Outline
The ecology of literature is very similar to humanities in that a person’s worldview directly affects everything they do. Many people disagree and believe that each worldview should be personal and not influence decisions made in a public setting. To understand literature, a reader must first try to understand the writer’s worldview because getting to know the author will help them interpret the main idea of the writing. A person’s life experience shapes their worldview and getting to know the writer and the world around them can assist in understanding and interpreting literature. Thus, humanities, the disciplines that study societies and cultures, in combination with literature, serve as conduits for the author’s values and beliefs, which helps to better understand the writer’s work and its supposed effect.
Introduction
Literature is an integral part of social life and human existence. However, it is not just an amalgam of history, cultures, creativity, and possibly, psychology. This field allows people to reach the writer’s thoughts through their words and ponder the deep meanings and lessons the author wants the reader to comprehend (Steinberg). Moreover, it can shed light on the author’s way of thinking and his perception of life and the world. Writers’ works, as a result, affect people’s perception of the world as they start to apply specific literary images to their everyday lives. Thus, literature must be discussed from a sociological point of view.
The premise of human nature is likely to be affected by society and various trends since people, being social creatures, tend to mimic the behavioral patterns of the majority. Sociological studies, therefore, claim that people are inevitably affected by what they hear and see because imitating this information is a part of the “social glue” or processing of social information. It is, therefore, logical that writers hold power to influence people and their perceptions with the help of the images they create in their writings. From a biblical sense, it can be seen how much influence the Bible has on cultures, nations, and communities (Green). Such a connection between the author and readers resembles the relationship with the Bible (Dockery). The combination of words, phrases, ideas, and images helps shape the message, which can resonate with billions of people.
Consequently, the power of words and the story behind the work is among the most crucial tools. It is entirely rational to synthesize and analyze the given information in the piece of writing through the prism of the writer’s life and experience. This is necessary to dwell on such information in order to define how specific images now viewed and applied by people were created.
Biographical Criticism
There are many ways to analyze a work of literature, but all of them are based on the principle that the piece of writing is interpreted through either the lens of the reader or the writer. In the first case, an individual analyzes and assesses the given information according to their own set of beliefs, opinions, or experiences. There might be many variants of interpretation of a specific phrase or piece written by the author, depending on the worldview of a reader. However, in the second case, the main idea or message only makes sense if examined together with the author’s biography.
Biographical criticism implies that the writing cannot be analyzed separately from the authors’ biography or worldview because the events taking place in their lives help decode the meaning behind the work. Therefore, taking a look into the author’s worldview allows readers to perform a critical analysis of the writing. Among the examples can be the book The prince warriors written by Priscilla Shirer. Priscilla Shirer is an American author and Christian evangelist. Thus, it is essential to use this fact while analyzing this author’s works.
The given work depicts the lives of Xavier and Evan, who, along with their friends, encounter a mysterious world, Photos. During their stay in the land, the young men battle evil and save other warriors with the help of a guide (Detwiler). While reading this book, a reader can identify specific allegories. For example, the guide that navigates the boys in their struggles and unfamiliar setting can be seen as a spiritual force or God’s help. The path of the young men can be interpreted as a battle of people on their way to the spiritual realm.
Another example is the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, written by Lewis. In this piece of work, the author focuses on the adventure of siblings who discover the wardrobe with a path to a different world (Lewis). The path of the children is filled with struggles and encounters with the evil, the witch. However, with the help of the lion, the children remain protected. This book is an excellent depiction of God’s love and protection for evil forces.
Opposite Views
However, it must be noted that looking into the author’s past may limit the person’s freedom to interpret the meaning of the writing. While reading a book, a person is on their own way of analyzing the work independently. They can decipher specific moments and try to comprehend the information without the already-known facts. In this situation, readers are free to create their understanding as long as they are not familiar with the background. As soon as some points are unraveled, the reader loses their ability to create their perception because they cannot separate already existing meaning from their own opinion.
On the other hand, by ignoring the author’s worldview or identity, readers lose the ability to gain insights into the images and symbols used in the text. While being able to create their own interpretation of the author’s idea, the readers will not have a clear-cut idea of the actual message. In this situation, the reader will not see the complete picture and possible hints or allegories of the writer. The result of this can be a wrong interpretation of the writing or a distorted version.
Conclusion
Hence, literature is a way for writers to reach the minds and thoughts of readers. With the help of their writing, authors can share their values and ideals with people. However, deciphering the messages of the writers can be a challenging task since many writers use allusions or allegories as conduits of their ideas. As a result, it is necessary to pay attention to the writer’s background and set of beliefs. In this situation, the analysis of the author’s identity and worldview is not only the means of enriching the understanding of the text but also the tool that helps understand what effect this text should have had on the reader. Without the necessary information, the reader might not fully understand the message or create a distorted version of it.
Works Cited
Detwiler, Gina, and Shirer, Priscilla. The Prince Warriors. United States, B&H Publishing Group, 2016.
Dockery, David S. Faith and Learning: A Handbook for Christian Higher Education. Kindle ed., B & H Academic, 2012.
Green, Bradley G. The Gospel and the Mind: Recovering and Shaping the Intellectual Life, by Bradley G. Green, Kindle ed., Crossway, 2010, pp. 58–58.
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. United States, Dreamscape Media, 2018.
Steinberg, Theodore L. “Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity.” Chapter 1: Introduction | Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity, Open SUNY Textbooks. 2014. Web.