Why Study World Literature?

1. Literature reflects human ideas, beliefs, and societies.

This is so fundamentally obvious that we tend to overlook it.   Why do we take the time to read literature? Because humanity is valuable. The Christian understanding of human life is one that stresses its inherent value and worth. Roger Lundin writes:

the doctrines of  Creation and  Incarnation affirm that human life is inherently meaningful. God has placed us in a world filled with order and hints of wonder, and through his acts of revelation and redemption, he has entered into our history. As a result, although some things are obviously of greater importance than others, everything in our own experience has significance, and our attempt to discern that significance--as well as we can--is part of our calling as God's servants. (5)

Christ's incarnation teaches us that God hallows the material and cultural world. Because God created the world and loved it enough to enter it, Christians too should love it and seek to understand it.

2. When we read literature, we discover common human ways of understanding life.

Human beings have free will, an openness to the future, with significant real moral choices to make. According to Christianity, they have a specific  telos, purpose, and end--"to glorify God and enjoy him forever," as the Westminister Confession says. The human self cannot be conceived without an awareness of dependence upon and ultimate union with God. We are beings in the process of change and formation. Humans are relational beings created for mutuality and joint service (Gen 1:28, Gen 2). One can see this pattern of relationality beginning in the very nature of God, ala' the Trinity. It can also be seen in the biblical practice of covenant, as well as in the community of Israel and the Church. We are individuals but never conceived of as existing alone or for ourselves alone. To read is to enter into the process of formation through the community. We find similar messages, insights, and lessons. We read about closely related experiences.  We also find similar mistakes.

3. When we read literature, we also discover significant differences. This allows us to explore another’s message or life, even those separated from us by time and social barriers.

To read literature is also a lesson in worldview.  Thus, we often learn how different others are in circumstances and approaches to life, as well as encounter the diverse differences in what humans believe.

4. Literature is full of human responses and reactions – in poems, essays, diaries, narratives, and in the characters of narratives. As we respond to and analyze these, we can gain a greater knowledge of the human psyche.

5. At the same time, we gain a greater knowledge of ourselves and our own responses because we can compare our lives to those in literature.

As we compare and contrast, not only various authors' views but also our own views and those of others, we deepen our sense of human reactions and our own self-responses. We have the possibility of becoming deeper, more self-aware people. We are also fallen beings with a capacity for self-interest and self-deception. We cannot ignore the impact of sin on our total person, both within ourselves and within the larger social system where we reside. Therefore, we need a balance between self-awareness and honest, self-discovery.

6. When we do this, we have the opportunity for discovering pride in our community and culture, for gaining respect for others, and for learning humility as we interact across cultures.

Yet being deeper and more self-aware requires certain virtues, in particular, a sense of respect and humility. Good dialogue requires faith, hope, and love: faith that communication can actually take place between people; hope that something may come of our efforts; and love for our fellow human beings in all their diversity, complexity, and variety.

7. We don’t always agree with what we read, or we agree in part. We read literature to test the truth of a message against our worldview.

For instance, what exactly would a Christian perspective on the growth, building, and decay of cities look like?  What unique insights might Christianity have to offer in this area? There seems to be in scripture a progression from the Garden of Eden to the great New Jerusalem of Revelation, but does this suggest that Christians should automatically approve of how human cities have evolved in the twentieth century?

8. We can cultivate wisdom, learn of good and evil,  and experience the call to justice. Literature cannot in itself make us a better person, but it can assist us in that quest.

Wisdom can be defined as a skill in living.  By examining literary texts, their stories, and their messages, we can increase our understanding of how to live life.  We learn how to discern what is healthy and destructive in the world, and we are challenged with injustice and its consequences.  Literature may even challenge us to ask what we will do to help end the problems it pictures.

9. Literature offers us the beauty of words and stories, and as such, reflects the glory of God present in language, narratives, and the stuff of creation.

As a Christian, I believe that not only is God the final source of all truth and all goodness but that God is also the final source of all  beauty. Part of being fully human under God is rejoicing in the wonder and joy that songs and stories and language can bring to our lives.

10. Literature can entertain us.

Leland Ryken writes:

What constitutes a  worthwhile use of leisure time? There is no one right answer. . [But] literature has much to commend it as a leisure activity. In a day of mindless leisure pursuits, literature stands out by engaging our mind . . . . It enriches our life by making us aware of the world of human experience and human fears and longings . . . We can upgrade the quality of our leisure time by learning to value what is excellent rather than mediocre. (69-70)

Our use of our leisure is an extension of God's sabbath principle.  God rested on the seventh day, not because he needed to, but in order to teach us the value of existence.  God has created us to enjoy things.  Times of rest and pleasure is not laziness but times of celebration.

11. Literature can offer us cultural literacy. Literary figures, plots, motifs, movements, and genres are a vital part of our cultural heritages.

One frequent question that students often ask: "Well, why are  these works considered so important?" Louise Cowan has suggested the following seven reasons why a text is considered a  classic:

• The classics not only exhibit distinguished style, fine artistry, and keen intellect but create whole universes of imagination and thought.
• They portray life as complex and many-sided, depicting both negative and positive aspects of human character in the process of discovering and testing enduring virtues.
• They have a transforming effect on the reader's self-understanding.
• They invite and survive frequent rereadings.
• They adapt themselves to various times and places and provide a sense of the shared life of humanity.
• They are considered classics by a sufficiently large number of people, establishing themselves with common readers as well as qualified authorities.
• And, finally, their appeal endures over wide reaches of time. (21-22)