Nonfiction as literature is an extract from William Zinssers

book On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Non-Fiction.

In this non-literary text, the writer rejects the conventional
belief in the exceptionality of fiction, offering instead another
understanding concerning the craft of writing. He states that
not only nonfiction is part of literature, but it is also as much
important as fiction. To back up his claims, Zinsser argues that
both of them have the same value and that literatures
discourse is not better than nonfictions. Then, he elevates
nonfiction to a higher status, deeming it closer to peoples
hearts. Although I am in favor of the writers view concerning
nonfiction as part of literature, I do not share most of his
arguments.
Zinsser puts nonfiction on an equal footing with fiction when it
comes to value and importance. Since nonfiction includes a
wide range of disciplines such as science, economics,
anthropology and so on, it is, then, deemed a crucial source of
knowledge. Readers would acquire loads of information if they
read scientific articles or academic pieces of writing on a
regular basis. This is true, yet the value of fiction is still greater.
Indeed, much can be gained from fiction as many books raise
philosophical questions or tackle social issues. Lord of the Flies,
for instance, offers a thorough analysis of humans nature,
allowing readers to delve into mans psyche, precisely his dark
side. The novel is about a group of children trapped on an island
who gradually unleash their inner evil and sink into savagery.
Based on WWI, Golding concludes that civilization is just a mask
that humans would drop at any moment for the sake of their
own self-interests and man is a sinful creature who spreads
destruction wherever he goes. Therefore, the value of fiction
outweighs that of nonfiction.
Apart from having the same value, Zinsser also claims that
nonfiction and fiction are equal in terms of discourse and
language. He justifies himself by making direct reference to the
following magazines The New Yorker and Life. In fact, according
to the writer, the golden era of nonfiction starts with the
emergence of the above-mentioned magazines for they include

finely-crafted articles, earning nonfiction the title of the new

American literature. However, no matter how well written
articles are, they can never match literary books. Novelists and
poets are gifted people who use their pieces of writing as a
proof of their writing skills. Accordingly, they devote passages
or chapters describing an object or a person in details using
complex literary devices. They tend to use sophisticated and
refined words to the point that, sometimes, readers would fail to
decipher the writers message. Hence, it is more logical to
conclude that fictions discourse is higher than nonfictions.
According to Zinsser, nonfiction is more down to earth than
fiction making it closer to peoples hearts. Indeed, reality and
nonfiction go hand in hand because the latter reflects life and
tackles recent events. It deals with all aspects of life in an
efficient way paving the way for curious readers eagerly
willing to read as much as possible. This is partially true for
nonfiction does mirror reality making people up to date with
current issues. For example, The Guardian provides articles
dealing with todays latest events such as the US election,
Brexit or Syrian refugees. Nevertheless, this feature is not
exclusive to nonfiction for it is shared by fiction too. As a matter
of fact, it is a reflection of the society as well as an imitation of
human actions. The Great Gatsby portrays the American society
shedding light on the values of that age which are luxury,
money, and wealth. As far as I am concerned, reading literary
books is a unique and incomparable experience. It is a journey
towards self-discovery for reading is an opportunity to discover
myself and figure out how I am. It also shapes my view about
the world, humans and values making me more mature.
In a nutshell, literature is undeniably made up of both nonfiction
and fiction. As the writer says, the real distinction lies between
good writing and bad writing for any well-crafted piece of
writing ,regardless of its genre, is worth reading.