An Introduction to Literature

I am currently actually enrolled in two college English courses simultaneously.  The first is the ENG 102 course for which I created this blog, and the second is Major World Issues in Literature.  Although it's fulfilling a requirement for me, I had the choice of a few different courses, and chose it because it seemed like it would be an interesting course.  So far, the reading list is long, but exciting, and the professor has shared some very insightful information.  I recommend reading this portion of his class introduction documents, as I feel like it sums up some of my approach to reading, and explains some very basic, but often overlooked distinctions in what we read.  Although I don't agree completely with his philosophy, it's a great point of view to consider when approaching reading.

Introduction to Literature

by: Professor Jason Whitesitt, Yavapai College

Let’s begin with a pop quiz.  Below are two statements.  I would like you to please examine each and then determine the most important difference between them.

I.                   Two plus two equals four.

II.                The tale of Cinderella reinforces an androcentric worldview in which women are treated as exchangeable commodities.

Think about this now –don’t just speed ahead for the easy answer.  In fact, thinking for yourself is part of the quiz.  Got an idea?  Think you know?

As you may have determined, the first line is a statement of truth.  Two plus two equals four.  This is a fact.  You can ask your math professor.  You can ask any math professor.  You can ask your ten-year-old cousin.  Modern science is predicated on this sort of thing and there is really no room to argue.  Statement two, however, is an opinion.  It may be an educated opinion, an informed opinion, but it is still only an opinion.  This may seem elementary, but this is an incredibly important distinction to make before one goes mucking about in world literature.  Despite what that one pompous or insecure English teacher told you, there is no single answer to any given text.  Too many people think that this sole epiphany exists in every work and that if they don’t get it, then they’re stupid.  Yet, interpreting literature is an art and not a science, and so there are multiple avenues of approach and a number of ways of being right.  How liberating!  Indeed, it is so liberating that I want you to stand up, right now, wherever you are and shout: LITEARATURE IS LIBERATING!  Go ahead and do it.  No, really.  This is important (the ghosts of eccentric professors past are watching you).  There.  Feel silly?  Feel loosened up?  Good.  This is a nice start.

Literature is liberating and so you should be using your own experiences, your own ideas, your own lamplight of reason to craft interpretations.  However, know that any given interpretation is only as good as the textual evidence used to back it up.  You need to ground your theories in the actual words of the work.  If you want to assert that Romeo was really a Medici spy trying to seduce the launch codes for a Renaissance WMD out of Juliet . . . Well, I’m not going to say you’re wrong.  Instead, I’m going to ask you to prove it.  Comb through the play and produce the evidence.  Show me the lines, point out the symbols, analyze the theme.  In other words, do the work and you can’t be wrong.  How great is that?

Now that you are loose and liberated let’s talk about the types of literature.  If you’ve ever walked into a Barnes and Noble or prowled the racks of your local library, you probably know that not all books are the same.  There’s the stuff you read for information (mostly nonfiction, and not our concern in this class), there’s the stuff you read for pure pleasure (literature with a little "l"), and there’s the stuff you read in classes like this (Literature with a capital "L").

The stuff you read for pleasure is, by and large, easy to read.  The majority (though not all) of romance, science fiction, and mystery novels fall into this category.  It is usually plot-oriented; that is, you read it to see what’s going to happen next, and you enjoy it more if it builds suspense and keeps your interest.  It entertains you.  It doesn't require much thought; no one needs to discuss it to discover its hidden messages –it doesn't have any, and when you've finished it, you're finished.

This sort of reading rarely challenges your ideas about the world.  In fact, it usually reinforces the things we'd all like to think are true: everything happens for a reason, the good are rewarded and the evil suffer, everything comes out okay in the end.  You may have noticed that most of these books have happy endings.  When they don't, you cry along with the characters, but their sad fates don't make you question the order of the universe.  Those who die, die for a clear and logical reason. 

Literature with a capital "L" is different.  It demands more of you.  It requires both your attention and your participation.  It asks you to think, to analyze, to stop occasionally in the middle and ask, “Why did that happen?” or “What is he doing in this scene?” Many of these works make you uncomfortable.  They make you question your biased and easy assumptions about the world and your place in it.  And sometimes there’s not a happy ending.

In return, Literature helps you grow.  It allows you to experience events emotionally and intellectually without having to suffer the physical danger.  You get to experience Dark Age Denmark without worrying that you will be Grendel’s next meal.  You get to visit Colonial Jamaica without catching malaria. You get to ride in an Indian cab with a murderer and not fear for your life.  You get to look into the hearts and minds of the characters and take home for free what they teach you about yourself, your family, and the world.
Everything in this class is designed to enhance that experience--to help you learn to read more effectively, so that you can experience Literature more fully, and enjoy it more.

And any reader will tell you, that’s the point of all this: enjoyment.  I can’t promise you that any of the information you receive in this class will ever make you a dime.  I seriously doubt that any Human Resources director is going to look at your resume and say, "Oh!  Here’s someone who's read Things Fall Apart!  Let’s hire him!”  Your gains will be less tangible: an enhanced ability to see things from other points of view, to detect patterns in people’s actions, to have a deeper understanding of the complexities of human motivation, to widen your knowledge of the world’s people and cultures.  This might not put food on the table but is should feed your soul, heart, and mind.