Literature as an Effective Means to Communicate Social and Political Ideas - Essay Example

Role of Literature: Introduction: Literature is a term used to refer to the spoken or written material that is creative in nature. Literature is a term that is on most occasions used to refer to any creative work that is in form of poetry, drama, non-fiction, and fiction. Literature is used to represent a culture or the tradition of people. Literature gives us an introduction to a variety of cultures and traditions of people, and this is through the various stories, poems, and plays that artists usually create (Stavans and Edna, 4). This concept normally has a hidden meaning that the author tries to denote, and it is up to the reader to identify what these meanings are, and thereafter interpret the messages that the author of a specific literature tried to depict. It is always possible to interpret the messages of the authors by trying to analyze how the author uses language, and other devices of literature such as similes, metaphors, and personification (Stavans and Edna, 4). Literature is a very important element because it is universal, and it manages to give us some information. The information that literature normally gives are political and social information. This research paper examines the importance of literature as a method of communicating political and social ideas. Description of Artists and their Works: It analyzes the importance of literature by analyzing the works of Chinua Achebe, Nawaal El Saadawi, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Lu Xun. Chinua Achebe is an African writer, poet and professor. His country of origin is Nigeria, and Chinua Achebe (Chua and Chinua, 3) is credited with wring the book, “Things Fall Apart”. Things Fall Apart is the most famous book, written by an African poet, and it is the most widely read African piece of literature. Things Fall Apart was a book published by Heinemann, and it depicts the life of Okonkwo, in a fictional village of Umuofia. This book describes the personal history and family life of Okonkwo, and the various customs of the Igbo people. On this basis, this book presents reliable information concerning the role of literature in communicating political and social ideas. Lu Xun on the other hand is a Chinese poet, and writer. Lu Xun was a very influential writer who received recognition from the communist regime of China, and from the Chinese leader, Mao Zedong (Lu and Gladys, 5). Lu Xun wrote a famous story by the name Diary of a Madman, and it is one of the most influential Chinese stories ever written (Lu and Gladys, 2). This story managed to influence the cultural and political movement in China. This is a story of a mad man, who manages to depict reality than those people who are around him. According to this story, the mad man is able to see cannibalism in the village, and his family. He thereafter manages to depict cannibalism in the classic Confucius teachings, and on this basis, he attacks the traditional Chinese culture, calling for a new cultural beliefs. Nawaal El Saadawi on the other hand is an Egyptian writer, feminist, physician and activist. Nawaal has written many books concerning women and Islam, and her particular attention is on the circumcision of women in the society (Saʻdāwī, and Nawāl, 3). “In Camera” is a short story by Nawaal El Saadawi that depicts the suffering of an Arabic woman under the judicial system of her state (Saʻdāwī, and Nawāl, 9). This story depicts the status of women in the Arabic world, and the nature of the political and legal system which is very discriminative of women. Leslie Marmon Silko on the other hand is an American writer (Silko, 2). Leslie Silko is credited with writing a story referred to as Yellow Woman. Things Fall Apart: Things fall apart manages to communicate the idea of cultural nativism. Nativism is a concept that refers to a preference for the inhabitants of a region or country, as opposed to immigrants. Cultural nativism on the other hand is a word used to refer to a preference of the cultures of a particular society, as against the cultures that do not belong to the society. This aspect of cultural nativism is widely seen in the novel by Chinua Achebe (Chua and Chinua, 6) (1958), “Things Fall Apart”. Chinua Achebe manages to prove that the Africans had a thriving social, political, and religious culture before the emergence of the Europeans. Due to the existence of these cultures, Africans were able to think for themselves, and they were not in any manner inferior to the Europeans. For example, the novel manages to depict the Ogwugwu cult, which was able to serve as a judiciary organ settling the various disputes amongst the people of Umuofia, as per the laid down traditions and customs of the people (Chua and Chinua, 9). By identifying this cult, and the laid down traditions and customs of the Umuofia people, the novel manages to identify a culture that is unique, and manages to hold its own, like other cultures found in any part of the world. Before the introduction of colonialism in Eastern Nigeria, Chinua Achebe manages to depict the culture of the people of Umuofia as being embraced by its people, despite the various shortcomings that the culture had. For example, the killing of the twins, and the caste system of the Osu (Chua and Chinua, 26). The people of Umuofia practiced these cultural values, and through Okonkwo, Chinua Achebe manages to identify the zeal in which these people had towards protecting their cultural values. This is by defending these cultural values against the Western cultures which were influenced by the Christian religion. Things Fall Apart also explains how the aspect of cultural change affects the society and various personalities within the story (Achebe, 29). For example Okonkwo aggressively resists the new political and religious system brought about by the colonialists. It is important to denote that to some extent, the resistance of Okonkwo to the changes in culture is based on his fear of losing the social status that he enjoyed in his village of Umuofia (Chua and Chinua, 19). On this basis, prestige and status, according to Okonkwo is based on the traditional standards placed by the society. It is on this basis, that Okonkwo plans to resist the occupation of the colonialist, but he is stopped by Egonwanne (Chua and Chinua, 44). On this basis, Chinua Achebe tries to denote that during colonialism, there were collaborators, and resistors. Collaboration is depicted through people lie Egonwanne, while resistance is depicted through people like Okonkwo. However, Achebe manages to denote that it is always better to collaborate with a stronger power, than fighting against such a power. This is depicted by the failure of Okonkwo to fight against the colonialists, leading to his death (Achebe, 58). On this basis Achebe manages to communicate a useful idea that it is always better to collaborate with other people, while at the same time maintaining your cultural practices. In Camera: In Camera by Nawal El Saadawi on the other hand succeeds in giving out a political and social message on injustices committed by governments to women (Saʻdāwī, and Nawāl, 3). This is because of their engagement in political and social activities. In this short story, El Saadawi manages to effectively depict the injustices committed to a young woman by the name of Leila. This is because of her criticization of the government as a corrupt and inefficient institution. Under this story, Leila is arrested and put under trial because of her involvement in politics (Saʻdāwī, and Nawāl, 6). While in trial, Leila is raped and seriously abused by the guards who are guiding her. Through these scenes, the narrator manages to depict that in a political system that is corrupt and inefficient, other departments of the political system will also cease to function inefficiently (Saʻdāwī, and Nawāl, 7). For example, it was the responsibility of the prison guards to protect her, and ensure that she is delivered to her courtroom sessions when she is safe, and protected. However, this is not the case, and it is because she suffered ridicule and torture in the hands of these prison guards. While in prison, Leila was placed in a dark cell for a very long period of time, that when she is brought forth in a light, she is unable to see properly. Leila has some hopes of justice, when she is brought forth before a judge. In fact, Leila says within herself that she may get justice when the judge sees her wounds (Saʻdāwī, and Nawāl, 9). However, this is not the case, and this is depicted at the end of the story whereby the judge boasts to his male colleagues that he will take Leila back to where she belongs, that is in prison. What Nawal El Saadawi tries to communicate in this scenario is that in a political system that is corrupt and inefficient, it is always impossible to get a fair trial and justice (Saʻdāwī, and Nawāl, 6). On this basis, Leila had to suffer under the hands of government officials. Nawal El Saadawi further goes on to encourage us to keep on speaking against corrupt and inefficient political systems, despite the consequences of speaking against them (Saʻdāwī, and Nawāl, 10). For instance, in as much as Leila suffered torture from the hands of government officials, she is still adamant that when give a pen and a paper, she will draw the level of corruption that occurs in her country. She finds inspiration from an Egyptian ancient story, which depicts Osiris and Isis, ancient Egyptian gods, who favor splitting an individual’s body, for purposes of knowing the truth. Nawal El Saadawi further manages to depict the notion that women are not supposed to engage in politics, through the actions of Leila’s mother and father (Saʻdāwī, and Nawāl, 11). For instance, Leila’s mother is saddened for the torture that her daughter is passing through the hands of government officials; however, she denotes that her suffering is because of the disobedience of her daughter into following the rules established. That is, women should not be involved into politics. On this basis, Nawal El Saadawi manages to give out a message on the injustices that women suffered under patriarchal Arab communities. Yellow Woman: Yellow Woman on the other hand is a story that depicts social evils that occur within the community. The main issue depicted by this short story is adultery, cattle rustling, family life, and the spiritual and human life. The social idea that Leslie Silko tries to depict in this story is that the Pueblo Indian Society permitted a woman to act against the expectations of the society if her actions would benefit the society (Silko, 9). For instance, in this story, a Pueblo Woman manages to leave her husband and family and runs away with a man, who claims that he is a water spirit. On returning from her adventure, instead of being punished, the Yellow Woman is seen as a hero by her community. For example, the story depicts a young married woman, meeting a man by the name of Silva. This man lives in the mountainside, and claims to be a river spirit. He makes his living by stealing cattle’s from Mexican ranchers (Silko, 11). The man manages to seduce Kochinnenako, convincing her to leave her family, and children, thus eloping with him. This is adultery, and in some communities, this type of behavior is punishable by death. In fact, Kochinnenako did not want to go with him, but was drawn to his strength, sexuality, and the feeling of religious significance, because she was given the title, Yellow Woman. Leslie Silko further manages to give an idea that when an individual is acting against the prescribed rules of the society, some of them are always confused, and not knowing whatever they are doing (Silko, 8). For example, the Yellow Woman was confused as she was going with the spirit man further into the mountain. She is unable to depict her identity, on whether she is a yellow woman, as called by Silva, or she is just a normal human being. She manages to ask questions on her identity to Silva, in order to be sure of her identity, and that it was not a trick that Silva was using to seduce her. That is by referring her as Yellow Woman, which was derived from the ancient Indian stories that depicted a Katsina spirit and a woman. Leslie Silko further goes on to depict that adulterous affairs will always not last long (Silko, 7). This is because the Yellow Woman was able to leave her lover and went back to her family, and husband. On this basis, Yellow Life is a story that manages to depict family and marriage life. Diary of a Mad Man: Diary of a Mad Man on the other hand provides a critique of the traditional feudal society of China. This story begins with an introduction from the narrator about his childhood friend’s medical condition (Lu and Gladys, 7). On visiting his friend, the narrator denotes that he found his friend had recovered from his mental illness, and taken a government job, in another town. The brother gave him a diary, which had details on the various thoughts that his friend had. From this diary, the writer had cannibalistic thoughts, and his obsessions, paranoia, and fears were based on these thoughts. The writer believes that his doctor, his brother, and the people surrounding him are planning to eat him (Lu and Gladys, 9). This is because they are cannibalistic. From the writer’s perspective, her younger sister was eaten by his elder brother, and perhaps he also participated in the cannibal activity without his knowledge. The author belief’s that children are innocent from these cannibalistic activities, and hence he believes that there is a need of protecting children from these cannibalistic activities. It is important to denote that Cannibalism is used to represent the feudalistic society of China, which was then oppressive (Lu and Gladys, 8). The rulers of the feudalistic society were responsible for oppressing those people who were below them. By using the concept of Cannibalism, Lu Xun manages to illustrate the various problems that the society faces, due to the traditional form of Feudalism, without directly attacking this concept of Feudalism (Lu and Gladys, 11). On this basis, the Mad Mans diary is an excellent piece of written art that highlights the injustices of the traditional feudal system, in a language that is clearly understood by the masses. The use of insanity can be used to depict the frustrations that the masses are passing through because of the feudalistic system, and hence it passes out a message of the breakdown of the feudalistic system. Conclusion: In conclusion, literature is an important tool of communicating the political and social messages. Authors such as Chinua Achebe, Lu Xun, Nawal El Saadawi, and Leslie Silko have managed to effectively communicate the various political and social issues that affected their communities. For instance, Chinua Achebe manages to depict the concept of cultural change and resistance to the change in his novel, while El Saadawi manages to effectively depict the sufferings of women, in oppressive political systems. Lu Xun and Leslie Silko also manage to depict their political and social ideas in their books. In fact, it is important to denote that these authors won recognitions because of their works of art, and the messages that they gave through their writings. Works Cited: Achebe, Chinua. Things fall apart. New York: Anchor Books, 1994. Print. Chua, John, and Chinua Achebe. Things fall apart notes .... Lincoln, Neb.: Cliffs Notes, 1996. Print. Lu, Xun, and Gladys Yang. Silent China; selected writings of Lu Xun. London: Oxford University Press, 1973. Print. Saʻdāwī, Nawāl, and Nawāl Saʻdāwī. The dramatic literature of Nawal El Saadawi. London: Saqi, 2009. Print. Silko, Leslie Marmon. Yellow woman and a beauty of the spirit: essays on Native American life today. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Print. Stavans, Ilan, and Edna Belén. The Norton anthology of Latino literature. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2011. Print. Read More