Literature in Life

1157 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The effects slavery has had on literature

Literature in Life

Literature is the expressed influence of communities and the individuals in societies. Literature spans culture, beliefs, and attributes the necessary component for corroborating how literature reflects, and portrays communities. The language from literature helps gives culture explanation of live in different society. Literature that is defined by the culture aspect, gives details about such fascinating and affluent information or context. Certain works, and words used in literature can help the reader understand and describe the sense of the community being read in the story. In addition, it is not uncommon for people to write about an imaginary community that is based from their own community. Community affects how we write; writing can also affect the community. It is clear, communities influence authors of literature and literature can influence communities.

There are many ways we express ourselves and language is one major way we express ourselves. There are many different languages in our cultures. Within those culture are subculture and those subculture has different dialects. People add slang or shorten words to make the language their own. This has an immense impact on how authors write. Some authors will attempt to use proper English, but often times will use words common to their community.

In “The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara (DiYanni, 2007, p. 427-432), we witness the effects of community on literature first hand. The characters in the story constantly use slang that is associated with post slavery African-Americans. One of the best examples is when Sylvia describes Miss Moore as a woman with “…nappy hair and proper speech and no makeup” (p. 427). Other slang words s...

... middle of paper ...

... a community.

In conclusion, Authors obviously can have a great influence on a community. However, the author was also probably influenced by his or her own community. They incorporate their own heritage and slang into their literary works. Many times, they will even write about their own community. Therefore, it is obvious that community has a great affect on authors and an author can greatly affect a community.

References DiYanni, R. (2007). Literature, reading fiction, poetry, and drama. New York: McGraw-Hill. Goodlad, L.M.E. & Bibby, M. (2007). Goth: Undead Subculture. Durham, NC: Duke University Press

Show More
Related

  • Comparing The Works Of George Orwell, James Baldwin, And Joan Didion

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    People write without even realizing. Every step a person takes is another step towards securing a future. When the pen meets the paper a writer is making history, it just depends on how they want to tell the world. By analyzing author's style and purpose, the reader can make a deeper connection with the author. George Orwell, James Baldwin, and Joan Didion are perfect examples of writers that can move a country with just a word, their use of imagery and personal examples are truly masterpieces. But when compared to each other… A whole new world is imaginable.

    Read More

  • Lewis Grizzard: Finding the Humor in Everyday Life

    982 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ant issues facing our world today. At the end of the day, every one could learn much from a writer that was never afraid to share his opinion on any subject no matter what anyone else thought about it. This goes to show, no matter how much an opinion differs from the majority, or the popular opinion, everyone still has a right and responsibility to let it be known.

    Read More

  • Analysis of COVERGIRL™ Advertisement

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    Orenstein, Peggy. “What’s Wrong with Cinderella?” The New York Times Magazine. 4 Dec. 2006. Rpt. in Writing Communities and Identities. Ed. Cynthia Debes et al. 6th ed. Plymouth, MI: Hayden-McNeil Publishing, 2009. 50-54.

    Read More

  • Desert Exile By Yoshiko Uchida

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    Authors are able to impact their readers through non-fiction literature, and through specific ways, such as the importance of

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting If Black English Isn't a Language Tell Me What Is with Mother Tongue by Baldwin and Tan

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the essay if Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is? by James Baldwin and Mother Tongue by Amy Tan both shows idea of uses of slang and language in different context. In the essay if Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What is? Baldwin states that how language has changed and evolved overtime, Baldwin describes how black English were used as white English, in civil rights movement where blacks were treated as slaves and the used slang language to communicate so that the whites won’t understand. This slang was taken from black language and now everyone uses to make the communication short. In the essay Mother Tongue Tan explains that how language could affect people from different culture. Tan states that how Asian students in America struggle in English. Tan also states that her mother is smart but she couldn’t communicate in English. Tan thinks that’s a big disadvantage for her mother and people coming from different countries cannot show their talent because of their weakness in communication.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Stereotypes In The Film Horrible Bosses

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    The story depicts the life of three friends who conspire to murder their bosses when they realize they are in the way of their happiness. There is major stereotyping of the African American people as seen through certain scenes in the movie. The Blacks are shown as the perpetrators of crime and the neighborhoods where they dwell in are referred to as ‘dangerous neighborhoods ‘ and the black’s as ‘dangerous people’. The name of the character ‘motherfucker jones’, use of word like ‘y’all’, ‘ thirty large’ and their association with murder, gives the audience the conception that the African Americans are associated with crime, murder and other immoral occupations; that all black people are illiterate and immoral. A link has been attached below, which shows the scene where the linguistic features such as tone, content, aim etc used by the Black guy are extremely

    Read More

  • The Symbolism Of Black Humor In Cat's Crad

    3853 Words  | 8 Pages

    Vonnegut believes that writers can influence people's ideas profoundly. In one of his many speeches he stated the following:

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Jackson's The Lottery

    1043 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...l human character. Writers of American literature have many different opinions on the society. In order for readers to understand an author’s view on the society, they must look at many different aspects including the writer’s life and the time period in which the work was written. Though writers have different theories about the society, they express their philosophies into their work. The town who seem horribly uncivilized, where a son stones his mother, yet they can easily be compared to today's society.

    Read More

  • Literary Legends: Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain

    766 Words  | 2 Pages

    Literature has played a large role in the way we perceive the world and it can affect the way in which we think about things. Edgar Allan Poe along with Mark Twain are two of the most influential authors that our world has ever seen. Their descriptiveness and diction has had a huge impact on their readers for centuries. Poe’s gothic style of writing was very enthralling and suspenseful; it left you wanting to know what was going to happen next. Whereas, Mark Twain was a very humorous author that intended to amuse all that read. The descriptiveness that was incorporated by these world-renown authors is tremendous.

    Read More

  • Applying Author Intent and Influence to James O’Barr’s The Crow

    3948 Words  | 8 Pages

    Donald E. Pease, in his article “Author,” suggests that the role of the author was, originally, that of a “cultural attaché” of sorts, defining, exploring, and connecting the thoughts and values of the culture. As the “ New World ” was discovered and explored, it became the job of the author to record and explain the new cultures and concepts that they saw, allowing them in essence to create an entirely new lexicon and way of writing. No longer was the author bound solely to his (or her) own culture; the author now had the power to incorporate several cultures and thoughts into a single work, or simply create an entirely new basis for thought and writing. It was...

    Read More

  • African American Slang

    3507 Words  | 8 Pages

    The African influence of American English can be found as far back as the Seventeenth century. Although its influence may have began that far back, the influence of African American slang has arguably reached its peak (so far) in the last half on the 20th century. Evidence of this can be seen in magazines, music, television, and films. Perhaps more importantly, evidence can be seen in the way that people of ethnic groups, other than African American, have changed their speech due to this influence. The Equal Rights Movement lead to a paradigm shift in African American linguistic consciousness due to Black intellectuals, scholars, activists, artists, and writers deliberately engaging in a search for a way to express Black identity and the particular circumstances of African American life. Although there had been strides in Black pride in the past, this was the first one to call for linguistic Black p...

    Read More

  • African American Vernacular English ( Aave )

    1114 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...nglish.” (Rickford, 1999) The ultimate goal is to produce readers and writers of standard English, as the conventional education system is not doing its job teaching many AAVE speaking children. To address the legitimacy of the language, linguists argue that it is impossible to call Ebonics slang. Although there is controversy over it being a language or a dialect, linguists whole-heartedly disagree with the notion that it is not a “full-fledged linguistic system.” (Rubba, 1997)

    Read More

  • How Has Literature Changed Over Time Essay

    584 Words  | 2 Pages

    Literature has had a major impact on society, and, also our history. Literature has reformed and shaped civilizations, changed political systems, and has exposed injustices (3). Our literature has changed and developed as we have, keeping up with our society. “...literature is crucial for the advancement of society (3).” With literary works, we can convince others to view things a certain way, share our opinions, and more. Literature is greatly intertwined with our society and everyday lives, and they would not be the same without it. Literature plays an irreplaceable role in our

    Read More

  • General Criticism of Araby by James Joyce

    1439 Words  | 3 Pages

    Culture, where and how a person is raised, affects a person no matter how much they dislike the way they are being taught the ways of life.... ... middle of paper ... ... James Joyce was famous for his writing, but we must understand the motives and ideology behind his words. James lived to see two wars, multitudes of countries and, in a way, was oppressed by a foreign power.

    Read More

  • How Can Literature Contribute to an Understanding of Past History?

    378 Words  | 1 Pages

    Literature has many purposes, and opens doors to unique worlds. Through Literature, we discover ourselves and world time and again.

    Read More

More about Literature in Life

Open Document