The School of Arts and Humanities
presents

ENG. 1073G

Introduction to Literature

Section 2

Instructor: Dr. Anderson M. Rearick III

Credit: 3 Hours / MO 128
Spring 2004 Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
Time: 11:30 -12:30
Office Hours:
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 1:50- 4:00
and on Tuesdays and Thursdays  9:00 - 10:15 and 1:50 - 2:50
Be aware that appointments will become more tight towards the end of the smester
during personal reviews with Research Students
(Please note that in foul weather Prof. Rearick must catch the 4:00 MOTA bus)

Dr. Rearick's Office: Founders Hall 214
(Within 219: Lit., Lang., & Comm. Dept.)

Office Ext. 3508
Home Phone 392-3738
(but please do not call after 8:00--Andy and Laura are hopefully in Bed)
email: anderson.rearick@mvnu.edu
(checked twice, daily)

Course Index: Course Description:
The purpose of ENG 1073 Introduction to Literature is, as described by the  Catalogue, "A study of literary genres through representative readings. Prerequisite: ENG1053G." This class will meet three times a week for fifteen weeks to discuss the nature of literature using as raw material the readings listed as well as a series of handouts to be dispersed during the semester. Discussions will center on some of the common themes that have haunted the human mind and heart throughout western history..
Class Procedure:
ENG 1073 Introduction to Literature:  This class will meet three times a week for fifteen weeks to discuss the nature of literature using the below reading list as raw material as well as a series of handouts to be dispersed during the semester. Discussions will center around the some of the common themes which have haunted the human mind and heart throughout western history.

The following reading list is not exclusive and, in fact, many important works (probably including your favorites) have been excluded. This class can only function as an introduction, not an exhaustive study. I encourage you to think of the texts for this class not as a single resource but a series of inexhaustible treasure chests, capable of refreshment and inspiration time and time again.

Students will be evaluated by a series of three tests, three journal collections, and a final.  Also the option for extra credit will made available for those who are willing to do extra work.

The purpose of this course is. . .
1. to expose the student to a wide range of literary genres: poetry, drama, novel and short story

2. to introduce the student to a wide ranger of authors of different cultures, genders and ages.

3. to encourage the student to consider what makes a work of literature worthy--how should the cannon be formed?

4. to introduce some of the important common issues which authors--in spite of their different backgrounds, cultures, and mediums--often examine.

Tools:

You must purchase a Loose-leaf Notebook divided into three (3) parts

A-Handouts, B- Class-notes, C-Journal


Actual Reading Texts

A Note on the texts:  Although the number of texts for this class may seem extensive (and therefore costly), the student should be aware that the college anthologies often used for such introduction classes as this are massive to the point of being unwieldy, include so much text that usually huge amounts are never covered by the instructor, and often are even more expensive than the collection assigned for this class (think of the cost of your Biology text).  Thus, by using the Dover editions (a dollar each) and some other paperbacks I reduce cost and allow myself more specific and efficient control over the text I require for our class.

Furthermore, the central purpose of this class is to enrich your life.  This is not a vocational training session in which the question of what information is actually applicable to one's present or future job is central to the class's worth.  In point of fact most companies have programs to deal with that need.  The purpose of this course is to broaden the student's understanding of the human condition, to widen his or her understanding of how people think, and develop their own sense of what is worthwhile and beautiful.  Thus these texts have value long after the student completes this class and should be looked upon as the beginning of what may become a treasure trove of future reading.

Another side benefit is that by having a series of clearly titled texts rather than some unwieldy ugly textbook, the student will look upon these books less as a never to be re-opened book which is to be filed away, and more as the beginning of a library filled with books which can be returned to again and again for their treasures.

Criticism


I know at times you
may feel like this but stay with it.

Novels and Short Stories

Autobiographical Poetry Plays Hand outs

These will be given throughout the class. Unless specified by Dr. Rearick, such hand-outs should be considered required reading like any of the assigned texts.


Grading:
4. Tests:     40%
Journal:      20%
Midterm:    20?
Final Exam 20%
Grading Scale:

As a sophomore level class there will be plus (+) and minuses (-) in the grading system this year

Attendance: Class participation is vital for this semester's work.  Thus, it is vital that you be in class throughout the semester--even on days when a play is being shown in class.  Three absences will be allowed and then five points will be taken from the student's final score at the end of the term.  Students who are involved in a recognized activity for the school (Mandate weekends, traveling musical groups, athletes) need to see the instructor ahead of time so arrangements can be made.

Class Participation: Lecture will only play a part in the class activities.  Literature is meant to be talked about.  Students are encouraged to express their opinions and share their unique insights.  Each of us brings something special to a text that is ours alone.  Your comments are very important.  I have been known to add extra credit to students who show an exceptional willingness to participate in class discussion.  Furthermore Blackboard offers the possibility of on line discussion.  Participants will be noted and extra credit allotted to them.

Journal:

Your journal is IMPORTANT!  You should write in it three times a week.  It is your personal repository for what you think about the works you are reading and about the material being covered in class.

I will be looking for the following in your journal:
 

1.  Three entries per week (totaling 38 by the end of the semester).  Going  beyond that 38 entries could indicate to the instructor the kind of student  who will achieve a high grade.  Please note that writing in your journal is not connected with days on the calendar.  Remember it is also allowable to write two entries on the same day as long as both are adequately developed. Now, please note. . .
 A. Periodic class checks may occur to determine the currency of your journal entries.   So, always bring your journal with you to class.

 B. Journals will be handed in three times during the semester:
Feb. 27 (10), April.14 (24), and May. 14 (38).

2. A table of contents made from the thesis sentence found in each entry.

3. Journal entries must be at least 2/3 of a page long.  Furthermore, if
 you are one of those individuals like St. Paul with BIG handwriting--
 "Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand"  (Gal. 6:11)--then you should plan to write more than what I have  suggested.  I've seen some fill up 2/3 of a page with "I've been thinking  about our reading."

4. All entries should be numbered and dated
 (For Example: Entry # 10; Feb. 23, 2004).

5. Although I will not be grading the journal harshly concerning mechanics
 and restarts of thought (which require a single line to cross out some    material), I do expect the final product to be neat and legible.  Also you  should write full sentences within paragraphs--no fragmented stream of  consciousness experiments.  "Split from society--bad."  To be specific, I will be especially looking in your journal for. . .

A. Development of ideas.  Remember that it is not necessary to finish a
work to have a good idea.  In fact waiting till you have finished can be   overwhelming. Keep your journal handy while reading.
B. Interconnectedness of journal entries.  This means that an idea you examine at one point in your journal might have relevance to another work discussed later. Works in literature should not be thought of in a vacuum.
6. You will find possible journal topics within the syllabus schedule.  These are not mandatory.  Instead, they are suggestions of what the student could choose to write on.  Also new ideas will be added to the online syllabus as the class progresses.
A Journal is NOT. . .
1. A diary. Your entries should be a mixture of commentary concerning what  you read and what you discuss in and out of class about literature.  I do  not want to read (as I have in the past) what you had for lunch or who is  presently percolating your hormones.
2. A place for notes.  Class notes belong in the section provided for them in your loose leaf.  I should not see your actually writing in your journal  during class.  This also means that a journal is not a re-hashing of what is  covered in class ("today in class we talked about. . .etc etc.").
To see an example of a possible journal entry see text included at syllabus' conclusion.

REMEMBER:  Your journal accounts for 20% of your grade.  That's the same as your final: DO NOT PUT OFF TO THE LAST MINUTE: DO NOT "BLOW IT OFF!"
 
Tests: Four tests based on the readings and class discussion will be given throughout the semester. These should be kept since they will form the backbone for the final. Tentative Test dates are (1) Feb. 20, (2) March.5,  (3) April 23, (4) May 15

Midterm and Final Exam: Midterm will probably be given on Wednesday, March 17 while the Final Exam will be given on Tuesday May 18th 10:00-11:50.  Keep in mind that it is actually an hour and a half earlier that usual class time.

Extra Credit: Although there will be no papers required for this class, a student can add extra credit to his or her grade by writing a paper or papers on outside reading  concerning any of the works or authors covered in class. Furthermore, another option for extra credit is to view or listen to and then write a review about tapes or video films on reserve in the library.  Credit will vary according to the task accomplished.   All handed in material must be typed and in MLA format.

Class Schedule Spring 2004
At present it is impossible to give you an exact breakdown of what will be discussed, but there is a listing of the major works and some of the minor ones within the time frame I hope to cover them during this semester.  Also there are several long works which will be covered at particular points this spring.  Although Great Expectations, Red Badge of Courage, A Grief Observed and In Memorium will not be overtly touched until then, the student will find recommended reading schedule throughout the schedule:

Week One:
Wed. Feb. 4- Friday Feb. 6

Terms: Here are some terms which you should know by the end of this section.
Look up the literary meaning for. . . Note: this is not an Option; it is expected:  Remember to look at the Glossary available at  Dr. Rearick's Reading Corner under the heading: "Resources."

Wed.  Feb. 4

Introduction / The Nature of Literature

My Lecture on Pleasure: the Cornerstone of Literature

Possible Journal Topics:

What does Literature say about Isolation? Possible Journal Topics: Fri. Feb. 6 Some Thoughts About Poetry My Lecture on Isolation

Week Two:
Feb. 9-13


Feb.    9 My Lecture on The Romantics and Two Young Men Who Turned the World of Poetry Upside down! Feb.    11 My Lecture on The Changing Canon
 

Possible Journal Topics:

Feb.   13 What is Going On in Kubla Khan? Possible Journal Topics:
Week Three:
Feb. 16-20

Feb.   16

My Lecture on Shakespeare

Feb. 18  (No Class! However, please continue reading)

My Lecture on Othello

When reading is listed for a test day, that material (unless specified by the professor) will NOT be included on the test.

Feb.  20

Great Expectations [online text] by Charles Dickens
Chapters 16-24
Check Out Dickens' Quotes

Possible Journal Topics:

Week Four:
Feb. 23-27

What does Literature say about Gender Difference and Cultural Expectations?

Terms:
Learn the literary meaning for

Remember that there is a Glossary available at
Dr. Rearick's Reading Room under the heading: "Resources."

Feb.    23

My Lecture on Gender Differences

Feb. 25 Feb. 27 Shakespeare's Bad/Good Woman & Good/Bad Woman

First Journal Check (10 entries expected)

Possible Journal Topics:
  • What do you think of the female characters in Great Expectations? Mrs. Joe, Biddy, Miss Havisham, and Estella.  Dickens has been accused of making female characters who are only two dimensional, that is each woman represents only one emotion..  Do you agree?
    • Week Five: :
    March. 1 - 5
    March  1 Here is a helpful Study Guide on the Taming of the Shrew

    March  3

    March   5 Test # 2

    Great Expectations  by Charles Dickens
    Chapters 33-40

    Week Six:
    March 10-14
    The Isolating Force of Culture

    March  8

    Terms you should learn:

    Remember that there is a Glossary available at Dr. Rearick's Reading Room March  10
    How Does Society Treat  and Perceive its Young and its Old? My Lecture on Culture

    March  12

    No class, Prof. Rearick will be reading "Why is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc?" at

    Possible Journal Topics:
    March  15 March 17

    Midterm EXAM
    Exam will cover all from the beginning of the semester.
    A wise study tactic is to look over the first two tests

    March  19
    (Midterm Break)
    During this time try to read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Chapters 57-59 and start the book long poem In Memoriam
    [Online text:  Introduction and Sections. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]


    Possible Journal Topics:

    Week Eight:
    March. 22-26

    No School -- Spring Break!

    Week Nine:
    March. 29-April 2

    March 29 (Midterm break ends 8:00 in the morning (am), so be in class!)

    How Does Society Treat Those Who Support It?

    My Lecture on Charles Dickens

    How Does Society Treat Other Societies?

    March 31
    April 2
    Love and Marriage

    Terms you should learn:

    Note: this is not an Option: it is strongly recommended. A Glossary available  have been created with further information, study guides and sometimes even sample questions at Dr. Rearick's Reading Room
    Week Ten:
    April 5 - 9

    April 5

    Literature and Love

    April 7
    Dickens In Love
    April 9 Good Friday
    NO Class but Keep on Reading
    In Memoriam Sec. 51-60
    Red Badge of Courage pp 14 - 21
    Easter: He Has Risen!
    Week Eleven:
    April 12-16

    April 12

    NO Class but Keep on Reading
    A Grief Observed pp. 1-20
    In Memoriam Sec. 61-70
    Red Badge of Courage pp 21-28


    April 14

    A Grief Observed pp. 21-30
    In Memoriam Sec. 71-80
    Red Badge of Courage pp 28- 35

    Second Journal Check (24 entries expected)

    April 16

    In Memoriam Sec. 81-90


    Red Badge of Courage pp 36-42
    A Grief Observed pp. 31-40
     

    Week Twelve:
    April 19-23

    April 19

    A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis pp. 41-50
    In Memoriam Sec. 91-110
    Red Badge of Courage pp 43-49
    April  21
    Death and Consolation

    Literature Within and About Grief

    A Grief Observed pp. 51-60
    In Memoriam Sec. 111-120
    Red Badge of Courage pp. 50-56
    April 23

    Test # 3

    A Grief Observed pp. 61-70
    In Memoriam Sec. 121-131
    Red Badge of Courage pp 57-63

    Week Thirteen:
    April 26-30

    April 26

    Chivalry and War

    Lecture on War and Chivalry Red Badge of Courage pp  71-77

    April 28

    April 30
    Week Fourteen:
    May 3-7
    May 3 May 5 May 7
    Week Fifteen:
    May 10-16
    May 10 May 14

    Third Journal Check (38 entries expected)

    May 16

    Test #4

    Week Sixteen:
    Exam Week
    May 17-21

    Our Exam: Tuesday May 18th 10:00-11:50


    Literature on the Web:

    As we make our way through the readings you may wish to visit my web page,
    Dr. Rearick's Reading Corner, located at the following address:

    http://nzr.mvnu.edu/faculty/trearick/english/rearick/readings/re_intro.htm

    This address is reachable both on and off campus.  Those of you who are local and do not have a computer should remember that the Knox Public Library offers web access for a limited time, and--of course--the labs of the campus library and computer labs are available to you.

    Other web pages relating to works of literature which might be of interest to the student can be accessed from this index page by title, author, genre, sub-genre, time period, or nationality.

    I have tried to place some ideas and even sometimes some test questions connected with our class readings within these files.  Also in several cases there are links to study guides, e texts, and even connections to relevant web pages on the net.

    Note that every work is connected to a page which gives biographical information about the author taken from the Encyclopedia Britannica.

    One special point of note:  Please do not print off my pages until you find out how long the document is and have asked yourself if you really need a hard copy.  You can check the document size  by going into print preview and then zoom in so you can read the text.  At the bottom of the first page will be the page number in comparison with the total pages.  For example, my "Dickens’ Christian Carol in Prose" article has at the bottom  ‘1 of 13.’  This tells you that there will be 13 pages of text printed.  Not bad, but my Pride and Prejudice study guild developed by Monarch Notes is 75 pages.  Librarians and computer lab assistants have been dismayed to find piles of such text flowing from their printers.  Please do not abuse this resource!

    Sample # 1

    Remember that your journal should have a table of content page on which the big idea of each of your journal entries should be found. It should look something like the following:

    Journal Table of Contents

    Sample # 2

    Note that every entry should have the entry number, the date, and the opening statement. Since one cannot always know where one is going with a journal entry until it is finished, do not write the opening statement until you have written the entry.

    Journal Entry # 3 Feb. 10, 2004
    The Role of Nature in Rime of the Ancient Mariner Seems Important

    In my latest reading of Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner," I noticed that even though the work is filled with supernatural elements, the hard edged description of nature itself also plays a dominate role in the work--either in setting the mood or in cueing the reader to what is going to happen. What I mean is that as memorable as are the ship of death, the vampire-like woman who claims the narrator, and the celestial beings who possess the dead crew members' bodies, there are also striking moments of natural beauty.

    One of the most important is the florescent sea snakes that capture the narrator's imagination. They are beautifully and realistically described. The reader is encouraged to find them wonderful. And it is the narrator's agreement, in his ability to bless them, which signals to the reader that his heart has been touched by grace and is ready for redemption. (I disagree with those who think that his ability to bless the snakes brings on grace. That would suggest that the repentant heart is a gift of nature not of Heaven, and while Wordsworth may have thought this, Coleridge was always more orthodox in his Christian ideals. Even at the end of his life when he had returned to the church, the poet, who was constantly revising his work, never changed this passage.)

    Another realistic description of nature occurs in the narrator's recollection of the storm that fills his water buckets and then clears to reveal a starry night. This concrete description shows the abstract change in the speaker's soul from chaotic suffering to peace. It can also be linked with the experience of Pentecost. However, most of all these passages show Coleridge's poetic imagination being touch by the concrete beauty of the world in which he lived.

    This use of nature may actually anchor the fantastic in the reader's imagination. I think of the work by J.R.R. Tolkien. Although he has all sorts of fantastic beings in his works, the quality that I recall the most is his description of concrete landscapes. Even today when I go to parks filled with paths, trails, and stepping stones through rivers, I am reminded of Tolkien.


    Literature ... Now What Do You Suppose They Mean By That?

    Back in the beginning of January 1983­­towards the end of my Masters program­-a of mine professor pulled me up short as we were strolling into her class by asking: "What exactly is this stuff we study call 'Literature?"' Since graduate students are supposed to have the answers to everything, I actually tried to come up with an intelligent response:

    "Why, (Ahem) Everyone knows what Literature is ... it's great ideas written down."

    "So, it's philosophy." she pursued.

    "Well, no, not exactly." I don't know why I didn't give up. I hadn't then learned about graduate school survival technique of becoming wisely silent. Instead I trudged on: "Although Matthew Arnold did describe literature as 'the best that has been thought or said.' it's all done in the form of fiction ... you know ... stories. "

    "But who says something is great?' And how do we know they're right.?"

    "Um. well ... Oh look! It's time for class! Guess we'd better hurry in Hmmm?"

    I didn't escape. This whole thing turned out to be a trap set for the entire the class. In fact, it was our first writing assignment. So that night found me home scribbling in my journal what I thought literature was and what qualified some of it as good or even "Great." What I wrote is by no means the final solution, but I give it to you one possible answer which may serve as a wall off of which you may bounce off some of your own ideas. I've kept it in a journal format:

    Jan. 27 '83; Thursday

    A note to myself: "Tad! When, oh talkative one, are you going to learn that if teachers ask leading questions there is usually some barbed catch that goes along with them? Well, on with my task..."

    What is Literature?

    The first definition given in the American Heritage Dictionary is "a body of writing in prose or verse." Now that's a pretty inclusive definition. Are my comic books literature? They have prose. Are the statements that come with my bills literature? How about all that interesting information I get to read off the back of cereal boxes? What about instructions on soup cans? All of these contain prose. And what about poetry? Are Hallmark Greetings Cards literature? (Gack! I hope not!) It seems that some solution must be found or literature classes could get pretty weird. I can see it now, "Victorian Advertisements 101" or "An Overview of important Memos sent through Hasbro Toy Company and the style Therein"

    How about a class on cereal boxes.? I read them every morning.

    Is this journal literature? Grief! It better not be, but knowing what I have been forced to read in my studies, such as the private poetry by Donne, the nasty notes Chaucer left for his scribe, as well as the Journals of Boswell, I am left with the possibility that some poor student someday might actually be assigned to read this thing. (Sigh!) If this is so, "Dear Reader," I apologize. I should have tossed this into the flames where it would have done less harm. Well, back to Literature. How can I define it?

    Well, I suppose that I could limit the prose I put under the "Literature" category by allowing that only fiction can be literature. That gets rid of the bill statements, the soup instructions and the cereal box information. But does it eliminate my comic books? And what about the form of the nonfiction essay? Isn't that literature? If not, why did they make me read Thoreau in American Lit.? And, of course, there are still the journals of Boswell and Bradford. Obviously literature must include prose both fiction and nonfiction. So what makes Literature?

    In my opinion ... the first and foremost task of a work of literature is to entertain. It does not matter how brilliant an author is, or how deep his or her ideas are, if none reads the work, then none benefits. A work of literature must be enjoyable; it must give pleasure. If it fails in this then it has failed in its prime reason for existence.

    This prerequisite removes some of the prose which I don't wish to include in my studies. Most text books are written as store­houses of information; instructions just give facts, and entertainment is the last thing the writer of notices for late payments has in mind. Tales, meanwhile, either as short stories or novels certainly entertain.   So do poems, and although essays often give information, their primary purpose is to entertain. The same is also true of the better biographies. Indeed, the journals mentioned above all have an entertaining quality to them, even if it were solely to allow the writer to look back on past observations and smile only to himself. Pleasure, not fiction or non fiction status, nor number of pages, nor a leather cover determines whether a work is literature or not.

    If this is true, then I must include my comic books as a type of literature. (Boy are my folks going to be happy with that!) Also I must include every western, romance, pulp science fiction, and erotic paperback found on squeaky metal racks in pharmacies everywhere. But that's not what I'm studying­-is it? Could it be that what I have been slaving over these last few years are only the equivalent of dime-store novels from the past?

    I have always assumed in my graduate and undergraduate work that I was being given "Good Books" to read . In fact, for the money they charge me, I should be reading "Great Books." Perhaps the important factor is not what is and is not literature, but what is good and great literature? That makes sense. But what, the heck, makes a good or great piece of literature? Well, I suppose that one good place to start is with literature's primary reason for existing­-pleasure. A good or great work of literature must­-like all its dime store relatives-give pleasure.

    That sounds simple, but I can quickly see that in practicality it becomes intensely complex because "pleasure" is such a vague work, and in literature pleasure can be drawn from various sources: Some readers enjoy romance (not me), some enjoy action, some enjoy eroticism (but might not admit it), some enjoy the fantastic, some enjoy the workings of a mystery, some enjoy a scare, and some (the poets among us) enjoy the very texture, flow, and imagery of the words. There are even those who actually enjoy the mental exercises of critiquing literature.1

    These are just a few of the sources of pleasure in a literary work. The chances are that the more an author incorporates these into his or her writing, the greater the number of readers will enjoy it. As my Chaucerian Professor. once noted "All the world loves a good story." This is the basic appeal of The Canterbury Tales; it's also the thrust of Shakespeare and the secret to Dickens' success. To create an enjoyable story with a good sprinkling of some of the above characteristics is the first step toward producing great literature. But I do think there should be more. However, my head's beginning to buzz, so I'll stop for now.

    Friday Jan. 28, '83

    The question of pleasure also covers how well something is written. This strikes me as a judgment call. What one person thinks is full of wonderful and explicit description another may find wordy. My father used to read Cooper's Leather­stocking Tales (The Deerslayer, Last of the Mohicans, etc.), but he told me he skipped pages of Cooper's novels until he found where the plot picked up again. Obviously descriptive passages which Cooper felt were needed to help the artistic quality of his work were of little value to my father. Still, there is a general agreement among readers that there exists a writing which is both concrete in its exactness but which also manages to be beautiful in its form. Martin Luther King's "I have a Dream" speech would not be the same if someone just summarized his main points. What he says can be noted rather quickly:

    "I Have A Dream"
    by
    Martin Luther King

    A Report

    Martin Luther King says that he looks forward to a day when all the citizens of the US. can live in harmony and be free.

    Without his cadence and repetition of theme, this work looses much of its power. However, with his skill with words and images, King's speech stands as one of the great oratory pieces of literature in American history. It is a pleasure to listen to.

    What is a pleasure to listen to brings up the entire question of poetry. I doubt I can give a full description of the pleasures of poesy here. But in Poetry and Meter the comment is made that with poems, the pleasure of the sound of the work is even more important than the work's meaning. A lot of ideas have been bounced around as to why humans like words which have similar sounds and are said in cadence. Some have suggested that it is just our inward drive to create order out of disorder. Patterns are pleasing to us. Also, we tend to remember words in patterns better than otherwise. The All of the epic poems were memorized originally and sung by poets. So rhyming was not only entertaining to the king it made story telling easier for the speaker. So there's a lot of pleasure in just the physical nature of poetry.

    All of this may be true, but for me meaning must be still be important. I don't care how nice words sound together; if they're not saying anything, its not great literature. I guess I differ from some modem poets who do not seem to be overly involved in communicating to their readers. Personally I expect a writer to attempt to communicate with me, and to communicate something of value.

    The second step that raises a work of literature from the general milieu to a cut above (moving it from just being dime­store literature to good or great literature) is its honesty ­­­ both to itself and to the world around it.

    What I mean by being honest to itself is how, when a writer uses several of the sources for literary pleasure mentioned above, there is a danger that the different sources will not naturally and logically fit together. For example, if a writer is telling a story about a captain at sea (a tale of high adventure) and in the middle of the voyage he adds a murder for his hero to solve just to gain the interest of "crime-buff" readers, then it

    seems to me that there is a problem with internal integrity. Since when does a captain have the skills to also be a policeman? Where in his training on how to navigate the high seas would a seaman also be exposed to deductive reasoning? I am not making judgments on how intelligent sailors are, solving crimes is just not part of their training any more than the ability to read the stars for location or navigating around the Cape of Good Hope would be within the experience of Sherlock Homes. Making a man trained in the ways of the sea into a super­sleuth sacrifices the internal honesty of the main character. Yet how many times have we seen something exactly like this happen­-especially on television dramas in which main characters return show after show with ever widening abilities?

    A more general example of a source of literary pleasure often inserted in books and movies (which are nothing more than plays made for the silver screen) without attempting to integrate it into the fabric of the work is the depiction of sex. In so many works characters are pressed into intense relationships for no more cause than they happen to have careers which bring them together. I can almost hear the "hack" type author saying to himself (or herself): "Gee, The plot is moving a little slow; better add a little steam to keep up reader interest." Now certainly love, romance and the joy of marriage are legitimate sources of pleasure in a literary work, and with humans thinking about these things at such a high percent every day, it is not difficult to have human situations which naturally lead to romantic moments. However, when sex, mystery, adventure, or any other source of literary pleasure is merely plugged into work without consideration whether it belongs there or not, there is a danger of the story's internal integrity suffering and the work being weakened.

    The reference to "human situations" in the above paragraph introduces what I feel is the final, most important aspect of a work's honesty­­it is a reflector of the human world around it. Literature is always about human beings. It does not matter whether they look exactly like one's neighbors, or have long ears and a little cotton tail as they do in Watership Down, or have fur on the tops of their feet and live in warm cozy holes as they do in The Hobbit, a work of literature must always represent human beings in ways that the reader can recognize as true to life

    It must be obvious from what I have just said that when I write that literature must be "true to life" I do not mean that only literature written in the 20th century manner of realism or naturalism can be categorized as good or great literature. xx Works in the genres of pastoralism or allegory, and tales following the ideals of Courtly Love may not seem realistic in their portraits of humanity to the 20th century reader, but the best of all such literature always reflect truths about the human condition and were readily understandable to readers when they were written. Part of the process that students of literature must go through is relearning such guidelines so they can understand the intent of those past authors.

    An example of a series of literary works which I feel are not true to human nature are the James Bond thrillers by Ian L. Fleming. Make no mistake, I find these stories loads of fun and wonderfully diverting. However, the character of agent 007, a man who lives in constant violence and has countless intimate love affairs, is presented to the reader as constantly fresh and witty­­an unscathed man. He never seems to feel remorse for the human lives which his job requires he eliminate nor concern for the women whose lives he walks in and out of.

    The emotional strain of humanity's two greatest emotional calamities, Love and Death, never seem to leave their imprint on James. Thank goodness they don't. Who would want to read tales centered around a moody and grim Bond? It's contrary to his basic character and would deny us the very escape from the human condition we seek whenever we open a Fleming novel or watch a movie based on his work. However, since the author decided never to allow Bond to experience a close reflection of human reality, the adventures of the British agent will probably never be considered "great" literature.

    Now, while holding the mirror up to human nature, it seems to me that the best of literature attempts to reveal what is not generally known or accepted about people in a particular society. The best literature is always in some form countercultural.

    This quality of "going across the grain" is easy to see in some modem novels which have attempted to delve into the hidden truths of human nature. However, it has always been true of the "greats" in literary history: Chaucer's characterizations of the Monk, Friar or Prioress not only reveal their humanity but demonstrate the short comings of the very church to which the author belonged. Shakespeare, while creating a great villain in The Jew. Shylock, also presses against his anti-Semitic culture by making the Jewish villain a real, persecuted, and hurting human being. And Dickens, while certainly a man of his age in his concerns for respectability and the sanctity of the home, is famous for his outrage over his society's treatment of the poor and its children. He demonstrates the very humanity of the poor even if some of his situations seem less than authentic. Thus, experience seems to dictate that the greatest of literature is counter cultural in nature.

    This quality forces a revelation upon readers in some form or another. Yet, that only brings us back to our original premise of pleasure for what can be more delightful to the human mind (even though it is sometimes painful) than the gaining of new understanding about itself.

    Ah, but what if the reader does not what to have his or her eyes opened? Is there pleasure then? Also, what does a reader do if much of that which gave the writer and his culture pleasure is different than the reader's culture? Shakespeare often bores the living daylights out of modem readers who are not familiar with his culture (modem teachers don't help often either). Also­­as is often the case in contemporary literature-­what if the

    writer presents material which is acceptable to his or her culture but is not acceptable to others? What an urban New Yorker may enjoy does not necessarily match the taste a Midwestern farmer. I as a Christian may find that in a secular culture a lot of what is praised as great literature is difficult for me to read.

    Yet in both the case of Shakespeare and contemporary literature there is enough of what has already been discussed to give a reader pleasure if he or she is willing to make the effort. To get maximum pleasure it would seem that an individual must be willing to listen to a number of voices while evaluating what is being said. "garbage in, garbage out" is an old maxim, but the reader had better be careful what he or she labels as garbage. Just because something shocks a reader doesn't mean that there is not the dawning of pleasure in truth still yet to be found. Too often we assume that pleasure means no work, and yet we have all felt the pleasure of a good workout, a hard day's manual labor, a or a difficult if worthy task accomplished. It should not surprise us if reading is not sometimes the same.

    Well, this has been a long ramble. And I certainly do not think that I have come up with any exact formula that will help me write great literature. As far as I can tell, most of the "greats" didn't think about writing great stuff, they just did it. Also, while I have defined what I feel helps qualify a work of literature as great, the actual judgments for individual authors and works are still wide open (even for Mr. Fleming since I have not read all of his works), and convictions will always vary as greatly as the spectrum of human opinion will allow. But then even that is part of the fun of literature.

    Thus as I sit here wearily with my scrawling pen, I have come to these conclusions: I believe that the mainspring of literature is pleasure, and that works of value entertain on multiple levels. All that we read which entertains is literature. However, literature attains greatness only as it helps us, the entertained, gain a new understanding both of ourselves and the world in which we all live. This can only be done when a work is honest both to itself and the world around it and when what it reveals is not found in the general wisdom of its parent culture.


    For me, however, this form required a primary text­­the work about which the author is writing. That, for me, takes it out of the realm of literature since it can not be enjoyed by itself. But many others disagree with me. [Return to text]