Post-Class

After class yesterday I walked away with a much better understanding of Barthes and Macherey. One thing we talked about in class that I found interesting was when Macherey says, “there remains the possibility of saying something else”. This happens all the time in communication due to many different factors including misinterpretation. Even playing a simple game of telephone like we did in class proved the point that messages become misinterpreted or interfered with all the time. It is very important for the writer to try and relay whatever message they are trying to say in the best way possible, and this can have a lot to do with word choice. It’s very important what words the writer uses, because one single world can affect an entire message. Despite the writer’s intentions, the audience is going to determine what they believe the message is no matter what, but when it comes down to it, they have the power to personally decide for themselves.

When Macherey asks, “are there books which say what they mean…without depending directly on other books?”. I believe the answer is no. Someone said in class yesterday that knowledge is built off previous knowledge and I completely agree. With this being said, in order for us to understand what a text is saying we have to go off of other texts we have read, and this goes for the writer also. In order for them to write these texts, they have to work off of previous knowledge. This reminds me of Saussure discussing semiotics, because for both concepts, you are going off of previous knowledge and past experiences to understand or recognize.

I think it’s significant that Macherey believes the most important piece in any literary work is what is actually left out of the text. This gives the reader a chance to find the underlying message and to look at the “gap” because, after all, that is where the meaning lies.