A Literary Essay

Nothingteachesusbetterthanliteraturetosee,inethnicandculturaldifferences,therichnessofthe humanpatrimony,andtoprizethosedifferencesasmanifestationhumanity'smulti–faceted creativityReadinggoodliteratureisanexperienceofpleasure,ofcourse;butitisalsoan experienceoflearningwhatandhowweare,onourhumanintegrityandourhumanimperfection, withouractions,ourdreams,andourghosts,aloneandinarelationshipthatlinkustoothers,inour publicimageandinthesecretrecessesofourconsciousness.

Thebondthatliteratureestablishesamonghumanbeingscompelsthemtoenterintodialogue.The bondalsomakesthemconsciousofashowmorecontent

Withoutreadinganduntouchedbyliteraturewillresembleacommunityofmutesandthoseoflost expressionsafflictedtremendousproblemsofcommunicationduetoitscrudeandrudelanguage. Thisistrueforindividuals,tooApersonwhodoesnotread,orreadslittle,orreadsonlytrash,isa personwhospeaksmuchbuthe/shewillsaylittlewordssuchascursewords,becausehis/her vocabularyislackinginthemeansforself–expression.

ReadingLiteratureisnotonlyaverbalexpression,butalsorepresentsalimitationonintellectandin imagination.Itisapovertyofthought,forthesimplereasontograspourknowledgeandaskwhatis theimportanceoflife?Welearnhowtospeakcorrectly––anddeeplyandsubtly––fromgood literatureandonlyfromgoodliterature.Nootherdisciplineorbranchoftheartscansubstitutefor literatureincraftingthelanguagethatpeopleneedtocommunicate.Tospeakwell,tohaveatone's disposalarichanddiverselanguage,tobeabletofindappropriateexpressionforeveryideaand everyemotionthatwewanttocommunicate,istobebetterpreparedtothink,toteach,tolearn,to converse,andalsotofantasize,todream,tofeelInasecretway,wordsrepeatinallouraction,even ...Getmorecontent...

MulticulturalLiteratureEssay

Multiculturalliteratureisawayofincreasingculturalawareness.Throughmulticulturalbooksmany youngreadersareabletomakeaconnectionwiththeirowncultureorbetteryet,furtherexplore anotherculture.Authorsusedifferentthemessuchasculture,politics,andevenpersonalbarriersto showdifferentcultures.Attimesthough,thisgenrewilloftenrevealthe"uglyrootsforeventhe greatestliterature"(Multicultural)

Thephrase"uglyroots"emphasizesthatwhatreadersmaynotwanttohearaboutaculture, includingtheirown,willbetold.Nothingisheldbackinthistypeofreading,everythingistold–therearenosecretsThewritingisasourceofinformationthathelpsreaderstobetterunderstand the...showmorecontent...

Whentheywereyounger,theirmotherwouldbuythemallthesamethingsbuteachintheirown color,andalltheclothesshemadeforthemwasevencolorcoordinated. Sandrawasknownastheartisticdaughter,whowasalwaysveryimaginative.Shealwayswantedto beanartist,butaftercomingtoAmerica,thingsbegintochange (Contemporary).Shefeelsasifshewasnotgoodenoughandbegantoputalotofpressureon herself.Amajoreventthatlaterledtohersubmittingherselfintoamentalhomewaswhenshesaw awomankissherfather.Shewasveryyoung,andseeinga"whitelady"kissherfathercausedherto wonderwhylifewouldallowthistohappentoher.Shenevertoldanyonewhatshesaw,because shewasnotevensureifitwassomethingbadandifitwaswhowouldbelieveherWiththelackof beingabletoexpressherfeelings,shebegantomakeherselfgocrazybythinkingshewasmoving backwardsinevolution.Sandrastartedtothinkshesawherfeatureschangingandwasturninginto anuglymonkeyThissymbolizedherselfgrowingapartfromtheworldTheevolutiontheoryof hersshowedhowshefeltapartfromtheworldandwasslowlygrowingapartinherownway. Yolanda,thethirddaughterhasthemosttroublewithfindingherself.Itallstartsinherchildhood whenshehadstilllivedintheDominicanRepublic.Shewasknownasthetomboyinthefamilyand didnotunderstandwhy

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LITERATURE I.FICTION

AWhatfictionis

Fiction(fromtheLatinfictio,"ashaping,acounterfeiting")isanameforstoriesnotentirelyfactual, butatleastpartiallyshaped,madeup,imagined.Itistruethatinsomefiction,suchashistorical novel,awriterdrawsuponfactualinformationinpresentingscenes,events,andcharactersButthe factualinformationinahistoricalnovel,unlikethatinahistorybook,isofsecondaryimportance. Fictionasweknowittodayisconsideredtobearelativelynewgenrecomparedtopoetryand drama.Thetraditionoffictionstartedwithmythandlegendandallegory.Butthefictional charactersintheseimaginaryworldsweremostlyone–dimensionalabstractions,personifiedas Love,showmorecontent

Plot

Plotisthearrangementofeventsinastory,orthestructureoftheaction.Theactioninaplotis usuallyprogressivebecauseoneforceactsuponanother.Plotbeginswithanexposition:theopening portionthatsetsthescene(ifany),introducesthemaincharacters,tellsuswhathappenedbeforethe storyopened,andprovidesanyotherbackgroundinformationthatweneedinordertounderstand andcareabouttheeventstofollow.

DTheshortstory

Inashortstory,aformmorerealisticthanthetaleandofmodernorigin,thewriterusuallypresents themaineventsingreaterfullness.Ashortstoryismorethanjustasequenceofhappenings.Some literaryshortstories,unlikecommercialfictioninwhichthemaininterestisinphysicalactionor conflict,tellofanepiphany:somemomentofinsight,discovery,orrevelationbywhichacharacter's life,orviewoflife,isgreatlyalteredOthershortstoriestellofacharacterinitiatedintoexperience ormaturity.Thefableandthetaleareancientforms;theshortstoryisofmorerecentorigin.

EPointofview

Acriticalissueinanyshortstoryisitspointofview.Theimportanceofpointofviewmayeasilybe overlooked,butthechoiceofthenarratorinfluencesthetotalstructureofthestory Therearebasicallythreepointsofview:

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Love–possiblythemostpowerfulfour–letterwordknowntoman.Afeelingandemotionsostrong thatitmakesitnearlyimpossibletoputitsmeaningintowords.However,itisalsooneofthemost exploredsubjectsintheworldofliterature.Whetherinacomedyoratragedy,thethemeofloveis veryoftenexpressed.Thisthemecanbeexpressedinmanydifferentways,forexample,positively causingeveryonetolivehappilyeverafterinafairytaletypeofworld,negativelybeingthecauseof deathandanywhereinbetween.InAristophanesLysistrataandShakespeare'sAMidsummer Night'sDream,thethemeofloveispresentthroughoutmovingthestoryalongthroughmanytrials andtribulations;however,Lysistrataismoreofaloveshowmorecontent

Itisataleoffouryoungloverswhorunoffintothewoodsandfallinlovewithoneanotherboth naturallyandundertheinfluenceofmagic.LysanderfindshimselfinlovewithHermiawhois betrothedbyherfather,Egeus,tomarryDemetriuswhoisinlovewithHermia'sfriendHelena.The lovequadrangleendsupplayingouttotwobeautifullovestoriesforthefouryounglovers. Althoughthesefourareputthroughtroublesofbeingbetrothedwhennotinlove,runningaway, beingputundermagicalspells,theynevergiveupontheirtrueloveforoneanother.Forthese charactersdidlearnthehardwaythat"Thecourseoftrueloveneverdidrunsmooth"(I.i.134)But theynevergaveuptheirhopethatallwouldendhappilyeverafter.

ThereisadifferenceindesireversusloveDesireisaverystrongwantorlongingwhenloveisa tenderfeelingofaffectionandcompassion.Themeninthesetwostoriesexpressthese.Themenin Lysistratashowmuchmoreofadesirefortheirwomanratherthanlovetowardsthem.Theyseemto onlywantthemforsexasCinesiasstates,"Ijustwanttoscrew"(Ii1030)toMyrrhine,hiswife, whorefusestobreakheroathtothewomanandhavesexwithherhusband.Herloveforpeaceis strongerthanherdesireforherhusbandwhileherhusband'sdesireforsexisstrongerthanhislove forhiswifeorhewouldrespectherdecisionandunderstandhercause.

TheyoungmeninAMidsummerNight'sDream,

Sincethe18thcentury,thedefinitionoftheconcept"literature"hasbecomeaproblematicanda controversialissueamongvariousliteraryschools.Whatisliterature?Whatarethequalitiesthat distinguishaliterarytextfromanon–literaryone?Doesliteraturehaveanyparticularfunctionin society?Thesearesomecrucialquestionswhoseanswersweresupposedtolimitanddefinethe scopeof"literature"However,variousliteraryandcriticalschoolshaveadvanceddifferentand contradictoryresponsestothesesamequestions,whichhaveconsequentlyledtoafailurein producinganauthoritativelyestablisheddefinitionof"literature".Thisfailurecanbeascribedto manyreasons,butbecausethelengthofthepaperdoesn'tshowmorecontent Thisnewsense,whichwasascribedtothedevelopmentofprinting,was"aspecializationtothe printedwordandespeciallytheprintedbookswithcertainquality[imaginativeworks]"(Williams, 46).Toelaborateonthisdefinition,R.WellekandA.Warrenhavestatedthat"inallofthem[the printedbookswithcertainquality],thereferenceistotheworldoffiction,ofimagination"(Wellek andWarren,TheoryofLiterature,25)However,asimplereviewofthehistoryofprosenarrative formswouldshowthatthisdefinitionofliteratureasacategoryoffictionalandimaginativewritings isirrelevant.Manywritingswhichwerewrittenasanthropologicaldocumentariesweremakinguse offiction,whilemanyotherfictionalworksweregiventhestatusofdocumentaryandfactual writings.Alltraveloguewritingsandwesternhistoriographybetweenthemiddleagesandthe twentiethcenturyaregoodexamplestoillustratethispointWorkslikeTELawrence'sSeven PillarsofWisdom,W.M.Thackeray'sFromCornhilltoCairo,Kingslake'sEothen,andSirThomas More'sUtopiamadeuseofbothfactandfiction.Moreover,atthetimeoftheirappearance,mostof theseworkswereconceivedofbythewesternaudienceasfactualanddocumentarywritingsLater on,duetosomehistoricalandpoliticalchangesintheworld,thesewritingsbecameconceivedofas fictionalandimaginaryworks.

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CharmineJ.Cramales BSMathII

Lit310:30–12:00

WhatisLiterature?

Poems,novels,andstories;thesearesomeofthethingsthatfirstcametomyminduponpondering onthequestion'WhatisLiterature?'AndjustlatelyIhaveknownthatliteraturealsoincludessongs, speeches,plays,andmanyothersinwrittenandspokenforms.Ihavealsoknownthatthingsthatare producedoutofcreativeimaginationcanbereferredasliteraryworkswhicharetheonesthat compriseliterature.Consideringthisdescriptionofwhatliteratureis,thecoverageofliterature seemsverypuzzling.Ifliteraryworksarethoseproducedoutofcreativeimagining,thenitwould directlypointtofictionalworksButthen,therearealsoshowmorecontent

Takeforexampletheviewsoftwoindividualscomingfromdifferentplacesonanovelbasedonthe cultureofone.Itwouldlikelybethesameiftheircultureandbeliefsarequietrelatedbutifnot,then theywouldsurelyhavedifferentunderstandingsoncertainpartsofthatnovel.Hence,defining literatureasthoseconsideredbypeopleas'literature'isquestionable.

Eagletonalsoassociatedliteratureasanykindofworkswhicharevaluedhighlybypeople.Butthen again,sincepeoplemayhavedifferentperceptionsonthings,onemayvaluehighlyacertainwork whileanotherpersonmayconsideritjustasaplainwritingAsstatedbyMsPinzon,aliterature professor,apersonallettercanbeanexampleofthis.Therecipientofthelettercanbeexpectedto reallyvaluetheletterwhileherclassmatemaynot.Hence,thiscan'tdefineliteratureasawhole. Then,whatreallyisliterature?Manygreatcriticshavetriedformulatingafixeddefinitionof literaturebuthavefailedtodoso.Intheriseofeverypossibledefinitionofwhatliteratureis, counterargumentsalsorise

Literature,thoughitseemsimpossibletoenumerateeverythingitcovers,playanimportantrolein everyindividual'slife.Onecaninfluenceusingliteratureorbeinfluencedbyit.Examplesofthese arethenovelsmadebyourveryownnationalhero,JoseRizal–theNoliMeTangeriandEl Filibusterismo.Duringhistime,Rizalhas

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18thCenturyLiterature

The18thcenturyisaperiodofgreatliteraryworks.Thestylesaredifferentthroughouttheperiod, buttheunityoftheworkisstillpresent.

Muchofthisperiodfocusedonpublicandgeneralthemes,untilthePre–Romanticerawhenliteraryworksbegantofocusuponpersonalexpression.18thcenturyliterature canbebrokendownintothreemainparts:theRestoration,theAgeofPope,andPre–Romantics.

TheliteratureoftheRestorationperiodcoversatimespanfrom Charles'srecoveryofthethronetotheyearsuntiltheexpulsionofJamesIIin1688oruntilthedeath ofJohnDrydenin1700.Theliteratureofthe

Restorationwascharacterizedby...showmorecontent...

ThisliterarytimeperiodalsoincludedworksfromJohnDryden,whousedeleganceandcleverness inhiswritings.Thisperiodendedabout1700,andenabledanewageofliterature.

Inliteraryhistory,thefirsthalfofthe18thcenturyisknownasthe AgeofthePope.Inthisage,thewritersexpressedviewsofthepublicandrestrainedfromwriting personaltopicsorexpressionsIntheAgeofthePopeortheNeoclassicalAge,mostoftheliterary themeswereofsocial,political,andmorallife.TheRapeoftheLockandEpigramsbyAlexander Pope,and"A

ModestProposal"andGulliver'sTravelsbyJonathanSwiftaresomeexamplesfromtheAge ofPopeortheNeoclassicalage.Mostoftheliteraryworksinthisperiodusedsatiricalstylesto expressaconcerninsociety."Puffs,powders,patches,Bibles,billet–doux",fromThe RapeoftheLockshowsanexampleofpathosasatiricaldeviceusedinthisageofliterature.

JonathanSwiftalsousessatireinGulliver'sTravelstomocktheParliament,andin"Modest Proposal"hewritesabouteatingchildrenasasolutiontoasocioeconomicproblemAfterthe writings,literaturebegantofocusonprivateexpressionsratherthanpublicthoughtsandemotions.

Characteristicsoftheageincludedballads,anewtasteforruins,Gothic castles

TheAgeofJohnsonorthePre–romanticerawasshowninvariousways

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