The Role Of The Human Condition In Literature

American high school curriculums should teach contemporary literature. Every day people are facing challenge, restraint, and free will no matter the age or gender. Young kids need to understand the variety situations of life. If teachers are teaching contemporary literature, the kids will have a better idea of how free will is applicable, but will have consequences. After reading, The Odyssey, "The Cruelest Journey", and "The Journey", it is easier to relate to The Cruelest Journey and The Journey. Also, it is easier to picture to this article and poem because they are more of a concurrent style.

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has been performed thousands of times since it was “written in 1599–1601 and published in a quarto edition in 1603” (Britannica.com). It’s popularity stems from its themes that translate across time. These themes, are seen to be relatable even to this day with the ever growing audience. Readers and viewers are able to find similarities between the current state and or even relate to one of the characters or events taking place over the course of Shakespeare’s five act masterpiece. Shakespeare's, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark remains a viable text for contemporary readers in that it functions as a mirror.

Good afternoon everyone, I’m Jordan Zelenak and today I’m here to talk to you about how my past 5 years of English study have affected my overall attitudes values and beliefs. Although English isn’t my best subject nor the most enjoyable, I can’t deny that it has been extremely valuable when it came to teaching key attitudes and beliefs and reinforcing ones which already existed. To highlight this, I have selected the play, The Crucible, the movie, The Lord of the Flies, and the novel, The book Thief. For each I will analyse how each have affected my attitudes values and beliefs, how each have affected how I view the world and how each successfully use impactful aesthetic devices.

When Romeo and Juliet comes up in school curriculum any observer can see students eagerly signing up for roles, puzzling over Juliet’s eagerness to marry a stranger, or rehearsing their own unique interpretation of the play. In these moments students are released from the usual monotonous class period and allowed to enjoy a timeless piece of literature. While some may claim that Shakespeare is outdated or difficult to read, the positivities of including it in ninth grade curriculum far outweigh any struggles of comprehension.

Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl is filled to the brim with rhetorical devices from all three sections of the text. Particularly in his section about logotherapy, Frankl’s practice to find an individual’s meaning of life, he explores the three main meanings of life: accomplishment, love, and suffering. This area uses a plethora of comparison, such as parallelism and metaphor. Recurring themes are used to draw back to Frankl’s three life meanings, like word repetition and alliteration. Frankl’s use of rhetorical devices allows his audience to focus on their individual possibilities and incorporate his ideology into society.

When we look into the interior history of the literary works Hamlet, Candide, and Popol Vuh, we see how diverse each culture was. They were created in different times and had their own trials and tribulations, but at the same time had a connectedness to us now. We get an inside look of how the societies functioned, people lived, and what they valued the most. Most importantly, the significance of how each text unfolded every characters truth, helped the reader to capture the essence of how and why the text made us feel a certain way. While the authors reflect on the characters stories, the reader’s purpose is to dissect the meaningful life lessons portrayed.

Hamlet is a play that despite age, can deliver themes that consistently transcend generational differences, even when those differences span hundreds of years. It is the strength of these themes in Hamlet that has given the play such overwhelming cultural gravitas that allows it to remain relevant to this day. As such, it is a highly appropriate play for high school students to study. The core messages of generational conflict, unfolding to one’s true self, and morality are struggles faced by both Hamlet, and high school students. Consequently, this can motivate students in their studies when they discover a character, that despite the difference in time, is so easily relatable. When students recognize similarities between Hamlet and themselves, such as a distaste for the “tedious old fools” (2.2.219) with their “plentiful lack of wit” (2.2.199), it creates a connection between the students and this seemingly ancient piece of literature. A connection, that hopefully after the high school level, can be nurtured into a passion for literature. A connection that allows for greater insight and analysis at this current level. A connection, that if students are discouraged from making now, they are unlikely to make later in their lives, as once they grow older “the heyday in the blood is tame.” (3.4.69) and they will no longer be able to connect with the younger characters such as Hamlet, or the “young Fortinbras, / Of unimproved mettle hot and full” (1.1.95-96).

Fiction should be apart of the English curriculum because it gives you inspiration of what people can go through in everyday life without you knowing about it. Works Cited Hopkins, Ellen. Crank. New York: Publisher, Simon Pulse, 2004.

Reading the past four pieces of literature have brought new credence to what the wisest king; King Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesiastes chapter one verse nine; “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. With that understanding, it becomes apparent that human nature, in spite of its so-called enlightenment over the past three hundred years has changed very little. If human nature has not changed in that amount of time, can it ever? This line of thinking made me begin to question why some people in the face of ineffable situations do more than survive and why others choose to change philosophies like they do clothes.

Reading transports me to countries, times and universes allowing me to experience a life outside of my own. As a child I imagined life in a Viking settlement and Queen Elizabeth I’s court while also surviving a post-apocalyptic dystopia. I gained more worldly experience from the comforts of my bedroom than many of my compatriots in their escapades at the end of the lane. While narrative is memorable, studying English Literature has taught me about the complexities of the language and its ability to convey a message. I am also interested in literature that provides insight into a period in history, and look forward to exploring literature that casts light on little known periods of time.

When lining the characters Beowulf, from Beowulf by R.M Liuzza, and Hamlet, from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, side by side, the parallels of these characters are often overlooked. At a first glance, we see Beowulf, the strong warrior who died whilst defeating three gruesome monsters, and then Hamlet, the problematic and fearful prince who died trying to fulfill a foolish act of hatred. Ultimately, we view them as hero and anti-hero. As this is a common conclusion for readers, it’s often the only one they come to due to society’s influence in literature. We believe that what society believes as a whole is correct and decide to not investigate further. However, if we chose to overlook these common misconceptions we will notice how similar these two characters truly are. Although both characters vary in how they come across in such situations, they ultimately face similar circumstances. Both Beowulf and Hamlet rid Denmark of a monster, are courageous, and die in victory.

Like all art, literature serves as a medium of expression. Both cerebral philosophers and heartbroken teenagers have used (and continue to use) writing as a way to convey thoughts, ideas, and stories. Out of all of these, describing someone’s life story is particularly difficult; life is an enigma that can be hard to depict using written prose. Nonetheless, some intrepid writers take on this daunting task. For instance, the authors of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (Rebecca Skloot), Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell), In Cold Blood (Truman Capote), and The Writing Life (Annie Dillard) all use written expression to comment on the human condition.

The mystery of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a phantom that has haunted students throughout the centuries. Hamlet is a complete enigma; a puzzle students have tried to piece together since his introduction into the school curriculum. Throughout the course of Hamlet, the student is constantly striving to rationalize Hamlet’s odd behavior, through the play’s written text. In doing so, many students mistakenly draw their conclusions based on the surface content of Hamlet’s statements and actions.

Texts become valued over time when they explore challenging and enduring ideas relevant to humanity. Hamlet (1603), a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, examines many important themes throughout the story of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, who seeks revenge for his father’s murder at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. The theme of action and inaction within the play highlights the need for balance within the human mind. The innate human pursuit of knowledge is personified by the theme of death. Finally, the use of archetypal characters causes the reader to empathise with them, allowing a greater emotional connection to the story.

Literature has the power to teach, inform and affect those who read it.A novel is an author’s way of sharing their message and ideas with world.Youth especially take a great deal away from what they read. In high school the grade 11 University English (ENG3U) course studies several powerful and influential works; the tragic play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the Gothic and theme rich novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and several poems and short stories written by iconic authors such as Edgar Allen Poe. The novel The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood should be included in the grade 11 University English course because of its relation to other studied works, author, and relevance