Perrine? Who Knows

So, I found myself disagreeing with numerous things in this piece. It's not that I think he is ignorant or a poor teacher. I just think the majority of the things he instructs readers to do are more a matter of opinion. For a reader to come upon a book with no preconceptions is unheard of. It's delightful in thoery but simply unrealistic. For example, when a reader decided to delve into a classic, they know beforehand that it is a classic. This reasonably influences them to look for deeper meanings and try to like it based on the rave reviews it has received. I also disagree with his observation that good readers do not read books to gain factual knowledge. I know that with reading many novels about war or other related topics, I learn plenty. Reading a war novel in Mrs. Helbing's class about the Civil War was what truly gave me a deep understanding of the motivations and causes of the war. I do agree with the statement that rereading is key. One can always catch extra detail when reading a piece for a second, third, or even fourth time. Similarly, when I first viewed Zoolander, I missed out on a lot of the brilliant humor. One must see Owen Wilson in action several times to truly understand why he is the best character ever created. This is why I pay no mind to those who discredit the movie. They have likely only seen it once and have not fully experienced it.