THE JOY OF LITERATURE

Can We Live Many Lives in One Life

Can we experience the great range and depth of human emotions, yet still be free from entanglement? Can we live many different and exciting lives, yet remain in our present one life? We can! One way to realize all this is to study and appreciate literature.

What is literature? Like many other words, "literature" may not be easy to define, though we may already know its meaning. Examining some of its definitions will be useful; it will widen our understanding of literature; and make us aware of some interesting aspects that we may not have thought of before.

When I first learned literature in school, my teacher told us that literature is a study of books. This definition is simple and apt, and served my purpose in school very well. I could, for example, neatly contrast literature with other subjects: like biology, the study of living things; history, the study of the past; and geography, the study of places.

However, as I progressed to higher forms, I found this simple definition of literature, like the other simple definitions of biology, history and geography, was inadequate. Some literature, for instance, may not be in the form of books. In fact the literature of almost all countries started as songs, ballads, folk tales, myths and legends, passed down for centuries by words of mouth before they were eventually written. This is true for English literature, Malay literature, Chinese literature as well as Indian literature.

When we read books, we may not necessarily study literature. For example, if somebody asks you what you are doing, when you are reading a biology book or a history book, you won't say you are studying litera¬ture. Yet, some such books, if they are written in beautiful language, are excellent literature. A good example is the famous history book, "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" written by Edward Gibbon from 1776 to 1788. This classic is studied and enjoyed more for its elegant expressions, balanced sentences and moving passages, than for its historical facts.

On the other hand, when a salesman sends you an instruction book on, say, how to operate your transistor radio, he is quite right when he says "I'm sending you some literature", though that book may be dry and technical. You can see, therefore, that literature can sometimes take different meanings; although generally it refers to books that are valued as works of arts.


Glittering Gold and Precious Jade

What do literature books describe? One encyclo¬pedia defines literature as "the attempt to describe human experience by means of the written word." Another encyclopedia defines literature as "the written and printed products of human thought", and says that "literature is an interpretation of life, and so its themes are as wide as life itself."

Hence, literature is a study of life -- of the immense expanse of human and even superhuman experi¬ence, of joys and sufferings, of hopes and desperation, and of inner thoughts and myriad outward expressions. When we study literature, we enter into and experience for ourselves the lives of varied, extraordinary characters, be they kings or paupers, and, while under the magic of great literature, explore the immense depth and extent of emotions, more deeply and intense than what we would normally feel in our everyday life

A well known philologist, G. H. Vallin, begins his famous book The Best English, saying "this book is a study of memorable writing in prose and verse -- the kind of writing which is commonly termed literature." Vallin suggests that good English is English with no gramma¬tical mistakes; better English is where the meaning and feeling of the writer are clearly conveyed to readers. And the best of all writings in English constitutes English literature. The same applies to other languages. When we study Malay or Chinese literature, for example, we study the best writings found in the Malay or the Chinese language. So when we read literature, we not only experience the extra¬ordinary lives and powerful feelings of memorable characters, but we also do so in the best language.

Walt Disney, the great American cartoonist who has brought great joy to children throughout the world, said that "there is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure Island . . . and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life." A Chinese wise saying advises that "you can obtain glittering gold and precious jade from books." You can see what great enjoyment and riches await you when you study literature.


Enlarging Knowledge and Deepening Insight

The above discussion on what literature is, also suggests why we study literature. There are three good reasons for studying literature. Put in another way, we can derive three invaluable benefits from the study of literature. The three reasons, or benefits, are that we can enrich our experience, we can enhance our emotions, and we can improve our language. These benefits are very important in life. We shall discuss them in some detail.

Through the study of literature, when we become deeply involved in the lives of the characters we read, we share the experiences of their lives. In this way, we may live many lives in our own life-time. For example, in Steinbeck's novel The Pearl, we share the experiences of Kino, a fisherman, and his wife, Juana. In Shakespeare's play "Julius Caesar", we share the experiences of Brutus, a Roman general.

By sharing the experiences of other people, we deepen our insight and enlarge our knowledge of life. Often such knowledge we gather from reading literature can be very useful to us in our daily living. For example, in The Pearl we learn how unscrupulous dealers try to cheat Kino, a simple, honest fisherman. Hence, we learn to be careful when we, especially if we are simple, honest country folk like Kino and his wife, have dealings with sophisticated businessmen in towns. In "Julius Caesar", we learn that although Brutus is sincere in believing the murder of Caesar will bring more good to the people, his unselfish action actually brings more harm. In our own life, although we would never imagine murdering a great general like Caesar, yet Brutus' lesson teaches us not to be too self-centred in our beliefs, for what we sincerely think is good for other people, may not necessarily be so.

The knowledge about life that we learn from great literature goes deeper than just visible actions, sometimes even deeper than conscious thought. We can go beyond rational thinking into the subconscious level. For example, in great short stories like Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart and D. H. Lawrence's Rocking-Horse Winner, the authors introduce us to a fascinating exploration of the subconscious mind. Such exploration, more interesting in the study of literature than in the study of psychology, enables us to understand many moods of behaviour of our friends and also of ourselves, that we may not understand if we look at them only from the logical, rational level.


To Feel and Appreciate Richly

Besides enlarging our knowledge and deepening our insight, the study of literature also enriches our capacity to feel and appreciate. The range of emotions dealt with in literature is extremely rich and satisfying. When we read great literature, we treat ourselves to the experience and appreciation of these powerful emotions. We share the joy with Wordsworth whose heart leaps up when he beholds a rainbow in the sky, or with Blake who, like a schoolboy, loves to rise on a summer morn when the birds sing on every tree. We endure loneliness with Mohd Haji Salleh, who finds that the way home is a long lane lost in the undergrowth. And we suffer with Macbeth whose wife dies at a time he needs her most, and at a time when he has no words to mourn for her.

Some people think, rightly or wrongly, that students in the science stream are shallow in emotional experience. Perhaps this attitude originates from, or is influenced by, the traditional philosophy of science that places great emphasis on objectivity and quantification. Both the ancient Greeks, who were well known for their intellectual achievements, as well as our modern Malaysian educators, as clearly expressed in the Integrated Secondary School Curriculum (or KBSM), regard emotional development as an essential part of our schooling. Science students, therefore, have a great urgency to study literature -- as an effective means to prevent them from turning into unfeeling machines.

Aristotle, considered by many as the father of western science, believed that catharsis, or the cleansing of emotions, is essential to balanced health. In other words, if you are pent up with negative emotions, go and enjoy a tragic play, and have a good cry. You will feel relieved after that. So, if you have ever wondered why your mother or any people pay money to cry in a cinema, here you have the answer. If they had not cried in a cinema, or had their negative emotions cleansed by some great literature, they would have to pay more money to treat illness caused by pent up emotions. Crying is not the only way to cleanse emotions. Laughing also provides very beneficial catharsis effect. And good literature can satisfy all these emotional needs.


Make Your Good Better, and Your Better Best

Besides enriching our intellect and our emotion, literature also improves our linguistic skills. It does so at two different levels: at the top level for those who are already good at the language, and at the bottom level for those who have difficulty in constructing even a few grammatical sentenc.

We shall first consider the bottom level. Now, why do you think many Malaysian school students cannot speak or write even a few English sentences grammatically? Of the many different reasons people will provide, most will agree on the following two points. One, it is not because of insufficient teaching. Every student entering a secondary school the first day, has been taught English every school day of his young life for at least four years. If he makes it to Form Five -- which is quite easy with the present automatic promotion system -- he will have been taught English every school day of his whole secondary school life.

Two, the most important reason is probably their lack of informal practice in using the language. Even if they are taught by good teachers, students will never be conversant in English if they do not use it. An interesting analogy is swimming. Even if they are taught by excellent swimming instructors, unless the students actually practise swimming in water, they will never be able to swim no matter how long they may have learnt swimming techniques on land. In the same way, no matter how long they may have learnt English, they still will not be able to use it if they do not use it.

They are two approaches in using English: speaking and writing, and reading. It is unrealistic to expect students to speak or write English at home or in school (outside their English lessons), when Bahasa Malaysia or their mother tongue is a far more effective medium of communication. So, the hope for students using English lies in reading English literature. Ordinary English texts, like those found in some dull textbooks, will bore them. If we want them to read English, we have to tempt them with the best English, so that they will want to read, not because they want to improve their English, but because they find literature so enjoyable and captivating. Hopefully, this passive exposure to literature may gradually enable them to become familiar with some sentence patterns so that, again hopefully, they may feel confident enough to use them in speech or writing.

Next, we examine the top level, where students already possess a command of good English. Here their study of literature is active, in contrast to the passive reading at the bottom level. By this is meant the students actively use their good English to discuss and express clearly the substance and the style of some of the best writings found in the language, thus making their good English better in the process. Further, by studying such features as characterization and plot development, and such literary devices like imagery and poetic music, they may even make their better English best. Literature, therefore, provides an effective means for both the advanced as well as backward students to improve their English.

There is a great variety of literature to suit different tastes and needs. In the next chapter, you will learn some major literary forms, so that you will understand why some actors sing poetry in their plays, or how writers achieve powerful emotional impact in modern short stories.

LINKS

Overview

Courses and Classes