Analysis Of Once Upon A Time Literature By James Salter

Once Upon a Time, Literature. Now What? James Salter is the author of the article, “Once Upon a Time, Literature. Now What?” He asserts that literature is a valuable necessity to the human condition. Salter expressed that literature has been trivialized and that pop culture is held responsible for literature’s diminishing value to society. He believes that human society would not exist without language; he extended the idea by implying that without language there would be no religion, and that the utilization of language successfully is comparable to a “lightning rod” of criticism towards prominent literary writers. In Salter’s article he used techniques such as tones, fallacies, and evidence in attempt to support his claims. The use of tones, …show more content…
In Salter’s article, his argument is about the importance of language and literature. Both language and literature are basic aspects, they are tools that transport customs and values, they are both used in everyday life. Language and literature link individuals with facts and concepts in society. Language and literature provide individuals the opportunity to record their views and knowledge in ways that can be accessible to others. Throughout the article Salter produces a tone of superiority while discussing the topics of literature and language. Salter uses the scenario about language and without it there would possibly be no religion or higher power. Upon this quote Salter states, “… God is entirely dependent on language: prayer, sermons, hymns, the Bible or other texts. Without language God might exist, but not be described.” Salter continues to use examples to help support his claim on the value of language. For example, at one point in the article Salter appears to compare himself as great a writer as Shakespeare because he made up a word known as “biblios.” He makes this comparison of himself to …show more content…
Slater said, “Pop culture’s patrons, youth and a large number of those who were formerly young, have rewarded it with immense riches, advancing it further. Junk like George Lucas’s “Star Wars…” The flaw in this claim is that Salter asserts that it is pop culture’s fault for the diminishing value of literature, language, and culture when in reality it can be a number of other reasons such as, technology, differences in generations, etc. This claim is weak because of the lack of evidence used to help support his argument, which makes it a hasty generalization. Literature is a manifestation that will forever exist, I don’t believe that there is a threat. Literature has not lost its place in our society, but it has had to adapt to our developing societies. Literature has existed in different times and eras, such as the times of Shakespeare, Poe, Hemingway, or Fitzgerald. Their literature can allow today’s readers to be transported to a different time, place and culture which held specific values. Society continues to admire today’s literary works by authors like, Bukowski, Rowling, etc. The value of literature has changed based on the differences of opinions due to the different generations, but literature is still very much