If the old man told Weiss what he was feeling we wouldn’t get the artistry of his rumination.
It’s like the student who hates the exercise of inferring authorial intent and ascribing situations and plots as metaphors in high school English. The point isn’t to KNOW the authors intent. The point is to understand what it means to YOU!
You’re both right. This piece was about a sad old man. This piece makes us ponder our unknowable connections and the loss of dignity in suffering and old age.
This piece can mean many things to many people. That’s what makes it good.
It’s like the student who hates the exercise of inferring authorial intent and ascribing situations and plots as metaphors in high school English. The point isn’t to KNOW the authors intent. The point is to understand what it means to YOU!
You’re both right. This piece was about a sad old man. This piece makes us ponder our unknowable connections and the loss of dignity in suffering and old age.
This piece can mean many things to many people. That’s what makes it good.