Question: How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers?

The book "The Dilemma of a ghost" written in 1965 may be interpreted differently by two different readers. The dilemma of a ghost was written by Ama Ata Aidoo, a Ghanaian writer who portrayed some form of tension between the communal and traditional Ghanaian value system and the individualistic american culture.

The text may be interpreted differently by two different readers as a result of the different culture, time setting and language. The two different readers' assumptions may not be wrong as they both have different cultures, different time settings as well as different languages and may therefore see things differently. This is the reason why writers ensure that their messages are conveyed effectively taking the differences of their prospective readers into consideration.

Firstly, the difference in interpretations of the text by two different readers could be as a result of culture. In the novel, The Dilemma of a Ghost, the West African Culture is predominantly portrayed and as a result any African that may pick the book may easily relate to the book. The novel is about a young Ghanaian man, Ato, who returns to his home from the United States of America with an African-American wife called Eulalie. Ato had not consulted his family about the marriage, this creates a conflict between the two cultures. In the West-African culture, the elderly women in the family pick the man or woman their grandchild will marry as it is believed that they know what is best for the child and as a result , it is likely they will pick a good spouse for their children. Any African that reads the book will understand the message Ama is conveying because it is his or her culture and therefore he or she can easily relate to it. However, when a foreigner picks up the book, he or she may find it quite difficult to understand the message as it is not his or her culture and thus in reading the book, may not understand the story or the idea well because it will appear new, absurd and strange. This could lead to the text being interpreted by two different readers differently.

Secondly, the difference in time setting could also affect the interpretation of the text by two different readers. The novel, The Dilemma of a Ghost which was written in 1965. Evidently, this is a different time from now and as a result, a reader from the 1900's may interpret the novel differently from those of today. The novel shows how in the past(1965), the elderly used to pick the spouses for their children, however in this time or century(2014), the children pick their companions based a strong emotion that they refer to as love. The reader in 1965 will be able to interpret the book better as he will be able to understand the story and the culture better, seeing as it was in his time that the activities occurred. However, a reader from this time may not interpret the novel as it should be interpreted as he or she may not understand the traditions. This is because the reader did not experience them but may have just heard of such traditions. This could lead to different interpretations of the text as the different readers may not be familiar with the time setting in which the novel was written.

In addition, the language used by the writer may also lead to the different interpretations of the text. In the novel, The Dilemma of a Ghost, Ama Ata Aidoo uses English which may make english-speaking readers' understanding easy, however if other readers were ones who neither spoke nor understood english, they may find reading difficult and in trying to translate her work, they may miss the message Ama is trying to portray which could affect their understanding of the novel. In the West-African culture, the elderly use a lot of proverbs to convey their messages, and this could also affect the readers. In the novel, Ama employs these words of wisdom quite frequently. An instance is when Ato's grandma is addressing him, and if the reader is not familiar with this language, he may not be able to understand and interpret the novel well. However, a reader who is familiar with this kind of language may be able to understand as well as interpret the novel. This is another way in which texts are interpreted differently by different readers.

The different interpretations of the text by different readers is one thing that writers have no control over as they write usually from experience or passion and as a result, cannot meet everyone's needs. Due to this, they try to make their novels unbiased so as to reach out to as many people as possible.

Summary of novel

The play is about a Ghanaian man, Ato, who returns home from the United States with an African-American wife. He has not consulted his family about the marriage, and the conflict between the two cultures is played out through the characters' interactions. The man himself is torn between his Ghanaian past and his acquired American ideals. The tension between the communal and traditional Ghanaian value system and the individualistic American culture is further played out in the confrontations between Ato's mother and his American wife. At the end of the play, mother and wife reconcile, and thus the dilemma is solved.

Bibliography

http://sodiqyusuf.blogspot.com/2012/05/thematic-concerns-of-ama-ata-aidoos.html