling. How will the dinner guests know how that dish tastes if they haven’t even tried it?

It happens the same with literature. How will the readers know what a book is about if they haven’t even read it?

Therefore it is the chef’s job to add the right flavours to the recipe so the guest gives meaning to the dish already prepared.

It is our job, as teachers, to help our students to give meaning to literature. It’s not easy, because we have to bear in mind that all students come with different cultural and social incomes. It’s the same with the recipe. All guest do not have the same taste.

As a conclusion, just like our taste determines the perception of a dish, the ideas that we have in our souls will determine the perception of a masterpiece.