Literature as a Lense

Admittedly before reading The Norton Introduction to Literature section of our reading homework my perception of literature is mostly based on stereotypes and misconceptions. For instance, I am not sure why despite the fact that I genuinely enjoy reading I have avoided literature to a degree. I am not sure if I thought I might not comprehend the books content or author’s intent. Or because social stereotypes suggest literature to be the property of Harvard elite and English gentleman instead a common man such as myself? Either way after reading the books introduction to literature I now understand how it can reflect perceptions, preconceptions, and most importantly misconceptions in human society from both the author and readers views point.

In the passage “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia, Gioia states that the decline of interest in reading in America is decreasing. She then claims that this lack of interest will hold negative effects on the future of our society. Gioia uses facts and evidence to support her claim.

The authors tell the reader that a picture must be interpreted like an essay or piece of writing. The motive and goal of the author or photographer must be figured out.

3. His eyes widened and, accentuated by his __________________________________, you could tell he was sickened by the sight of his wife in the room. 4. The __________________________________ philosophy is to use a practical approach to problems, rather than theories. 5. She __________________________________ conversed with her friend on phone. 6. The room was hidden behind the __________________________________ green curtain. 7. He and his __________________________________ hung out at the bar smoking. 8. He could feel __________________________________ anger building inside himself. Matching: Match the antonym to the vocabulary word. _____ 1. concerned _____ 2. compliant _____ 3. clear, truthful _____ 4. ornate _____ 5. tiny _____ 6. beneficial _____ 7. harmful _____ 8. ideally A. austere B. equivocate C. mulish D. cynically E. benignly F. colossal G. apathetically H. pernicious

This essay originally titled Studying Literature in Grade 12, has an abundance of information regarding and convincing the readers that the grade twelve English course should be composed of Canadian literature. The grammar in this essay however, was weak. The subject did not agree to their pronouns, making many sentences awkward. Overall, improvements could have been made. Some of these include MLA format, the title, introduction paragraph, grammar, punctuation and the citation format.

The reader is able to construct his or her thoughts by observing the small keys in each photo. Some of these keys are the use of color, setting, expression and focus in the scenery and objects around.

The biggest change I noticed taking place in how I used my lenses was how the further we progressed through the semester the more in-depth and detailed my blog entries became. For example, after the first five books that I read, I began to notice in my coding of the artistic lens that my descriptions and analytical thinking of the illustrator’s depictions significantly increased. For example, in book number two, The Blacker the Berry, I stated, “Another great element of this book was the illustrations that helped to add joy and laughter to this great book.” (Petersen, 2016). This description is short, and doesn’t really exemplify what exactly the illustrator did to have myself react with joy and laughter. But, later in the seventh book, Persepolis, my description for the artistic lens was much for in depth and analytical. For example, I detailed, “Her [the author] use of the black, empty space to underline the sadness and worry that Persepolis felt when she discovered Mohsen was murdered was perfectly expressed

Everyman, by the anonymous writer, is a play that can truly be analyzed under a literary theory lens. Everyman can be analyzed under a performance theory lens, not only because it is a play, but also that the actions of the character fall within the several categories of the theory. The play can be seen as following the structure of the religious ritual while following Everyman through his completion of the sacraments. Secondly, Everyman encounters many sacred characters, including, Death, God, and an Angel. The characters portray performing objects in which throughout the play these characters are personified. The characters are personified as human companies to Everyman, although they are actually a part of him taking on the role of seven deadly sins the characters portray different influences within Everyman’s life. The goal of these morality plays were to entertain the audience, which is an aspect of performance theory, but that these players were also used as a way of teaching the

In the article “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia, she is trying to persuade the audience that the decline of reading in America has a negative impact. She does this by using logos and diction in her writing to make her claim stronger. Dana Gioia uses logos, which is putting facts into the article. This is proven in the second paragraph when she states “According to the 2002 survey of Public Participation in the Arts… arts participation by Americans has declined for eight of the nine major forms”. Gioia uses facts from a relible resource, which makes her claim stronger.

this book was to show the reader how to look at literature through a wide eye. To see

In Why Literature Matters Author Dana Gioia expresses and supports his opinion on why schools should support and teach arts and literature. Gioia shows the rapid decline in Americans not reading literature anymore, he shows the consequences you will face in the real world, like when you try to get a job. Gioia uses facts and statistics throughout the essay, as well as appealing to your patriotism.

The style and features an author use can help persuade the audience if clearly used. Dana Gioia in the essay “Why Literature Matters” uses factual data, superb word choice, and numbers to build her argument. In doing this, Gioia successfully persuades his audience into believing reading is a personal right.

Prejudice. Stereotypes. Discrimination. Racism. These standards are four of many injustices that fuel the world today. They play a major role in much of America’s history and even more so in its literature. A historically significant event that demonstrates these characteristics is the integration of the Little Rock Nine in 1957 at Little Rock, Arkansas. The Little Rock Nine were the first nine African-American students to be integrated into a public school, and were subject to a whole country worth of hatred and cruelty while attending. Aspects of this event in history are similar those in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee for they

In today's generation the American arts has slowly died off; the lack of interest for the subject is starting to become non-existent. In this article, “Why Literature Matters”, Dana Gioia is trying to show the major effect that the lack of interest in American arts, especially literature, is having in our society. Gioia uses Diction and Statistic to show credibility in his writing and the negative affect that it is taking on society. In the article, “Why Literature Matters”, Gioia conveys credibility to the reader using diction.

Literature is an imitation of societal values and is thus a reflection of the human experience of a time period. Written works emphasize the elements of culture, by means of characters, particular events, setting and theme, specific to the time period in which it was composed. Furthermore, literature mirrors the troubles or hardships of society and projects the core values that define said society. Thus, as culture has changed over time, literature has remained a critical facet in representing time periods of the past. Essentially, the culture of a time period is manifested through writing in the projection of society’s values, symbolism of the center of community and literature itself.