How Literature Shaped Me?

In past, during years of my graduation, I felt Literature is boring and not useful to me.  I studied literature in those years only to accomplish my graduation. But when I got admission at department, my concept changed gradually and now near the completion of my PG, my feeling is that I have achieved something in my life. I feel positively changed. Here, I have to say something that no one can become successful in life without proper guidance and good mentor. We all PG guys are lucky in this sense. Inspire every (even weakest) student to find out his drawbacks and encourage him to learning something new is tradition here which is not possible everywhere. I will feel proud forever for these wonderful two years spent here.  

    

Literature played an important role in my educational learning. In my graduation phase, I had a difficult time understood that what literature was saying.  But after spending some times with literature, I felt improvisation in my critical thinking, writing and reading skills and enabled me to pay close attention to details. Literature helped me to become more open-minded.  It helps me understand the nature of society.

Historic literature helps me to understand what life was like in the past. Some literature poured emotion into me. Literatures regarding feminism and feminist writers provide me a new way of thinking, a different sight to watch the world. Poems taught me that there are timeless ways for me to express romantic, platonic, maternal and other forms of love. Literature about social injustice inspires anger and encourages action for change. Religious literature helps me to find and nurture faith. All literature I studied during my graduation and post graduation helps me expand my mind. Literature also affected me by offering a way to express myself through writing and reading. Studying literature develop greater empathy for and understanding of other people. Literature study prepared me to think in global (vast) prospect.

I studied Hamlet of William Shakespeare, which shows us reality of revenge, search for truth and meaning in uncertainty, the struggle with morality. I learned from Dr. Faustus that, knowledge can lead someone to be good or bad, depends on what knowledge he is acquiring. Adam and Eve blame each other for their disobedience in Paradise lost.  Reading of Gulliver’s Travels teaches me importance of morality and ethics and about different facets of lies and deceit, society and class, politics, war and human nature. Defoe ‘s Robinson Crusoe taught me self independence, hands-on approach to life, struggle for survival, how to cope frustration of the life, achieving mastery over the circumstances, overcoming obstacles, and at last becoming self-aware of our own self. By studying Aristotle’s Poetics, Essay on Dramatic Poesy by Dryden in which I read interesting arguments regarding ancient vs. Modern by two humble critics. Preface of great Wordsworth is worthless and how I forget Coleridge? The Fakeer of Jungheera introduce me abuse of Sati Pratha at that time.

 Inter racial Love. Conflicts between upper vs. Lower cast in 18^th century. In Raja Rao’s Kanthapura I find the problem of untouchably, poverty, sexual exploitation and caste- society. I also felt great influence of Gandhian principles at that time. The Purpose (play) shows us Dominance of upper cast power (Arjun/Drona), over a weak person from lower caste (Eklavya) – teach us that common people take more care of Animals of Jungle.

Earlier my concept on Romanticism may something like romance and love related content but after studying Romanticism in actual especially Frankenstein me proved wrong. Frankenstein shows us our struggle with inner and physical conflicts. He tells dangerous side of knowledge. Both Frankenstein and victor attempt to surge beyond human limits. But this knowledge is really dangerous. Infect the doctor is driven to death by his creature. And Walton too is trapped between sheets of ice. So he gave up his mission because he saw the unhappy end of his friend. We can feel dangers of excessive sensibility (too emotional) in Sense and Sensibility. In Oliver Twist of Charles Dickens we see the virtue of charity, love against evils of greed and corruption. Till date I don’t understand fully the novel Middle March. I learned something about literary criticism from Northrop Frye an archetypal critic. To the Lighthouse of Virginia Woolf tells us about what women can do and how search god and true meaning of life. My favourite play ‘Waiting for Godot’ by Samuel Becket taught me what theatre of absurd is. This play viewed as existentialist in its take of life. The characters of the play are constantly struggling to prove their existence. Just waiting and waiting. Robert Frost’s short stories really scared me. Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Mask shows racial discrimination still exists in the world in either form. White powers want to convert but not want to accept we cannot ignore this bitter truth. African Literature has great potential. By studying African literature of our curriculum one can know about the pain, strength, selflessness, culture, struggle of this continent. I also prepared one presentation on Achebe, Chinua’s Things Fall Apart. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown attacks on religion and damages happened to humanity trough religion. Arvind Adiga’s The White Tiger teaches about real and ugly look of our own society. X-ray image of real world.  Harry Potter and its series by J.K Rowling leads us into the world of imagination and fantasy beyond this real world.

            May it be incomplete to end my writing without quoting Chetan Bhagat, who tremendously influenced on Indian youth including me. I learn a lot from his novels and from his movies also. My presentation on ON@TCC was based on one of his famous novel. I watch him many times on a TV really a great personality we can learn humbleness, simplicity, modern style of writing, how to speak effectively etc from him.

When I was first time enter in the Department of English I gave first task on What Is Literature?. But that's time i am totally confused to what to write but Now when I am writing about How Literature Shaped me?. I can Write smoothly, Here is the Image of my Views on Literature which I write that time.