How Literature shaped me......

During school days I used to read some poetries and some short stories but at that time I thought that literature is only a peace of any story or any poem but when I entered in B.A then I got to know that literature is not only a peace of any story or poem but it is something else, then also I was not aware about the exact meaning of literature. That time I was aware only about one thing about literature and that is “Literature is a mirror of society”. But now I can say that Literature is not only a mirror image of a society but it is an image of oneself. Through literature we can shape our mind and thoughts in that direction in which we want to. But I would like to say that literature helps a lot to widen up our thinking process and through this you can criticize and question anything.

Throughout these five years I have studied many texts and after studying each and every texts my point of view about life also changed.

If we search on internet the definition of literature, we can find many definitions one of which is-

Literature is a term used to describe written and sometimes spoken material. Derived from the Latin litteratura meaning "writing formed with letters," literature most commonly refers to works of the creative imagination, including poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and in some instances, song. 

Literature represents the culture and tradition of a language or a people. It's difficult to just define, though many have tried, but it's clear that the accepted definition of literature is constantly changing and developing.

After reading literature for so many years, we cannot clearly define literature as its definition changes with individual as well as time. In B.A, we were taught that literature is the mirror of the society and this definition was accepted by us without questioning anything. In this way, we can be called sheepel as we all accepted what was said and we never questioned anything. We just accepted what we were taught. 

After joining M.A, first of all I learnt to question everything and then slowly and steadily, my attitude towards the definition of literature changed and I came out of this group of sheeples. My perspective towards literature changed. We can now say that literature is not only the mirror to society but it is much more than that. When we read the novels of Charles Dickens, we come to know about the truth of the society that what happened during that time. Some writers wrote good things about their society while some writers showed the bitter truth. These types of books contribute to literature and so we can say that literature is the mirror which shows us the bitter and harsh reality of the society which not everyone can accept. During my under graduation i.e. B.A, I read many novels like Such a Long Journey, Things Fall Apart, Oliver Twist, The Quiet American etc but we just read what was written in it.  Earlier I read Hamlet but just as a story but now I could understand that it is a revenge play when I read it in M.A. with different approaches, could feel the difference in meaning which was very vast. After coming in M.A, I started reading novels from different perspectives and approaches. Now I can apply different theories and can also read novels from whichever perspective I want. Earlier, I read the things which were in front of my eyes but now when my views have changed a lot about literature, I try to find out what is absent in it.

         According to me, Literature has no definite definition of what has been in so far projected, to talk of history brings a new hope of study but it lacks the value of actual faith of time in which history of literature gives an individual study of pleasure. The only thing that is certain about defining literature is that the definition will change. Concepts of what is literature changes over time as well.

Like architecture is the art form that arises out of the human ability to create buildings and monuments, literature is the art form that arises out of  the human ability to create language.

Literature makes us think about ourselves and our society, allows us to enjoy language and beauty, it can be didactic and it reflects on the human conditions. Literature is the creation of another world, a world that we can only see through reading literature. Literature reflects ideology as well as changes the ideology. Literature effects the life o beings. It consists of ideas, thought and communication. It is the perception and reflection through writing. Language is intertwined with literature and emotions, thoughts and imagination are conveyed by language. In short, we can say that literature weaves our thoughts. Literature is the comprehensive essence of the intellectual life of a nation. Literature is emphatic as it gives vicarious pleasure. Literature is a work of art which uses creative and imaginative language in order to reflect social realities. The best example  is Charles Dickens' novels in which be reflects all the harsh realities of the society of that time.  Literature is any artistic way of using language to reflect daily human experience. literature is a mirror that shows the social, economical, political and religious aspect of the world. Literature is an art and uses language which deviates from normal conversation to create an effect in literary work. Literature can also be called 'many men, many minds."

               After these two years of M.A, I could develop critical thinking as well as the argumentative capability. I understood the worth of free thinking as earlier we were not used to do it. We just learnt what our professors and teachers taught us.