Topic > The Influence and Relevance of Literature

In today's society, there are many people who believe that literature is simply not important or underestimate its ability to stand the test of time and provide us with great knowledge. The world, including me personally, has come to the point of thinking that writing is insignificant; however, after reading Northrop Frye's essay, A Motive For Metaphor, my opinion has developed and broadened. Frye asks many rhetorical questions similar to “What is the 'relevance of literature'” (Frye 27), throughout his essay to formulate a mutual association with the reader. This association that exists between the author and the reader is a connection of the imagination. The author's goal of expressing his vision, as Frye states, is "the desire to associate", "the power to create", and "the power to understand and communicate" which together constitute the essential elements of literature. The general connection that most authors intend to make is the realization of the “desire to associate” and make connections with the reader's literacy work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As individuals, we seek this connection with literature, and the ability to connect and relate to something becomes the ultimate goal of language. As Frye mentioned, “See this world as objective, as something that is opposed to you and not to yourself or that is related to you in any way. And you notice two things about this objective world” (Frye 16). The shipwreck example given by Frye is a representation of how we humans need something to relate to and something to hold on to in order to survive. We need to keep our brain healthy by imagining and relating to something. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, a group of young Britons living on an abandoned island try to attach themselves to the outside, real world. They realize the need to build shelters to remind them of the world they lived in and had previously become familiar with. They feel the need to maintain their daily routines, such as raising their hand when answering a question or expressing their opinion. Ralph, addressing the other kids with the decision on how everyone's voices will be understood, states, "We can't have everyone talking at the same time. We'll have to have 'Hands up' like in school” (Golding 44). Their desire to connect to the external world is visible where there is a desire for connection, which soon turns into the need to belong, "It may have a form and a meaning, but it does not appear to be a human form or a human meaning" (Frye). 16).We always look for a deeper meaning behind everything, so that it makes sense for us to relate to it. Literature satisfies this need through the breadth of the imagination literature is a world in which no reality exists except that of the human imagination" (Frye 57). This is similar to our world, where we make reality what our mind makes us believe is reality. As Frye quoted, " It is not an environment but a home; it is not the world you see but the world you build from what you see" (Frye 19). We want to see something beyond our hopes and the existing real world, so we tend to imagine a completely new world around us. In The Lord of the Flies, the group of British youth fears an imaginary beast that roams the island, terrorizing the island , states: 'Perhaps there is none.