The Study and Analysis of the Eagles of Shast Hill (Based on the Reader – response Criticism Approach)

The importance of literary criticism is hidden for no one; where the literary and artistic values of literary works and their strong and weak points reveal themselves to their audience. The present study attempts to investigate and criticize a fiction work with the theme of Holy Defense for the young adult readers. The story the eagles of Shast Hill is admired as a memorable work with this theme. In our study, we use the reader-response criticism approach and apply the procedure suggested by Aiden Chambers, the well-known literary theoretician. According to this approach, when forming the totality of a literary work, a hidden reader is formed as well, and discovering her/him and his characteristics betrays the point of view and the attitude of writer of the work about his reader to us. In Chambers' terms, the text itself becomes the evaluative criteria of the literary work and the essential elements for examining and analyzing the work can be sought in the work itself. Four fundamental elements of this approach include style, point of view, taking sides, and telltale gaps. Through examining these four elements we can specify that whether a specific work is a suitable one for the audience of its intended age group and whether the writer could make a positive constructive interaction with the reader and encourage him to follow the story to the end. What are the characteristics of the reader in the eyes of the writer: is s/he obliged to accept the ideas of the writer without any question or s/he is given the right to have a personal reading and interpretation? Through analyzing the story of the eagles of Shast Hill according to Chambers' approach, it was realized that the writer of this work recognizes his audience, knows him/her as the owner of thought, critical thinking, and the ability of analysis. Hence, he considers his/her part in the process of making meaning and creating the work, and invites him to participate in this process.

کلیدواژه ها:

Reader-response Criticism ، Aiden Chambers ، the Story of the Eagles of Shast Hill