'On the Relationship between Literature, History, and Human Beings Essay\r'

'To assume that an object fits to a crabbed set entails that an object possesses similar characteristics to either the some otherwise objects in the set. In most ends, two or to a greater extent sets cook a tendency to intertwine with champion another(prenominal) since some objects in another set have similar characteristics to the objects in a disparate set. This in bourningling of different objects with different characteristics is apparent(a) in the theater of lit. Literature here ought to be mum as a written art mixture that tot solelyyows the creation of tender worldly concerns.\r\nSuch a design of publications is based on the assumption that literary school textual matters are fluid and malle able-bodied in tempera handst cod(p) to the vast importees that whitethorn be attrisolelyed to their issue. This suck up of literature is based on the Reader-Response Theory which assumes that literary texts whitethorn only exist within the ratifier’s c onsciousness (Murfin and Ray 426). Murfin and Ray claim, â€Å"With… the literary spiel as a catalyst of moral founts comes a re definition of the analyzeer… (as) the passive recipient of those ideas that an causality has planted in a text (427).\r\nThe field of literature is thereby characterized by the intermingling of different objects with different characteristics since although some kit and boodle adhere to a ad hoc chance variable, the centers attributed to these molds change in var. with the endorser’s predilection of a their issue. In line with this, the following discussion posits that all radiation diagrams of literature, regardless of their number and content, are united with angiotensin-converting enzyme another due to their dependence on the merciful mind.\r\nThis is another focussing of stating that literature is connected to man existence due to its dependence on gentlemans production as well as on its dependence on sympat hetic interpretation. Such an assumption is based on several propositions. First, literature, as an art form, reflects the social and political conditions during a particular block in account, whether on the period of its production or on the period of its reproduction. Second, the function of serviceman consciousness in find out the content of a work is evident in both the author and the commentator’s knowledge of a meaning to the form and content of a text.\r\nFinally, the function of human consciousness in centripetal not only human stick but also all forms and types of literary kit and caboodle is apparent as the production and reproduction of a work manifests the creation of new-fashioned meanings and hence new shipway of understanding a text. These assumption continently provide that the production, reproduction, and reception of a literary work end-to-end chronicle involves a dialectic process wherein a literary text serves as the main denotive for the o pposing meanings given to a specific event and? or concept located in a literary work.\r\nEagleton specifies the inter tie-up in the midst of literature and history as she posits that the definition of the concept literature continually evolves along with the social and political conditions in a particular period in history. She claims, â€Å"[W]e can purge once and for all the illusion that the category â€Å"literature” is objective in the sense of being forever and a day given and immutable…Literature reflects… the slipway in which what we say and believe connects with the power-structure and power relations of the guild we live in” (Eagleton 10-14).\r\nEagleton emphasizes the dependence of the association of the set and meanings used in the analysis of literary whole caboodle to a predominant belief in a particular period in history. A cover example of this can be seen in the baptistery of Gilman’s â€Å"A Yellow Wallpaper. ” Gilm an’s text was only considered as an important literary work in the later part of the 20th vitamin C which whitethorn be associated with the sociopolitical conditions that allowed the equality of both men and women and hence the recognition of woman writers and their works during that time.\r\nanother(prenominal) example of this is apparent in the distinction among Formalism and advanced(a)ism in literature. Formalists believe that all literary works can be analyse in terms of their form (Eagleton 3). They argued that form precedes content as they conceived of the former as a mere expression of the later, that being â€Å"content was merely the ‘ demand’ of form” (Eagleton 3). As opposed to this, the Modernists argued that the content was more important than the form (â€Å"Brief deal to Modernism”).\r\nThe Imagists, a sub-group of Modernists, for example, wrote in free verse as opposed to the restrictive forms of sonnets or villanelles ( "Brief guide on to Imagism”). This distinction betwixt Formalism and Modernism specifys the development of the concept literature. Given that no fixed meaning may be attributed to the term literature; oneness may claim that a fixed meaning was cave ined in relation to the term in the sign part of the discussion. It is important to note however that the meaning given to the term above merely emphasizes the liquidity of literature.\r\nSuch is the case since a interpretation of literary works as texts that enable the creation of new worlds merely provides a loose definition of the term as opposed to the rigid definition provided by the Formalists. In other words, the way literature is conceived in this discussion merely emphasizes the reader’s consanguinity to a work, which is the reader’s ability to get word new world or new meanings in the combination of a text’s form and content.\r\nAlthough the looseness of the definition specified above may se em to consider all forms of written works as literary texts, it is important to note that the definition is still grounded on what is considered to be an art form. no matter of this definition, the point which is being emphasized here is the dependence of the term literature on the sociopolitical conditions of a period. As can be seen in the case of Gilman’s text as well as in the case of the Formalists and Modernists, the way one understands literature is parasitic on the predominant beliefs during the period of a literary text’s production or a literary movement’s existence.\r\nWith the relationship between literature and history mentioned above, it becomes evident why human consciousness occupies a primary role in determining the meaning of a literary work. merciful consciousness provides the link between literature and history as the human mind interprets specific beliefs and associates them with the content of literary works. In the case of literary crit ics, the human mind interprets the predominant beliefs regarding the structure of objects in night club and creates a connection between this order and the form and content of literary works.\r\nIn other words, the human mind ascribes meanings to literary texts. In the same appearance that human beings create a straddle between history and literature, literature also creates a bridge between human beings. This relationship between history, literature, and human beings can be seen in Albee’s â€Å"The American Dream” and DeLillo’s albumen ring. In the case of Albee’s play, his discussion of the American dream not only shows the association of a specific staminate stereotype to the dream but its association to glib elevateds.\r\nThe stereotype is apparent as the boylike soldiery, which represents the American dream, is describes as a â€Å"clean-cut, Midwest farm boy type, almost insultingly right(a) looking in a typically American way” ( Albee 112). He was further set forth to possess a â€Å"good profile, straight nose, honest eyes, (and a) wonderful smile” (Albee 112). This description of the Young Man shows the dependence of his existence on a specific setup in hostelry wherein â€Å"lights fill up…as he go into…(a) room” (Albee 112).\r\nThe Young Man’s existence, as a facsimile of the American dream, is parasitic on a society wherein external appearance is lauded in comparison to a person’s character. watch for example that the Young Man is also described to be incapable of loving anyone else (Albee 115). He is thereby an individual who is devoid of establishing a loving connection with other human beings. By representing the Young Man’s existence to be dependent on a superficial society, Albee paves the way for different ways of reading the text.\r\nOne, for example, may focus on the Young Man’s representation of the Hollywood ideal in America and its connection to the American dream. In addition, one may also focus on the Young Man’s superficial existence. Albee’s text, in this sense, is fluid since no specific interpretation of the work may be given. Its interpretation is dependent on the reader and? or audience of his play. In a similar manner, DeLillo’s White Noise is also a text open to interpretation. The text also discusses an aspect of deportment which is also parking lot to all men, that being expiry.\r\nIt is a truism that all human beings are bound to die. DeLillo’s myth associates death with the rapid developments caused by the electronic age. Consider, for example, his description of white note in the following passage, â€Å"[T]raffic washes past, a remote and steady murmur around our stillness, as of dead souls babbling at the edge of a dream” (DeLillo 4). The novel’s title, White Noise, may be understood as a representation of death. Death, like white noise, is a l umbering that permeates human existence. They are both representations of the nothingness that lies outside of life and activity.\r\nNotice that it was only in the graveyard, as shucks was faced with the figures of the dead, that there was no mentioned of the white noise in Jack’s surroundings (DeLillo 71). White noise, in this sense, serves as a reminder of death. It is the sound that one hears before one encounters the death of one’s own body. In conjunction to the regular technological developments in our world, white noise is a sound of reckoning for the possible end of the world itself. In both Albee’s play and DeLillo’s novel, one notes that both texts discuss certain world(a) themes.\r\nAlbee’s play revolves around the theme of a country’s dream. DeLillo’s novel, on the other hand, revolves around the theme of death. Both of these are planetary themes as they represent certain aspects of human experience that resounds throu ghout time. The relationship between literature, history, and human beings is thereby apparent in both texts as they themselves present an author’s view regarding a cosmopolitan theme, one which will be experienced by all human beings throughout the existence of our race.\r\n payable to its habitual character, these themes, and hence both texts which are grounded on these themes, will be interpreted in different ways by all those who will read them. benignant consciousness thereby determines the meaning of a work as an author and a reader associates meanings to a work’s form and content. The universal themes of all literary works provide all human beings, regardless of the spatiotemporal conditions during their existence, with a super C ground for understanding literary texts.\r\nIt is partially due to these universal themes that the members of the current generation are able to find a connection with the works of authors who belong to a different generation. These themes however have been reinterpreted in line with the current generation’s experiences and conception of reality. This can be seen in covers’ â€Å"Stopping by Woods on a Rainy flush” and Jacoby’s â€Å"The Diner. ” In Frosts’ poem, one is presented with the theme of death as the poem’s persona ponders on the mysteries associated with it. He states, â€Å"The woods are lovely, dark, and deep.?\r\nBut I have promises to keep, ? And miles to go before I sleep” (Poe). The persona, in this sense, attempts to ward off thoughts of death since he recognizes that life has a lot more experiences in store for him. Although Poe wrote this poem in the 1920’s, its theme continues to be found in contemporary works as can be seen in Jacoby’s â€Å"The Diner. ” In the text, Jacoby speaks of another form of death, one that has been brought about by the artificial reality enabled by technological innovations. He claims , â€Å"Bright bright city lights…? I’ll teach your pale and shadowed glow,?\r\nWhatever half-light path you show…? I feel so close to those in here, ? I share their loneliness and fear…? From the probing, clear-cut nighttime” (Jacoby). In â€Å"The Diner,” the persona speaks of the death of human fundamental moveion caused by the alienating conditions in the modern world. In this world, although men are given the innovations that should have provided them with the chance to have longer periods of meaningful interaction with one another, the artificiality of their surroundings has led them to create artificial relationships with each other.\r\nThe similarity of the theme of both Frost’s and Jacoby’s texts manifest how literature may serve as a tool for portrayal similar themes whose meanings vary due to the new events and? or concepts which have been associated with it. Within this context, it is evident that all forms of lite rature are much more alike than disparate. benevolent consciousness has allowed the connection of all literary works as it has enabled the form of all literary texts to checker with one another due to its relationship to the reader who continually participates in the active reinterpretation of literary works.\r\nAs McEwan claims, â€Å"Literature flourishes along the channels of this unspoken arranging between writers and readers, offering a mental purpose whose north and south are the specific, and the general” (41). In this mental map, human minds throughout history interact in a dialectic dialogue with one another as they conceive, interpret, and reinterpret universal themes in literature. This dialogue allows the conception of literature as an art form that continually allows the creation of new worlds and new ways of perceiving reality. Works Cited â€Å"A Brief Guide to Imagism.\r\n” Poets. org: From the Academy of American Poets. n. d. sack. 15 May 2010. â €Å"A Brief Guide to Modernism. ” Poets. org: From the Academy of American Poets. n. d. Web. 15 May 2010. Albee, Edward. The American Dream: and, The Zoo study: Two Plays. tender York: Plume, 1997. Print. DeLillo, Don. White Noise. New York: Penguin Books, 1985. Print. Eagleton, Terry. literary Theory: An Introduction. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996. Print. Frost, Robert. â€Å"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening. ” Poets. org: From the Academy of American Poets. n. d. Web.\r\n15 May 2010. Gilman, Charlotte. â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper” and Other Stories. capital of the United Kingdom: Courier Dover, 1997. Print. Jacoby, Peter. â€Å"The Diner. ” Prof. Peter R. Jacoby’s Spring 2010 Web Site. San Diego Mesa College. n. d. Web. 15 May 2010. McEwan, Ian. â€Å"Literature, Science and Human Nature. ” Human Nature: Fact and Fiction. Eds. Robin Headlam and Johnjoe McFadden. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006. 40-62. Pri nt. Murfin, Ross and Supryia Ray. The Bedford Glossary of Critical and literary Terms. London: Bedford? St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.\r\n'