A Few Final Comments: The Path Ahead

"Morals are open to being altered by literature; so that we find in practice that what is “objectionable” in literature is merely what the present generation is not used to. It is a commonplace that what shocks one generation is accepted quite calmly by the next."
~T.S. Eliot, "Religion and Literature"

“Literature celebrates the health of a culture; it reveals its depth and richness. …[and] when culture is not healthy, literature has a special utility in making a diagnosis of the situation, [although] a sound diagnosis of our condition, though it is necessary to the finding of a proper remedy, is not the same thing as the remedy.”
~Cleanth Brooks, "Community, Religion, and Literature"

Before you read this post, please read my post from May 1. That was supposed to be my final blog, but as you can tell, I'm definitely not done with the topic of literary criticism, and would very much like to find some answers to all the questions that have been raised for me throughout this semester (which really are more than you can begin to think of... call it crisis of reading, crisis of being a human, really, whatever you will...). When I was writing my critical essay, I read a lot of outside sources to adequately try to understand my topic (in a nutshell, "Do Christians have a responsibility to experience that which immediately seems to violate their standard moral values?"), and the topic was as much for my own necessity as it was for the class assignment. This question has been rolling around in my mind throughout this entire semester, and even though I argued for an experience of these things, I am still not done with the topic and want to pursue it further some day. But especially in light of what I wrote yesterday, I decided that I wanted to post a final blog dealing with these two quotes above, because I think they speak to my situation (and maybe some of your own) very well.

When I first read the quote by Eliot, I was taken aback. So simple in its profundity, I had never even realized that this was the truth. But look back at history (and since I am also a music major, I will start with that): Mozart and Beethoven were "crass" and a disgrace to the musical world. No one wanted to hear their music. Beethoven was even banned in many places, including the home, because his music supposedly "made women do things they shouldn't do" (I think your imagination can figure out the rest). But it didn't stop there. I remember my mother telling me stories about how her father told her to turn "that trash" of the Beatles off... seems ridiculous, doesn't it? The three people / groups I have just listed are now seen as the geniuses of the music world. And now, we spend our time trying to emulate them, keeping their music alive, etc. etc. And they were despised by the older generations when they first started out. It was the same with literature, although I do not know that as well as I do music (which I plan on changing quite soon). And it's the same with literature, music, theatre, movies, etc., now. The works of art that the older generation says is "bringing this country down" (yes, I have heard many people say that) are the very things that will be seen as masterpieces by subsequent generations. That's just the way history goes. But then you wonder, are our morals truly being altered by art? Are we necessarily losing our morality when we accept new forms of art? I would never in a million years call Beethoven's music an opposition to my Christian beliefs. In fact, his music not only is in line with anything I would believe as a Christian, but also lets see a glimpse of the glory of God (through his harmonies, his passions, etc... just listen. You'll understand). But what about music or literature today that uses foul language, sexual references (didn't Shakespeare do that too?), and anything else that seems to be offensive to our Christian morality? If we accept that, then are we losing our morality?

I am still thinking about this question, but I think Brooks' quotation above speaks to this topic, or at least a small portion of this topic, when he talks about literature (or any art for that matter) in making a diagnosis of an unhealthy situation. Yes, literature celebrates humanity in all its richness and beauty (we are, after all, the human creations of God Almighty), but it also can diagnose where it's going wrong... if we are astute enough to see that. And that means we have to be critical readers to see where the author is making a commentary on society, or if they are just perpetuating the wrongs. That, I think, involves a lot of prayer and humility on our part as we approach art (literature, music, visual art, etc.) today. Because many artists are actually writing commentaries on the wrongs in our society (and not viewed very highly because of it... the truth does hurt sometimes), even though they may be doing it in "covert ways" so as not to offend from the outset. We have to be discerning (again, with much prayer and humility) of what is a true diagnosis and what is only perpetuating the evil in society (we can't deny that there is evil...). But we can learn to read charitably, as Alan Jacobs promotes... as he says, you must seek to learn the whole truth, not just the good: "If you love a writer, if you depend upon the drip-feed of his intelligence, if you want to pursue him and find him- despite edicts to the contrary- then it's impossible to know too much. You seek the vices as well" (Julian Barnes, "Flaubert's Parrot" as quoted in Alan Jacobs).

In the end, as I have stated before, I am nowhere near finished in my study of literary criticism. Maybe no one else was as profoundly affected as I was... but then again, you take classes to figure out what you like sometimes. Although it was often providing many more questions than answers, Literary Criticism has made me a new reader, ready to see where art diagnoses humanity's faults or celebrates its richness. And it has set me up to be a reader who is informed by my Christian beliefs, even when I can't readily see where these studies will take me.

Again, thanks for listening. It's been a great three months, and really, the journey is just beginning....

A New Reader

"It turned out that you have to know how to read. It is not just a matter of letting your eyes run down the pages. Since Innokenty, from youth on, had been shielded from erroneous or outcast books, and had read only the clearly established classics [of the Marxist-Leninist canon], he had grown used to believing every word he read, giving himself up completely to the author's will. Now, reading writers whose opinions contradicted one another, he was unable for a while to rebel, but could only submit to one author, then to another, then to a third.
~"The First Circle," Solzhenitsyn (as quoted in Jacobs)

Perhaps it's not time for an ending post. Perhaps I still have a few (or many) thoughts dealing with literary criticism. But I read this quote from the Jacobs reading, and felt like it was more of an appropriate ending than anything I've read so far. So let me start with this: I am a new reader. I grew up "being shielded from erroneous or outcast books" (and music, and movies, and many, many other "questionable" things). My parents were just trying to do what was right - and the church backed up their efforts, as talk after talk and magazine after magazine told us that these books, etc., were "bad" and would harm my Christian walk, leading me down the paths of the evil world. I don't blame my parents. But I do oftentimes - especially after this class - wish it were otherwise.

I did grow up believing almost all of what I read in some way or another, because, supposedly, what I read was good and acceptable, so it must be true. Literary Criticism (and a few other English classes I am taking this final semester here), have introduced me to texts I never would have read otherwise, and even some texts that my parents and church would term "bad" (especially in one literature course I am taking right now). In reading all these different views, I have found myself asking what "truth" really is. This discussion has even continued into many different realms of my life, even into my new-found interest in politics. But I have had numerous conversations with people, and the main gist of those conversations is, "who do I believe" among all these conflicting views. And how in the world do I reconcile them with my Christianity without compromising. I have not talked about this in these blogs, first off, because that's personal, and this is a class blog, and second off, I didn't want anyone to misinterpret what I was trying to say. But some of the topics and texts we have covered this semester in all my classes (so this is cumulative now) have made me step back and reassess what I believe, why I believe it, and what I have been taught to believe my entire life. And I don't believe that's a bad thing. But this entire process is just that: a process, something that is really just beginning.

I just want to say that many of these posts had a lot of questions, many of them unanswered, because I don't have an answer. In effect, many of these posts were little essays... and please read them as such. This is my essai, as Bret Lott talks about in his memoir "Before We Get Started." These posts are trials or test runs. I'm still in the middle of figuring it all out, and I think it will take the rest of my lifetime to completely figure it out, especially because I am falling into the same trap of the quoted section above. Sad, yes. Beyond my control, not any more. As I read this, I realized what I had been trying to put words to all semester. I was not able to articulate arguments, even though I loved listening to them in class, but I didn't know what I truly believed about something because I never truly had to defend it before. Or to reassess if what I believed was really in line with the Jesus I serve. Or to get the chance to read things that my parents would say are "liberal," and see for myself what they were really all about. And they have said that to me before about books I have been reading in college. "Just be careful," my mother says. And I want to be careful. I want to weigh everything I read, in effect, being a literary critic throughout everything I do / read / watch, etc. But I also want to be able to "claim the right to evaluate and respond" to what I read (Jacobs 107).

So please excuse my questions and my ethical debates (even though those went on much more behind the scenes than you probably would like to believe). Please excuse my inarticulations and my gropings in the dark. But really, this is where I want to be. If I don't take the risk, how will I ever find out anything?

So thank you, to those who listened, and to those who helped put things in perspective (especially through class discussion, but also through your own blogs and some of your comments here too). Perhaps you will see me on here again (and perhaps soon). But at any rate, thank you for sharing in my questions, and for letting me ask those questions in the first place.