How Literature Make me Different
It was
amazing journey of last five year with literature. Since last five year I’m
trying to understand what is literature? Still I think that I cannot understand
it in proper sense. Because literature is very broad, it is very difficult to
define what is literature. It is like huge mountain and I have understood little stone of it. There is nobody, who understand it full, yes; it is right everybody can see it
but no one understand it properly. When I take admission in M.A. at that time Dr.
Dilip Barad (H.O.D. of Department of English) ask to write about what is literature?
Whatever I have written it is very terrible for me now. Whatever I have written
is not my words and understanding. I have just written what is literature? but it is told by other people.
Literature gives view to see what is
human and humanity. Humans are important rather than religious. It fights and
rewards against money and power. Through literature I read so many people,
Different culture and ritual of different county and region. Literature is mirror of society rather we can
says it is x-ray image of society. Literature is path shower, it is past and learning from past we can improve our present and make future bright. It is
right that history repeats but we can get path from literature. When we think
about concept of history how it represent in literature. There is good example
given by Julian Barn in his work “Sense of an Ending”. What he says, history is
all about memory and it is written after event. History is like “onion
Sandwich”.
Literature gives spark and new idea
to looking towards world. It provokes us to think rationally not emotionally.
The concept of existentialism and death is found in ‘Waiting for Godot” by
Samuel Beckett. What we are doing in our life is totally absurdity. This play
change my idea regarding death and suicide, after studying this play I remember
one poem I don’t remember the name of writer, poem is ‘Death be Not Proud”. How
our life is absurd there is nothing in play. Same there is nothing in our life
also. But ‘there is something in nothing’. We are waiting for death; death is ultimate
truth of human life. The concept of suicide is also found in ‘Scenes of an
Ending’, philosophical death and freedom of individual. There is ‘Unrest’,
‘Great Unrest’, after reading literature
there is same thing happen in my life there is ‘ unrest, great unrest’ in
my mind also.
Thorough the character of Hamlet I
understand that not only thinking but doing is also important. Whereas from the
character of ‘Othello’ I learn that without thinking don’t do anything. In
short both are impotent at their place. When time comes you have to take right
decision, what is the time for, thinking and doing. From the ‘Harry Potter’ I
learnt one thing that there is no one is come from anywhere to help you, but it is you, who is biggest helper of yourself. First I’m also thinking about help as Dumbledore is thinking about help, ‘help is given to whom, who asks for
it. But in reality help is given to whom, who deserve it.’ You are savior of
your life and yourself.
Now I come to know that knowledge is become curse for human. When I study Dr. Fosters I come to know that he is
hungry for knowledge. He was so knowledgeable person on that time. But how
knowledge leads him towards his death and tragic end of his life . Knowledge is
something good but too much knowledge is like curse. Also in Milton’s ‘Paradise
Lost’ Eve and Adam also suffers, because they eaten fruit of knowledge.
Literature is not all about
aesthetic delight. Some time it create enormous storm in our mind. It forces
us to think about the matters which are represented in the literary works. For
example when we read ‘African literature’ we cannot get aesthetic delight,
because it comes out from the hate and disguise of African people. Through the
African literature we come to know about history, is all about powerful and
victorious people. Sometime history is also wrong. We have image of Africa is
from the eyes of British people. It is very terrible and wrong image of African
people which are given by colonizer. It is very important to know that who is
writer of history and ‘according to whom’; it is like “Mind is important organ
of body, - according to Mind”. Same thing happened with African people also. Literature
is not all about fantasy and imagination but it also shows reality of human
life.
How can I forget to talk about those
literary theory and literary criticism. It plays vital role in changing process of me and my mind set. I like criticism and it is important part of literature.
Not only literature but also literary criticism touches me a lot. Like Derrida’s theory of Deconstruction,
Plato, Aristotle, Northrop Fry and his Archetypal criticism. I have studied
some of this theory in B.A. also but when in M.A. Dr. Dilip Barad teach all
this theory, it started changing my mind rather I can say breaking the cover of
so called culture, religious and confirmed beliefs, which are imposed on my
mind. “Breaking of Ice of my mind". It is very important part of my life.
Now I realized that literature and
criticism makes me different from other people. It takes me far from other
people. Now I can’t enjoy anything like movies and dramas or any event. I never
see it without any theory, I started applying theory on movie even in life also. Some time I also feel that knowledge is curse. For example when I and my friends
have attended seminar on women empowerment, and what they are speaking is like
absurd it is to terrible for us. And other girl from other department goes no
enjoying all this silly things in the session. What me and my friends feel that they all are "sheeple" kind of
girl. When someone talking about god I stared laugh on it, because I remember
the description of ‘Hanuman’(God) in book “White Tiger” by Arvind Adiga.
After all, it was wonderful journey of
literature until now. And it makes me different from other people. Forced me to think different from ordinary people.
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