To me, the most interesting part of Culler’s fourth chapter, called Literature, Meaning, and Interpretation, was the part that is talking about Language and Thought. This particular part compares two different opinions of knowledge of the language and how it is related to our thoughts. The first theory is saying that our thoughts are independent, and a language is just a tool that provides a way how to express them. The second opinion is about the determination of our thoughts based on the language we speak. That caught my attention because English is my second language, and not only the words, but the structure and rules are entirely different compared to my native language, which is the Slavic language, Czech. I was forced to ask myself if my thoughts are limited in one or the other language. My answer is definitely no. I believe that learning and understanding a new language is closely related to reading or studying literature. Learning English was especially challenging for me, for its phrasal verbs or idioms, and so I had to open my mind a bit and think more abstractly to understand the meaning. It is not only about the language itself but also about its value-added because of conventions, history, or cultural habits that are an integral part of each language.
But it does not mean that I can not use one or the other language to precisely express my thoughts. I think it is just about the knowledge of the language and, of course, it is easier if you know even the intercultural connections. In the end, the same as the literature, we have to have an open mind and try to understand the meaning. That is why the literature is so important. Thanks to the literature, we can become more open-minded, creatively thinking individuals that understand each other, even if using different words to describe things. I liked the end of this part of the chapter, the last paragraph, specifically the most the sentence that says: “But speakers and readers can be brought to see through and around the settings of their language so as to see a different reality.” (Culler, page 60).

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