Can a sick society produce healthy literature? -- That is the question. If you have responses or further questions and would like to share with us, please post them in comments. Here's one that I find really thought-provoking:
"In my perception, it depends upon the modernity, which is
various from different ages and societies. I have no exact definition
about what is 'sick' or 'healthy', but if we set up a premise here
that the function of literature is to reflect the modernity of its society
the problems of the "sick" society will be presented vividly through
literature. The premise here regards literature as a doctor to society,
and the poets or authors take up some social responsibilities for the people,
not just create their masterpieces because of "art for art's sake".
In my opinion, 'healthy' doesn't stand for 'morality' or 'doctrine' but 'something to benefit society'... "
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2 comments:
Can a sick society produce healthy literature
I think a sick society can produce healthy literature just like a patient can still create positively works. The world of literature is a place where people can put all their imagination into, no matter where they are, and what condition they are facing. Compared with ordinary society, a sick society teaches its citizens to grasp the light in the future and to always think positively so that they can go through all the difficulties and misfortunes. Of course, we can not expect all the people in the sick society to produce healthy work but as long as someone is with hope, then there would certainly have promising productions.
Hi Maria-- Great post. And a big hand for being the first to comment on this blog.
Your response-- "a sick society can produce healthy literature just like a patient can still create positive works"-- reminds me of what Freud says about love & egoism. If you substitute "love" for "write," and "egoism" for "literary sterility" or "sense of futility," maybe he's saying that one can write after the Auschwitz after all: "A strong egoism is a protection against falling ill, but in the last resort we must begin to love in order not to fall ill, and we are bound to fall ill if, in consequence of frustration, we are unable to love."
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