Implementation of Reader-Response Theory in Teaching Short Story

Reader-response theorists such as I. A. Richards (1974), L. Rosenblatt (1993), S. Fish (1970), and W. Iser (1978) argue that reading is an act which is actualized in the form of a “transaction” between the text and the reader. They observe that each reading activity is a unique experience in which the reader is involved in ethical, intellectual, social and aesthetic terms as a whole. In this paper we share our experiences of using Graham Greene’s short story, The Destructors, in “literature and language teaching” course as a sample. Indeed, the students are asked to write response papers for different short stories for twelve weeks. The data is analyzed qualitatively and thematically by using the tools suggested in reader-response theory. To collect personal response, we asked the students to read the short story as out-of-class assignment and write personal responses focusing mainly on the three approaches as “literature as content”, “language-based” and “literature for personal enrichment” elaborated and categorized by G. Lazar (1993). Students’ responses suggested that they treated the short story as transaction, and that they produced aesthetic readings rather than efferent. Producing response papers regularly during term-time contributed to the students’ critical and creative reading skills. It is observed that eventually the students become mature and confident readers and learn how to go beyond the written text by adding their individual aesthetic judgments.