What is Literature?

"Literature is the Candle, which removes darkness and enable us to grasp real world"

"Literature is like ‘Apple of Paradise Lost’, it brings knowledge as well as unrest"

“Literature is like an ocean which gave me broader perspective to look towards the world"

How Literature Shaped Me?

After getting experience of literature for five years, I can say that I understand life in broader and deeper sense. It is said that the person who read literature is living multiples lives within one life. Because one gets the experience of varied types of characters through literature.

Literature helps us to understand others in deeper way. It gives the psychoanalytic insight to peep in the mind of the characters. I have come across numbers of characters while reading literature. Range of characters that we are familiar with. Literature is the study of human nature. We see human nature through tragedy and romance, joy and sorrow. Literature teaches us to analyze a character, allows us to reach inside his or her mind so we see what drives a character. Each character had new and different problem in life. Each character had unique way of looking towards the things. Starting from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide to last character Tony Webster. Everyone was exclusive literary character by writers. As a reader I put myself in the shoes of literary character and started feeling the same emotion as being part of the story. ‘Hamartia’ and ‘Chatharsis’ of ‘Hamlet’ give sympathetic feeling to readers. His famous dialogue “To be or not to be” gave the philosophical insight for living a life. Literature confirms the real complexity of human experience.

“Question is the mother of knowledge”. Literature gives us personal view points and enables us to question the structure, traditions, customs rules and regulations of orthodox society. It provides critical view to look towards ‘Patriarchal Society’ and ‘Subjugated condition of women’ in contemporary world. It teaches me how language plays a vital role to make women more inferior and subaltern. When Hamlet used the phrase for Ophelia ‘Frailty thy name is woman’. It opens up the critical perspective of ‘Sign, Signified and signifier’.

Literature expands our mental horizons. One can have broader perspective to look towards any event or narration. I came across numbers of cultures that exist all over the world. For example British culture, American culture, African culture, Canadian culture etc. Each of them has their own tradition and customs which is quite different from another culture. They feel sense of belonging and sense of pride for their tradition and also very unique in certain ways. It allows me to understand and experience these diverse systems of living a life. It enables me to think deeply about my own Indian culture. Then I started comparison between two cultures and through that I was able to know about the merits and demerits of my own culture. When confronted with such works, we automatically question our beliefs, values, morality and the infinite.

It helps me to build critical thinking skills. I developed the habit of reading between the lines. I habituated to measure everything with the help of critical theories. ‘Literary Theory’ is something which provides more value to literary piece. I have studied innumerable literary theories with the help of literature. Such as ‘Aristotle’s Poetics, T.S Eliot’s Tradition and Individual talent, Northrop Frye’s Archetypal criticism, Saussure’s Sign, Signifier and Signified, Cultural studies and social criticism of Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Albert Camus and existentialism, Edward Said and Orientalism, Derrida and Deconstruction etc. I have learnt how to “Connect dots”. Now I can connect literature with current happenings of the world, I can see that “literature is the reflection of society”. We are taught to find symbols, make connections, find themes, learn about characters. Reading expands these skills, and we begin to look at a sentence with a larger sense of detail and depth and realize the importance of hidden meanings.

Literature gives me pure “Historical Sense”. Literature intrudes me with the great history and historian. Earlier I used to believe everything what comes in front of me, but now I developed habit of asking the question about the authenticity of information. Literature makes me aware that,

“We need to know the history of the historian in order to understand the version that is being put in front of us.”

Now, I examine every event by questioning the personal interest of the historian and narration that came into existence. “Event is event, but the way it is narrated that is significant.” History and event can be narrated with multiple points of views.

While talking about literature I always remember ‘Albert Camus, Existentialism and Myth of Sisyphus’. As such there is no meaning in life, everything is absurd. “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Bucket, taught me the absurdity of life and meaninglessness of existence. In our entire life perhaps we are waiting for ‘Godot’ ‘Death’ and while waiting for that we are doing innumerable things. But, yet now I can say that one give his/her own meaning to life. One can have unique choices as well as responsible for consequences that may occur at the end.

“Harry Potter” series by J.K Rowling gave me strength to accept the death. Pain, sorrow and suffering are integral part of human life including death. ‘Happiness is just little episode in continues play of misery and adversity’. Death is ultimate truth in life, thus we should accept that as utmost truth.

Post-Modernist technique of Arvind Adiga in ‘The White Tiger’ novel enhanced my perspective that every event in life cannot have ‘Poetic Justice’. There are several events and relations that remain incomplete. We will not find poetic justice in real world, thus I can say that ‘Literature is true to life’. People are developing ‘New Morality’ for their lives and connect themselves with the morality of Lord Krishna. As ‘Balram Halwai’ did in the novel.

I belong to a family where girls and boys both are equal. Thus, I never realized that world is quite different for man and woman. But now, with the help of Derrida and his theory of ‘Deconstruction’ I can see the binary opposition formed by society. I understood the ‘Arbitrariness of language’.

At the end I would like to Thank ‘Dr.Dilip Barad’. He opened up new way of thinking and multiple perspectives to look towards the world.