Misinterpretations of Literature

     Authors write literature with an intended message or idea that they want to convey to their audience. However, somewhere in the mix of reading and reflecting on what has been read, some audience members become confused and completely misunderstand what they author was actually trying to express through their writing. I find this issue to be both devastating and frustrating, as the reader does not get the benefit of comprehending what could be a fascinating message, and others are challenged to try to explain to them the actual message.
     The Fountainhead is obviously a novel with an intended message. Throughout the novel, Ayn Rand promotes and demonstrates her theory of objectivism through various plots. To further convey her theory to her audience, she uses characters that embody the quintessential form of objectivism and others that are the complete opposite. This is where the misinterpretation can come into play. Instead of understanding that Howard Roark is who Ayn Rand would deem the "perfect man" in terms of objectivism, some readers interpret Ellsworth Toohey to be the "perfect man." Clearly this is not what Rand intended her readers to believe.
     I stumbled upon this example of misinterpreting The Fountainhead unexpectedly while watching one of my favorite movies, Dirty Dancing. When the main character, Baby, confronts another character, Robbie, about a situation he has gotten a girl into, he completely disregards the situation, explaining that he will have nothing to do with it. To verify his reaction, he tells Baby to read The Fountainhead after saying, "Some people matter, and some people don't." Obviously, he got the exact opposite message from the novel than the one Ayn Rand actually wanted her readers to understand.
     This then causes even further problems. Robbie explains his interpretation of the novel before telling Baby to read the book. So then, Baby reads the book, and based on what she heard of Robbie's interpretation, she could possibly feel the same way about the novel, and tell someone else about it. Soon, people everywhere are misinterpreting this work of literature and are not getting the intended message from it. Although the characters in Dirty Dancing are not real people, I'm sure there are people out there who have had this interpretation of The Fountainhead and this scenario could happen.
     Overall, it upsets me that some people will walk away from a great novel, such as The Fountainhead, with the wrong message while a great message lies undiscovered within the novel. Along with upsetting, this can also be frustrating for others when trying to discuss the novel with people who have totally different messages that they drew from the literature. Although there really is no solution for this issue, it would be nice if people could take the time to really reflect on what they read with a thoughtful, open mind. Maybe this would at least improve the problem.