The content of any literary work is from society. These works describe the various aspects of the community like economics, politics, and culture via the various genres of literature. Literature gives us a reflection of history but in a form that is both educative and entertaining. Literature is the mirror of society. Through various works of literature, we can be able to understand different aspects of the way of life of a people. Literary artists use individuals as characters in their creations. Through them, they represent a whole or a bit of society. The person is usually a product of his society. In William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily, he tells his story through a character Emily who comes to the spotlight immediately after her Father dies (Faulkner, 2005).
His story, narrated in pluralism helps us make the assumption his descriptions pass for the general behavior of the people in the society at the period of his composition. Emily has lived all her life in the shadow of her father Grierson. When her father dies she believes that she now has control over him. She kills him as it is the only way she can have men in her life under control is through killing them. This piece of literary work is written at the period of the end of the civil war in America, and the south’s era of greatness is coming to an end (Faulkner, 2005). Many of the southern people refused to accept this change and are determined to maintain their superiority no matter the strangeness of the means they use. Emily brings out various desperate actions in this line. Her idea of controlling her men in death; her ability to maintain her composure even in her deepest grief depict a society resulting in desperate measures at desperate times.
The south is a society where myth and reality are difficult to separate (Di Yanni, 2007). Another literary work that brings out a connection of the relationship between literature and society is Bambara Cade’s ‘The Lesson’. She is an artist that uses literature to tell of changes both in the community and the position, in social and political issues. Her writing redefines the identities of African American people especially women beyond the confines of racist and sexist stereotypes (Bambara, 2000). The main character is Sylvia is a young African American girl of about 14 years of age. The choice of words designated for this character shows a personality of strong opinions. Sylvia is not happy at all with her teacher, Mrs. Moore, one of the few educated women of that time. For instance the statement “we hated her too, hated the way we did the winos that cluttered up our parks and pissed on our hand ball walls” (Bambara 121) brings Sylvia’s feelings to the surface. “The Lesson” is a story that looks at the big gap between the different socio-economic classes in America at that time of its composition. Mrs. Moore determines to pass on the message to the children who desperately need it.
The setting is in a period where many African Americans are relocating to escape from racism and poverty. The culture is highly interwoven with city living and their environment affects their education, family values, traditions, and social standing. As Miss Moore says, “Where we are who we are” (Bambara 140). The characters in the story live in apartment complexes close to their extended family because when they first came north they all lived together in the same apartment, an indication of theirs. This short story brings out just how much desperation is in the lives of the African Americans at that time, but Mrs. Moore is an indication that breaking away from all this is a possibility. The language used is slung English to demonstrate the proper conditions of the African American people and allows the familiarization with these unique cultures. These include words like “fly boy, nothing ,gonna”.
In Kafka’s metamorphosis, an eye-opening narration takes place (Kafka, 1996). Its main theme is that of alienation, and how all the circumstances around us can change us. The main character Gregor finds he is responsible for his family’s well-being and because of this he cannot live a normal life. He works for a demanding boss as a salesman of textiles and the pressures he is facing from all directions force him to alienate himself. His solution to his problem is to transform himself into a large insect (DiYanni, 2007, pg. 612). However, this alienates him further from his family. It brings out the callous nature of man of only needing those that are beneficial for that moment, a trait that is part of human nature in every society. Kafka uses particularly long sentences and spans to the length of a whole page, an influence from to the German language he belongs to and the fact that the language allows the verb to come at the end of the sentence (Kafka 1996,). His dream style of writing is which a man can be degraded to the stature of an animal. Furthermore, his works tend to focus on the futility of characters in the struggles. This is a reflection of the society he is writing in, and not his personal experience. These are some of those works that we can use to justify the assumption that literature reflects the time of its creation.
A study of the progress of literary work content over time reflects the changes both positive and negative that have taken place over time in the name of development. Literature is therefore a reflection of all communities. It explains what it is like to live in those communities. Literature, therefore, explains the values and ideals held by this community in its broadest sense.
References
Bambara, T. (2000) “The Lesson,” Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Di Yanni, R. (2007) Literature reading fiction, poetry and drama (Ashton Custom 6th edition). New York. Bantam Books.
Kafka. F. (1996) Metamorphosis. Chicago: Pocket Books.
Bambara, T. (2000) “The Lesson,” Literature: Reading and Writing the Human Experience. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Faulkner, W. (2005) A Rose for Emily. Web.