The Critical View of Literature

I feel that we all have our own ways of reacting to literature, some people write more in their own words, others translate it into another medium that means more to them, and some might simply choose to simply apply it to their lives, however they must dos so. I know that for me personally, when I read something, especially a story or novel that I like, I get completely engrossed in it. When the story ends, or something is not completely explained, oftentimes I will start to delve into it on my own, considering what could have been written there, how things could have gone. This is something I tend to do often, and I really do enjoy it, it makes the story come alive even more to me, I already see it as a movie going on in my mind, and then I get to basically control how things go on my own.
How we respond to literature really can change our lives, I know it has changed mine. Simply in seeing another perspective, be it that of the character or the author, opens my eyes to a world larger than my own. If the story is fiction or fact is irrelevant, it still has life in it, with wisdom to teach us. So often I will read a story or poem or verse that touches my heart in a new way, reveals something new to me. I learn new things about myself, the world around me, or a new way of looking at things, and I love it. Perhaps my favorite thing is when I read something I have read many times before, and yet something completely new pops out to me in a way that I had never even imagined before. That is one of the reasons why if I like a book I tend to reread it many times, I love learning new things from the same story. Every time I come back and read the story again, I am a different person, I have changed since the last time I read it, and so it really is a whole new experience to read it again, because different things become so much more prevalent to me.
When we really critically analyze literature, I think we really are fulfilling the goal of the author, in that we are attempting to fully understand as much as we can of what they are telling us, on as many levels as we can find. I do agree with the idea that we can never expect to completely understand everything that an author says or means, I am sure there are always more to it than we realize, but at the same time, it should be our goal to get as much out of it as we can. When literature is written, it is rarely written offhandedly, but instead is written with a purpose, be it a purpose to inspire, convince, or just simply reveal truth, there is some meaning behind it. Therefore when we analyze literature we immediately boost our understanding of it, and begin to comprehend a world outside ourselves. While we may never understand everything intended by the author, we will also come up with new ideas that they may not have thought of themselves when writing their thoughts, and in the sharing of our ideas, we all get to grow and drastically change in our lives, simply through the written word.