Chesterton, upon learning that he had nothing to read on a long train ride, began to ponder the interesting, he claimed that any printed word collection would be enough to stimulate his ‘mental ingenuity’. Chesterton argued through endless connotations; one will often discover a way to make something more interesting. Likewise, Louise Rosenblatt within her book ‘Literature as Exploration’ argues that ‘the special meaning […] that these words have for the individual reader will largely...
Chesterton, upon learning that he had nothing to read on a long train ride, began to ponder the interesting, he claimed that any printed word collection would be enough to stimulate his ‘mental ingenuity’. Chesterton argued through endless connotations; one will often discover a way to make something more interesting. Likewise, Louise Rosenblatt within her book ‘Literature as Exploration’ argues that ‘the special meaning […] that these words have for the individual reader will largely determine what the work communicates’. This is exhibited within Chesterton’s reaction to an advertisement for ‘Sunlight Soap.’ This advertisement might not have typically intrigued him, but ‘sun worship, Apollo and summer poetry’ certainly have. Thus, the interpretation and connotation that stimulate interest must ultimately be based on our individual human experience. For instance, mere tram tickets were able to evoke such emotion from Chesterton, simply due to their ‘symbolic quality’. It would seem that we hold onto meaningless things, because to us, what they represent is both important and interesting.
