The Danger of Using Literature and Fiction as a Historical...

Literature and fiction can be dangerous to use alone as a historical source. However, in looking at it with an analytical and open mind and incorporating it with textbooks, readers can gain tremendous knowledge from literature. Looking at the portrayal of a topic by an author is important. All authors write with specific audiences in mind, and with an intention or point. Understanding the point that authors strive to convey can reveal a great deal about opinions and perspectives of the time period. Literature is absolutely essential to world history. The insights in fiction go far beyond that of textbook learning. Gender roles, the role of the court, and romances are effectively portrayed in fiction, and convey insights that are different from those in a textbook. The role of males in Aristocratic Japan and Italy was far superior to women. Both Heian Japan and Renaissance Italy accepted a sexual double standard. For example, extra marital affairs were normal for men. They were even openly discussed. In Italy, though men could only have one wife at a time, there were high death rates, so many people married more than once in their lives. Wealthy Japanese men most commonly had concubines. Although Christianity in Italy had prohibited concubines, wealthy men did have mistresses, who did not have any legal standing. Heian Japan believed that the first wife was most important, but polygamy was still popular and accepted. Unlike the exploitive lives of wealthy Japanese andShow MoreRelated King Arthur Essay1157 Words   |  5 Pagesidentify the historical Arthur have been unsuccessful, since he is largely a product of fiction. Most historians, though, agree that the real Arthur was probably a battle leader of the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons i n the sixthth century. In literature, King Arthurs character is unique and ever changing, taking on a different face in every work. There is never a clearly definitive picture that identifies Arthurs character. It is therefore necessary to look at a few different sources to get betterRead MoreFeatures of Metafiction and Well Known Writers of the Genre Essay3025 Words   |  13 Pagesworld? The ontology of â€Å"any fiction is justified/validated/vindicated in the context of various theories of representation in the field of literary art and practice. Among these theories the seminal and the most influential is the mimetic theory. The theory of mimesis (imitation) posits that there is a world out there, a world in which we all live and act, which we call â€Å"the real world†. What fiction does (for that matter any art) is to try and (re) present this world using narrative techniques (orRead MoreVictorian Novel9605 Words   |  39 Pagesshape and development. It was the novel that was the leading form of literature in the 19th century England. The term ‘novel’ itself was a simple narrative form, which in opposition to its forerunner, the ‘romance’ focused on the affairs of everyday life such as scientific discovery, religious debate, politics or colonial settlement. Though there are many arguments among critics which dates frame the period of Victorian literature, it is commonly accepted that it was the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901)Read MoreEssay about Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 4512103 Words   |  9 PagesBradbury conjures up in Fahrenheit 451 using science fictional elements to convey the importance of remembering, freedom of speech, and less reliance on machinery. Science fiction was the best medium to help Bradbury express his ideas because it provides the proper balance of fiction and non-fiction which other genres cannot. Although science fiction is classified strictly as fiction, it has elements of both non-fiction and fiction. The genre of fiction encompasses mystery, horror, actionRead MoreThe Sonnet Form: William Shakespeare6305 Words   |  26 Pages the speaker characterizes the disease; in the second, he describes the relationship of his love-disease to its â€Å"physician,† his reason; in the third, he describes the consequences of his abandonment of reason; and in the couplet, he explains the source of his mad, diseased love—his lover’s betrayal of his faith: My love is as a fever, longing still For that which longer nurseth the disease, Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill, The uncertain sickly appetite to please. My reason, theRead MoreANALIZ TEXT INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS28843 Words   |  116 PagesPlot When we refer to the plot of a work of fiction, then, we are referring to the deliberately arranged sequence of interrelated events that constitute the basic narrative structure of a novel or a short story. Events of any kind, of course, inevitably involve people, and for this reason it is virtually impossible to discuss plot in isolation from character. Character and plot are, in fact, intimately and reciprocally related, especially in modern fiction. A major function of plot can be said to beRead MoreThe Use of Literature in Teaching English as a Foreign Language6056 Words   |  25 PagesThe Use of Literature in Teaching English as a Foreign Language By: Amr Alhemiary Abstract This research aims at emphasizing the use of literature as a popular technique for teaching both basic language skills (i.e. reading, writing, speaking and listening)and language areas(i.e. vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation) in our times. Reasons for using literary text in a foreign language classroom, suitable situations for teaching literature and main criteria for selecting suitable literary textsRead MoreDeparture, Initiation, and Return Essay4222 Words   |  17 PagesBerlin without the message being intercepted before he is captured. Yu Tsun, although a flawed hero, is the storys hero nonetheless, and the story outlines his attempt to fulfill his mission. Borges short story follows a mythological structure using Joseph Campbells three main stages of the heros journey: departure, initiation, and return. Along the way, Yu Tsun, quite by accident, discovers a tale of multiple paths, labyrinths both physical and metaphorical. He learns of the concept of howRead MoreMedieval Poetry3509 Words   |  15 PagesMedieval literature is a very diverse subject. The term covers the literature of Europe during the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the beginnings of the Renaissance in the 15th century, spanning a period of roughly 1,000 years. As a result, it is difficult to make generalizations about medieval literature. It is, nonetheless, possible to identify a few general trends. Allegory and symbolism are common in medieval literature, perhaps more so than in modern writing. Religious and philosophicalRead More Relationships in a World without God Essay2213 Words   |  9 Pagesscientific method was that of phenomenological reduction. Although Sà ¸ren Kierkegaard accepted the paradox of being defining itself, as a scientist, Heidegger could not accept this paradox. According to Heidegger, a concept must be defined without using itself as reference. The difficulty of definition was confronted by defining Being as a collection of concepts. In his essay â€Å"The Fundamental Question of Metaphysics† the central question he asks is â€Å"Why is there anything at all, rather than nothing