Brett Ressler
Dr. Ryan Stryffeler
ENG-104
14 April 2018
What is Literature? When asked ‘What is Literature?’ most people would think of things like poems, novels, or stories. Since the early 17th century the definition of the term “literature” has been a controversial topic. I found a quote while writing this assignment, I could not find who said it but it went along the lines of “Literature is the reflection of human experience.” I strongly agree with this quote and it supports my argument. My definition of literature is any visual or written text that produce deeper meaning and illustrate any of the following: whatever is taught, “equipment for living”, or contains power to shape thinking. My first criteria of literature are whatever was …show more content…
An example of this would be S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders” novel. Published in 1967, this work depicts the life of a fourteen-year-old boy named Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles to learn what is right and wrong which leads him to become an outsider. There are countless lessons throughout the book. Some of these include: don't judge people from the outside, keep family close, and stay gold and true to yourself. I believe the characteristic of teaching lessons is a significant factor in determining whether or not a visual or written text can be considered literature. Teaching is one of the main objectives of literature, whether it be a school textbook, a historical novel, or even fictional works. Another example that would fall under this criterion is the movie “Pursuit of Happyness”. Produced in 2006, this film reveals the life of Chris Gardner (acted by Will Smith) a homeless salesman. Gardner invest his entire life savings into bone density scanners, he attempts to sell them but most doctors are reluctant to buying these scanners to replace X-Ray machines. This leads to Chris’ wife leaving him and
Dr. Ryan Stryffeler
ENG-104
14 April 2018
What is Literature? When asked ‘What is Literature?’ most people would think of things like poems, novels, or stories. Since the early 17th century the definition of the term “literature” has been a controversial topic. I found a quote while writing this assignment, I could not find who said it but it went along the lines of “Literature is the reflection of human experience.” I strongly agree with this quote and it supports my argument. My definition of literature is any visual or written text that produce deeper meaning and illustrate any of the following: whatever is taught, “equipment for living”, or contains power to shape thinking. My first criteria of literature are whatever was …show more content…
An example of this would be S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders” novel. Published in 1967, this work depicts the life of a fourteen-year-old boy named Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles to learn what is right and wrong which leads him to become an outsider. There are countless lessons throughout the book. Some of these include: don't judge people from the outside, keep family close, and stay gold and true to yourself. I believe the characteristic of teaching lessons is a significant factor in determining whether or not a visual or written text can be considered literature. Teaching is one of the main objectives of literature, whether it be a school textbook, a historical novel, or even fictional works. Another example that would fall under this criterion is the movie “Pursuit of Happyness”. Produced in 2006, this film reveals the life of Chris Gardner (acted by Will Smith) a homeless salesman. Gardner invest his entire life savings into bone density scanners, he attempts to sell them but most doctors are reluctant to buying these scanners to replace X-Ray machines. This leads to Chris’ wife leaving him and