When you think of popular fiction, you would think of a bestseller novel that spanned across a variety of genre, invoking a certain mood and emotions according to genre of choice. Popular fiction, also known as genre fiction, is best “conceived as the opposite of literature” (Gelder), with many of its fictional works is plot-driven written to suit specific genre and to appeal to modern readers. Popular fiction is “defined by what it is not, that is literature” (Schneider-Mayerson, 22) and is generally less distinguished from literary fiction. These conventions of genre fiction vary from romance, fantasy, thriller, science and even adventure and have produces tons of bestselling authors of all backgrounds. But what are the role of an author …show more content…
There seems to be a worrying pattern for the genre fiction authors that have gained mainstream appeal but lost control of their craft afterwards. But if anything, the forms of popular fiction have become the place for the more serious scholarly questions where the boundaries becomes increasingly endless to the writers. Despite the fact that “fantasy fiction is an alternative to realist fiction, not the alternative, they are nonetheless viewed as opposites, if not opponents” (Wilkins, 273). An author is the “meaning maker”, that recognises the purpose of writing and to construct and communicate a specific message between the author and the reader. For the author, popular fiction offers a wide range of freedom in style of writing that the literary fiction simply no longer does. Martin 's work has been described as riveting, channelling his creativity in creating a chronicle of complex story lines with gripping characters and engaging plot that is supposedly to be a gory feature in the fantasy genre. He often portrayed his characters as “unhappy or unsatisfied” and also troubled by their own violent actions, but still holds on to the idealisms in an otherwise chaotic and ruthless world. While some critics identifies his work as a "fantasy for the grown-ups”, others however might feel that there is a dark motive behind it. In the
The world of English Literature captures the minds of millions of people worldwide. The stories that are read are new and old and continue to capture the attention of people even to this day. Each piece of literature can go in-depth into settings, themes, characterizations, have great styles and the thing most people enjoy... conflict. Most people don't understand or see the messages these pieces may have in them. Hidden sometimes within complex statements or meanings that the everyday person might not recollect. These "treasures" are waiting to be found and are gold waiting to be found.
As a child, Ray Bradbury loved to read fantasy novels. Inspired by his favorite writers, he longed to become a fantasy writer himself. Bradbury lived during the Great Depression with very little money, therefore he could not put himself through school. Instead, Bradbury went to the library every other day for ten years. During this time, he realized that he wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a writer. To get money, Bradbury started publishing his works in a newspaper. Because he wanted practice, he used several pseudonyms to make it look like he had several authors publishing their stories in his newspaper, but in fact, it was written entirely by Bradbury himself. “Bradbury uses [his] stories not only to entertain, but to cause readers to think about their own lives” (Clark, Tracy). He focused more on the message of his story than the popularity of it. “When ask...
Critics view the books by Pullman and Ransom as examples of literary excellence. In order to evaluate this opinion it is necessary to discuss what aspects critics consider contribute to a good book and how these books illustrate them. The American Library Associate (ALA) uses the term ‘edubrow’ (Kidd, (2009) p158) to mean the middle ground of literature with an educational emphasis. This emphasis is at the centre of the criteria for a good book by increasing the experiences of the reader through varied language, dynamic themes, rounded characterisation with comprehensive plots. The critics favour works that involve the reader in a non-passive manner to gain insights into universal aspects of human existence like love, identity, revenge, sexuality and betrayal.
“Often fear of one evil leads us into a worse”(Despreaux). Nicolas Boileau-Despreaux is saying that fear consumes oneself and often times results in a worse fate. William Golding shares a similar viewpoint in his novel Lord of the Flies. A group of boys devastatingly land on a deserted island. Ralph and his friend Piggy form a group. Slowly, they become increasingly fearful. Then a boy named Jack rebels and forms his own tribe with a few boys such as Roger and Bill. Many things such as their environment, personalities and their own minds contribute to their change. Eventually, many of the boys revert to their inherently evil nature and become savage and only two boys remain civilized. The boys deal with many trials, including each other, and true colors show. In the end they are being rescued, but too much is lost. Their innocence is forever lost along with the lives Simon, a peaceful boy, and an intelligent boy, Piggy. Throughout the novel, Golding uses symbolism and characterization to show that savagery and evil are a direct effect of fear.
To unpack this we need to look at how literary precedents express the relationship between player and character—creator and creation—and the extent to which a creator and the society in which s/he lives prescribes the creation’s role. We also need to investigate how one’s role—and concomitantly, one’s creator and one’s society—limit our opportunities, or to put it in other terms, our personal plotlines and narrative possibi...
Poverty and homelessness are often, intertwined with the idea of gross mentality. illness and innate evil. In urban areas all across the United States, just like that of Seattle. in Sherman Alexie’s New Yorker piece, What You Pawn I Will Redeem, the downtrodden. are stereotyped as vicious addicts who would rob a child of its last penny if it meant a bottle of whiskey.
Some people write for entertainment and some people write for fortune, but other people write to tell the world their story and enlighten us to life’s lessons. Literary fiction is created to do more than just merely entertain. It is created to tell a story, to take the reader from one mindset to another and bring about the reader’s understanding of the purpose. Literary fiction explores innate conflicts of the human condition through cosmic writing. Richard Wright chooses to use this kind of writing to reach the world. Wright grew up in a time where he was denied many privileges because of his color and he really made a point to express his feelings to us through his writing. His life, works and short story “A Man Who Was Almost a Man contribute directly to his literary style.
Is pop culture actually good for you? Have you ever been in a situation where the adults in the room are shaking their heads at the things young people discuss? We can all relate to our own parents sharing stories and life lessons of “when I was a kid.” Television has an enormous impact on young people and often at times it may seem like their options to engage in an educational program are non-existent. Has the access and usage of social media overcome us to the extent that we no longer interact face-to-face? Some might think that popular culture is associated with poor education or even lower class, as opposed to higher education with the upper class. Although there are many who would defend the argument that pop culture
In the realm of modern literature, a multitude of texts have produced a “thicket of information”(Goldsmith, “Uncreative writing” 1). In this “thicket”, all works seemingly blend together into one jumbled-up, problematic mess. To cut through this jungle of mundaneness, writers aspire to fabricate what they perceive as “creative” literature. There are even guides to doing this; though most are filled with cliché terms and phrases such as: explorer, ground-breaker, and going where no one has gone before(8). But are they all missing the point? Kenneth Goldsmith, author of uncreative writing and professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, thinks so. He argues that the current literary world is plagued by the need to be unique. This need
Roald Barthes’s 1967 critical essay “The Death of the Author” addresses the influence of the author in reading and in analyzing his or her writing, the power of the reader, and the option to ignore the work’s background and focus solely on the work. When critically looking at writing, the author is forced to take sole responsibility for the work. Whether the audience loves or hates, whether critics think it is genius or failure. With this idea the creator’s work has a direct correlation to the creator himself or herself, which according to Barthes seems to take away from the text. In other words, the information not stated within the work defines the work. The historical and biographical elements culminate into a limitation of interpreting the text. Barthes goes on to discuss the text itself appearing as derivative, saying that all texts from a certain era will be read the same due to the cultivation of a culture. The direct intent of the author may be muddled due to the translation from author to text to reader, with the text becoming more of a dictionary than anything else. This point ultimately leads to Barthes’s main point: the reader holds more responsibility to the text than does the author. The complexity of different experiences that come from the author into the text is flattened when it is read. The reader comes blindly and has no personal connection to the text. So much information is condensed and made inaccessible to the viewer. Barthes makes the point that a work may begin with the author, but its last stop is with the reader.
In “When We Dead Awaken: Writing as Re-Vision,” Adrienne Rich discusses her view on the role of a woman writer by using examples of her own personal experience. As I look at my life, I can begin to understand how my own personal experiences can reflect the situation of many young women. I am tormented by which role I am supposed to play in today’s society. Am I to become the traditional mother and housewife? Should I flaunt my sexuality and become the female that the media is constantly portraying? Maybe I should be myself and follow my dreams to become an independent career woman, if that is even what I want. Young women in modern society are searching for the right answers to these questions and are basing these answers on their family, friends, and the media.
In order to study and understand pop culture we must first and foremost confront the
There are many ways to define popular culture. Many individuals have grappled with the question what is popular culture? And how to critically analyze and deconstruct the meanings. Looking at the root words of popular culture is where to begin. Raymond Williams states ‘popular’ means: “well liked by many people" or “culture actually made for the people themselves (Storey, p.5). This is part with the word ‘culture’ combine to look at how the two words have been connect by theoretical work within social and historical context. John Storey approaches popular culture in six categories, they are as followed: “Popular culture is simply culture that is widely favoured or well liked by many people”, Popular culture is “the culture that is left over after we have decided what is high culture”, Popular culture is “mass culture”, “Popular culture is the culture that originates from ‘the people.” and “Popular culture as a site of struggle
Literature is an essential part of society in the present day and enables the communication between multiple parties in a written form. Texts can provide a vast knowledge on subjects dependent on content whereas novels are often seen as being purely for leisure and enjoyment. However it can often be seen that prose
In the contemporary society, popular culture represents the emerging lifestyles, fashions, values, as well as customs that the mainstream population follows without hesitation and with loyalty. It embraces a blend of philosophies, opinions, beliefs, viewpoints, and imageries, besides various forms of events that specific groups of individuals adopt in the society. Popular culture plays a significant role in shaping the way people think or perceive things by offering them a unique interpretation of something that they may eventually like. In this digital age, some of the popular culture known today takes account of television programs watched by many people, the numbers of individuals who currently use the internet constantly as the best means