The point of literature
Personally, I think the point of literature is entirely subjective. Even the definition of literature can be interpreted differently. In class just now, it was defined as written works with artistic value, which I agree with to some extent, but then again, what does and doesn’t constitute as artistically valuable is also subjective. I feel like I’m on a fast-track to my history and philosophy class here, being all like “everything is subjective, nothing is real”. The point, the purpose, the goal of literature can be so many things. In earlier human evolution, the Homo Sapiens’ ability of more advanced communication than that of other animals, the way we evolved to understand and communicate not only the tangible reality of our surroundings (after all, the Neanderthal could do this too), but also perceive and deal in hypotheticals and what’s referred to as the imaginary reality – the capability to believe in made-up concepts like gods, money, nations – is what made us the sole surviving human species; it gave us reasons to unite, to coexist in larger groups and eventually entire societies. Without this crucial cognitive development, we wouldn’t have
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Apart from the evolutionary advantage of the societal bonds that it creates and enforces, literature is just yet another channel for humans to channel its unusual knack for creativity. Love of writing could also be the point of literature. Or, on the other hand, love of reading. Or a conduit for expression, or knowledge, or reverence. Or a million other things. There’s no single, lone point to the art form of written works. Just like most of literature itself, the point probably lies in each person’s own interpretation of it. Or maybe that’s just my
Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Choose a novel or play and, or considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole.
Passions drive people, and the townspeople in “The Lottery” and Paul in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” are no different. Each of the members of the unnamed town has a strong passion for tradition. The original black box used for the lottery is described as being, “lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born” (Jackson 251). This sentence gives the reader an understanding that the lottery is an ancient tradition that has become an integral part of the town’s lifestyle. Such a tradition can only be carried on for this length of time if the people are passionate about preserving the tradition. Paul had a passion to be wealthy as a way to prove to his mother that he was lucky. From a young age, he saw that his family always wanted more money to support a better lifestyle, yet
Literature is not only important to society, but is very important for each individual to read and understand. Literature can provide a way for people to learn more about what happened in the past and can even be a way for people to reduce stress in their lives. There are many different types of literature and each of them can be used for different reasons. You can use books to study specific topics, to relive the past, and to express yourself through writing. Literature can be written about the past, the future and even about present day society. Even if the book or novel is fiction, it still has some sort of theme that resembles a real world experience or problem. We need literature in our lives to help us develop and improve, not only as individuals, but as a society and to learn about the past.
Literature has always been a major foundation of any culture, it’s a reflection of that culture’s current ideals. Especially during the burgeoning periods of humanity, where writing or verbal speech were the only ways to communicate. As time progresses so do our ideals and concerns about society. Our focus could be on God’s power and how to appease him for humanities sinful nature, like in the age of the Puritans. They believed that God chose specific people to be truly holy by God, that’s the reason they left the church in England because they believed it to be run by unholy people.
Which of the following words from the poem “Home Burial” give the reader insight into the relationship between the man and woman? Mark all that apply.
Literature is such a beautiful thing because it does not give us an answer to it's questions. There are so many iffy spots that leave us to develop our own thoughts and feelings toward the piece of work. This is an interesting factor because at many times it affects us in a different way and can develop us as an individual. When reading a piece of literature, one person can interpret it in different ways than another person reading the same piece of work. I remember analyzing poems with my English class in the previous years and when we were asked to interpret it, we all had different answers. Sometimes what I got out of the poem didnt even go close to the direction that my classmate
Can you imagine a world where literature did not exist? It’s very hard, nearly impossible. Literature plays a major role in shaping society. Literature is a word used to describe written or spoken material. Literature educates, informs, entertains and influences the reader or listener in a myriad of profound ways. Broadly speaking, “literature” is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination. Writers can change one’s beliefs, thoughts, actions, indeed their entire lives. In Northrop Frye’s The Educated Imagination, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Plato’s The Republic, the writers use literature to utter the importance
Literature comes in all forms; its basically everything around us. Movies, books, newspaper, songs, posters, magazines, these are examples of literature. Like the many forms of literature, it also has many purposes; literature is used as a source of entertainment, it in forms people, and it also enlightens them with knowledge. Ever since we entered school, we have constantly been questioned, asked to reflect upon what we read and to analysis what we read, watch and see. All we have been doing since day one had been analysing literature. Don’t you think there must be a reason for all these years of analysing everything? I’ve finally come to the conclusion that all those years of analysing was to prove to us the power of literature. To some extent literature has the power to refute and/or reinforce our prejudice and bias. Literature is able to do this because it is able to open us to the different social and cultural standing around the world, we can always connect with literature, it comes in many forms and it’s composed of facts.
An analysis of the paper reveals that it has all four of the categories of writing, repetition, contrast, anomalies, and literary devices. The first category of writing which was repetition was used a lot in this essay, the mention of the shows crude humor was all the essay talked about and the repetition of it was though the whole essay. (Peacocke p.149) “laughing at something so blatantly sexist could cause anyone a pang of guilt.” this was the essays first mention of the use of crude humor and it talks about it throughout the whole thing. Throughout the essay there was a lot of mention of crude humor but the use of words was the real highlight of repetition, “Family Guy” was the main word used repeatedly in the essay. It was mentioned
There are different forms of literature which can include essays, poems, novels, reports and more. The one thing all forms of literature have in common is that they all have meaning, purpose and form, but how it is expressed is all different, the question is how. Most of the times authors have a reason to convey such messages, and how the messages are delivered is up to the author as well. The author uses the form, it’s aesthetics to send the readers an image; what kind of literature it is. The authors also send the readers a blatant message, the message is sent through the text of the literature. Through the text on the literature the author portrays purpose, and with the form of the
There are many ways to supplement a story in order to add lucidity. It is done through literary devices and Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" is no different. "The Things They Carried" is a narrative about a soldier at war in Vietnam. However, this story provides multiple layers of meaning through O'Brien's tone and style that help the reader further understand it. Both of these literary devices are embedded in the story and gradually help define it.
in a long breath of air in order to calm myself down. I had run up the
Education is held to the highest regard no matter what location one lives in. Without any form of education or knowledge on what shapes the world, the deeper connection between events and the human mind would lay untouched. In order for an individual to understand his/her country, it is imperative that they study cultural literature. It allows for an individual to gain stability in their own country as well as becoming open-minded about their surroundings and other cultures.
The Premature Obituary of the Book: Why Literature is an essay written by Mario Vargas Llosa. In this essay Llosa writes that it is crucial for literature to be a part of people’s lives. In Why Literature he writes that reading is important for the mind, communication, and developing knowledge about life and democratic ideals. Reading is not only important for one’s self but for the world. Just as he mentioned in his quote, it’s not just about the leaf, or the person, but its about seeing the world in different ways and being able to experience and gain knowledge on all subjects. Through his writing he gives many valid points as to why reading literature is important to people of all ages and genders all around the world. Llosa’s persuasive essay is relatable and can get readers thinking about the importance of reading by using many valid points in his essay. Llosa presents his reading to many different audiences and he effectively persuades the audience through his points given in the reading. He does this because he wants the reader to understand why it is necessary for people to learn and experience new things through reading literature and other texts.
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, literature is defined as being the body of written works of a language, period, or culture. An author of any specific type of writing or works can include certain details pertaining to language or other details, which allow the reader to develop a sensory image of that specific period or culture. If the reader had no prior knowledge to the language, period, or culture of the writing he or she would be reading, upon reading and analyzing