Literature and Its Social Relevance - Research Paper Example

 Literature and its social relevance Literature is often written to express issues and events that are taking part in the society and for this reason, when analyzing literature one is bound to see the similarities of the events in a literary text with those in one’s own society. Although the society has transformed over the years, human behavior still remains the same and for this reason, the old literary works still remain relevant to modern society. This paper seeks to prove that the old works of literature have a lot to contribute in today’s contemporary society. The play ‘A Doll’s House’ could very well apply in a seminar attended by secondary school in the third world country. The term third world refers to countries that are underdeveloped. This play would be relevant in this situation since the chief focus of the play is self discovery and self confidence for women especially. The play tends to seek its audience not to live a social lie and duty that does not to right by them. In the play Nora who is married to Halmer, a man who treats her as if she were a doll with no mind of her own, no opinion of her own and no taste of her own. Halmer made every decision for her and all she was expected to do was be a wife. Eventually in act three, Nora leaves her husband and children and goes to attend to “duties towards myself” but Halmer tries to convince her to stay by saying that “before all else you are a wife and a mother” (Ibsen & Landes Scene 3). This type of male superiority happens all over the world, but most women in the developed countries are aware of this and know better than to stay in such unhealthy marriages even if society demands it. By using this play as a reference in high school, in a third world nation, would create awareness to the young girls that they ought to discover who they are and what they stand for before they get married. The boys would learn that it is wrong to assume that a woman cannot and should not make decisions on her own without consulting her husband and that women are not dolls to be managed and controlled. For many people who have never been arrested, the people in prison all over the U.S deserve the jail time they are serving since they committed crime. This is, however, not always correct since to others landing in jail was just part of their destiny. The play of ‘king Oedipus Rex’ would be the best suited a lecture seminar in prison. This is because what most individuals do not understand it that people in prison have already evaluated their lives and have repented and are willing to rehabilitated and what they need most from the people on the outside are encouragement and acceptance. Oedipus was a good man since he ran from his home in Corinth after learning that he will kill his father and marry his mother. In an attempt to escape his fate by running away from home, he meets Laios at a crossroads (a stranger to him) and after a confrontation he kills him and most of his men. What Oedipus did not know was that Laios was his biological father and he later proceeded to Thebes where he married Laios’ widow Jacosta who was his biological mother (Sophocles Scene 2). In as much as the prophesy was told by the oracle many years before, and Oedipus parents tried to avoid it by throwing him out to die, and by Oedipus running from home, the prophesy was fulfilled anyway and so the lesson to the prisoners would be not to take life too hard on themselves since one is bound to fulfill their destiny in life. A lot goes on during election time where politicians want to win the various public seats that they are running for. The play ‘Hamlet’ would suit a seminar for the U.S political convention since there is a lot of politicians can learn on the wars and conflict that greed for power and mind games could bring in the country. Hemlet, on a quest to avenge his father’s death starts a situation of political unrest in Denmark and a chain of greedy leaders is unveiled as they struggle to get the most power. Hemlet’s father had been killed and his lands grabbed by Fartinbras’ father who was also killed by Claudius for political power (Shakespeare Scene1, line 2). This example could show how power gained in the wrong way leads one into trouble and does not last and creates political tension in the country. Most people do not usually say this thus an Aida hospice is a place where people go to die when all else is done and hope is gone. The play ‘Young Goodman Brown’ would apply is this kind of scenario since death might be a fallacy. It would be wrong to tell an Aids victim that all that all they have left is time to make good with their maker. Instead, they should be living to the last minute by being with friends, spending time with the family and doing other things that they like. When Brown goes on an unknown errand in the forest his belief that he has been living in a Christian community is distorted. He is given a serpent-shaped staff by an older form of himself as a symbol of defiling God which he accepts. He sees his wife and himself being initiated into the forest life and he distrusts everyone after he returned home and went to live alone as a cynic and his dying hour were gloom. The truth was that none of what he thought he saw was real and they were just lies in his mind misleading him (Connolly scene 2). ‘Dante’s inferno’ would best suit a seminar for high cooperate business executive since most of them only care about making themselves rich without thinking if their actions could land others (usually their clients) in trouble or financial problems. Dante visits the nine circles of hell and each had people who committed various sins in their life or made the wrong choices in life (Anderberg Scene 2). Most business executives spend their days making difficult choices and some are usually led by greed instead of reason in making these decisions. This play would show them that their decisions will be judged accordingly, however, hidden they may seem. Works cited Anderberg, Bengt N. Dantes Inferno. Göteborg: Zinderman, 1961. Print. Connolly, Thomas E. Nathaniel Hawthorne: Young Goodman Brown. Columbus, Ohio: C.E. Merrill, 1968. Print. Ibsen, Henrik, and William-Alan Landes. A Doll's House. Studio City, Calif: Players Press, 1993. Print. Sophocles, , and R D. Dawe. Oedipus Rex. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1982. Print. Shakespeare, William, and Harold Jenkins. Hamlet. London: Methuen, 1982. Print. Read More