LITERATURE: YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMMOROW

Ariola S., Damarillo J., Eporac K., Fonbuena F., at Manale J.

BSA 2-1
AH2 Philippine Popular Culture
Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Valenzuela

Introduction
Many had defined the meaning of literature; some are based on objective findings, but most
are based on subjective perspectives. Literature is very vague and too broad for it to be defined
precisely and be taken into context. Literature is a story of life and depicts the evolution of the
world. And while, it is physically written in text, it comes alive through the imaginative works of
mind. Literature empowers people to perceive through the lenses of others, therefore, it becomes
a looking glass into the world as others view it. It is a journey that is inscribed in pages, and
powered by the imagination of the reader.

Literature in so may ways had become the mirror of the past, present and future of the
world. It embodies the life of people around and has served as great escape to ignore the world
when it comes too much. Literature can be comparatively compared to a mirror of life. It is where
you can see and understand man’s experiences, his innermost feelings and thoughts he reflected.
It makes a man become a new person by teaching him life, culture, and experiences of people in
different parts of the world then making him wiser, more experienced person by forcing him to
judge, sympathize or criticize the text he is reading about. Hence, one can say that literature exists
because it preserves ideals, civilizations, and human actions.

Many people had though that literature is all about reading and writing texts out text but in
reality, literature is not just about using brain and intellect to comprehend, literature is more than
literature itself. Literature is something only a heart can understand. One simply does not study
literature he changes in one way or another. Literature broadens the horizon and spectrum of a
person─ and literature will continue to be this way today, tomorrow and forever.

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 Literature and Society

There is no denying that literature and society is deeply intertwined with one another.
Literature in reality mirrors the society, its great qualities and its ills. It mirrors the ills of the
society with the end goal of committing the general public understand its errors and offer some
kind of reparation. It likewise extends the excellencies or great qualities in the society for
individuals to imitate (Duhan, 2015). Literature is intimately related to society. The relationship
between the two is complex and is not easily understood by the general public. It is hard to
determine which element of society has exerted but influence on literature.

The relationship of literature and society mirrors the influence, and social control are
implied. Literature is analyzed as reflecting norms and values as showing the ethos of culture, the
conflicts of class struggle, and certain type of facts that surrounds the society (Albrecht, 1954).
Thus, because of our society and the cultures of people around it, literature exist. Literature is the
melting pot and the meeting point of all culture. It is where people unite without physically
communicating.

Literature is significant and essential in everyday living people of every individual as it

links individuals with larger truths and ideas in a society by creating means for people to record
and preserve their reflections, thought and experiences in a way that is accessible to others, through
fictionalized accounts of the experience. Studying human behavior through books is not enough
and will never be enough. In order for the study to be reliable, an individual should experience
first-hand the emotion, behavior and condition to be able to gain wisdom and make a judgement
that is close to truth and reality. Literature leads to a better and bountiful life. No other form of
learning brings the enrichment that reading brings. Literature paved the way and helped the society
to put an end to the darkness of savagery. In the absence of the great Ramayana, Mahabharata and
the Vedas India would not have been called the Golden Bird (Sone ki chidiya). Similarly, what
makes Greece the mother of European civilization is its great literature.

Leo Tolstoy once said the with the absence of literature men would be like wild
beasts because it gives an understanding, an empathy in the reader, even for someone who is much
separated to him by time and distance. Literature unites mankind and make the world a better
place.

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 REFERENCES

Albrecht, M. (1954). The Relationship of Literature and Society. American Journal of

Sociology, 59(5), 425-436. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/2772244

Duhan, R. (2015). The Relationship between Literature and Society. The Relationship
between Literature and Society, 15(4), 192–202.