Writing and language are the things that separate human beings from all other intelligent species; writing is part of what defines us as humans. Because writing is such a fundamental human need, most social, political, or religious groups have their own texts that separate them from everyone else. Literature can create groups, and a book or essay is often the rallying point of an organization. For example, Karl Marx's The Communist Manifesto not only outlined the principles of communism, but it gave communists something to adhere to, and something to define themselves with. It undoubtedly also attracted more people to the idea of communism, which essentially means that the Manifesto created more communists. This also applies to national identity. The Constitution is what made America what it is today, and thus it also plays a part in who we are as Americans. To go back to the prompt, the Constitution not only reflects what's important to Americans, but it created the values that Americans hold dear. To an extent, it created the American identity.
Literature can also create an identity for someone who identifies with a certain way of thinking. During the Enlightenment, writers like Voltaire were the people who spurred the new philosophical movement. His Candide, highlighting the absurdity of the conventional religious and optimistic ways of thinking, no doubt was an important factor in more clearly defining the Enlightenment. Thus it was also important because it spread a new ideology to people, and thus a new way of thinking and a new identity.
Interesting take! I like that you took on the idea of having an ideological identity produced by political and philosophical texts.
ReplyDeleteI think my main question is this: how do we distinguish a writer that reflects his identity or the ideas of his time from one that produces something entirely new? So far we've all focused on changes in the individual reader's identity, but without more historical context I don't know that we can make that distinction.
Very interesting choices of literature ... I never would have thought of referring to those works. But I'm not sure if I would agree that they all "created" new categories. In my opinion, the Constitution, for example, more clearly outlined what Americans should/did value, but did not create the values themselves. I would not say that it created anything, but instead solidified values.
ReplyDelete