the meaning of meaning in a mean way

many things happen when you are waiting for something to happen at petsmart. i found this out when i got back from my break and put the book i was reading under the register. "oh what are you reading?" asked my gay coworker who transferred from arkansas. "tolstoy. short stories." i answered briefly; i dont feel comfortable around the other employees. he asked if i was reading for school and i replied no, i dont go to school. then he went on to tell me how he just got excepted to graduate school. i didnt respond since that sounded like bragging. he asked me if i liked the book and in a rare moment of passion i described the paragraph i had just read and how the imagery was placed perfectly to make me feel the anticipation that the character was feeling. i had never read a paragraph like that, or at least never noticed anything like it before. i was overcome with love for that paragraph. my gay coworker cocked his head to the side and told me he didnt think that was the author's intent. i was too surprised and confused to say anything, but if i had been quicker, i would have told him that the author's intent matters little when it comes to the interpretation of his work and how it affects his audience. really, that goes for anything that is made, whether its life (you know, babies) or art or whatever. once you are done making it, it takes on a life of its own, independent of your intent. you might know what it means, but you dont know what it means to someone else. unless they are stupid and need you to tell them what it means and dont form their own opinions about it and are from arkansas. instead, i asked him if he saw that lady's shirt. "the cat one?" yes. it was just a cat face on her shirt.
-emily