The Codes of Culture There have been a number of times wherein Ive been assigned to read a certain text,

and in the end of reading I am left wondering about what it all meant. Often, I try my best to understand how such a small thing can be of such importance to the storys main character, or how being brought up in a certain town can readily explain for their behavior, or how such a seemingly insignificant object can be considered a treasure in certain cultures. Achebes yam crops in Things fall apart, the fiasco caused by a simple lie in Chronicles of a death foretold the exaggerated methods of attaining glorification in certain Greek tragediesthese stories and a whole lot more have left my eyebrows raised and my mind muddled in more than one occasion. Initially, I have considered that I was the problem; that I lacked certain skills of comprehension necessary for me to understand some concepts presented in texts I have read. However, upon reading The Codes of Culture, I have come to realize that accountability for misunderstandings is not solely given to the reader but to the writer as well. Misunderstandings are an inevitability especially when the piece of literature I am reading is from a different culture. Codes of culture attacks the assumption that writers can write for whoever reads them-Reading, in this case, characterized as an actual understanding of what the text means, not just as the minds transcription of symbols printed on paper into words. The meaning of the text may be seen from a literary standpoint, as a result of an evaluation of the texts structure and form, or seen from the texts signifiers-- little nuances present in the text that can have different implications from person to person or none at all. Whether or not the reader will be able to detect the presence of these signifiers and get something out of it depends on the readers overall orientation; his class, culture, political beliefs and religion will either enable or disable him from seeing these hints and understanding what they mean. On appreciation of a piece of literature through appreciation of its signifiers, Gordimer writes: Barthes brilliance, with its element of divine playfulness, made and makes enthralling reading--for those of us who share at least sufficient of his cultural matrix to regain aesthetic pleasure and revelation from his cited signifiers. This implies that a certain commonality must be shared between writer and reader; the writers world must be, in some ways, similar as to that of the reader in order for his work to be understood. Whether it be similarities through culture, class, political beliefs or religion, a writer must recognize these commonalities and capitalize on them if he wishes to create a piece of literature that will hold significance to a large number of readers. No matter how talented a writer may be, and no matter how pretty his prose may sound, it will not be appreciated if it cannot be understood. It can then be said that, if the writer wishes for his work to be understood by many, it is his responsibility to make his work as relatable as possible by including concepts familiar to a large group of people. Conversely, it is the readers responsibility to immerse himself in as many works of literature as possible, so as to expand his cultural matrix and increase the probability that he will understand the literary work assigned to him.