The Canadian literary theorist, Northrop Frye, in his small but important book, The Educated Imagination writes: "...Literature keeps presenting the most vicious things to us as entertainment, but what it appeals to is not any pleasure in these things, but the exhilaration of standing apart from them and being able to see them for what they are because they aren't really happening. The more exposed we are to this, the less likely we are to find an unthinking pleasure in cruel or evil things".
I would add that when we read cross culturally we become exposed to the thoughts and experiences of people that we might normally never come in contact with in our daily lives beyond a superficial contact. Reading allows us to form opinions, pose questions, and see another point of view that adds to, or changes our previous perceptions.
When I reached graduate school I was quite surprised by how many fellow students had not read cross culturally beyond what might be touted on a bestseller list of books to read. I had, in the course of my academic life, taken numerous classes that where designed to get students to read 'the classics'. Classes that taught African American literature where thought of as being special interest and therefore perhaps only relevant to those that might be African American. Classics are considered as suitable for everyone and African American literature was for African Americans. The very nature of the word 'Classic,' in this context, suggests that if something is not in this category then it is not classic and perhaps even more so, not relevant.
I am interested in the behaviour of racism. How does racist behaviour manifest itself? What does it look like? What is its behaviour from one person to another? I believe fully in the words of Frye. Literature can teach us about the most vile of things in such a way that we have no actual need to participate in the cruel manner which may be depicted.
But what happens if literature, that is deemed not a part of the classics, goes unread? How do we learn what another person feels or thinks, what their experiences are, if we don't expose ourselves to the words and experiences of the subaltern?
When I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for the first time I did so as a student. I was the sole person of colour in the class. When the time came to discuss what we had read, I became convinced that I had read a different book than my fellow classmates. My classmates had read the book and deemed it a book about Huckleberry Finn. I read the book and thought it a story about Nigger Jim having to depend upon his survival from a child. It was also in this story that I watched a young boy, Huckleberry Finn grapple with his notions about slavery and come to change his viewpoint about Black people (during the time of slavery) and slavery itself. Huck had spent enough time exposed to Jim in the course of their adventures to come to the conclusion that he was no different from anyone else. Literature has the capacity to teach us how to be more humane. It has the power to reveal truths to readers in remote places, isolated circumstances and change the minds of those that hold ideas based upon preconceived thought patterns.
Over time I hope to write various essays that look at literature and to reveal what imaginary characters upon a page can teach us in our very real, everyday lives.
To end this short essay, I would like to suggest other classics that are important literary texts towards the understanding of the 'other'.
Suggested Readings:
Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison (An allegory on the experience of the African American Male)
Nobody Knows My Name - James Baldwin (Essays on the subject of being black in America)
A Small Place - Jamaica Kincaid (A must read for those that travel to host countries populated by Black peoples) (A must read of anyone interested in who those people are that seem to exploit you when you travel).
I would add that when we read cross culturally we become exposed to the thoughts and experiences of people that we might normally never come in contact with in our daily lives beyond a superficial contact. Reading allows us to form opinions, pose questions, and see another point of view that adds to, or changes our previous perceptions.
When I reached graduate school I was quite surprised by how many fellow students had not read cross culturally beyond what might be touted on a bestseller list of books to read. I had, in the course of my academic life, taken numerous classes that where designed to get students to read 'the classics'. Classes that taught African American literature where thought of as being special interest and therefore perhaps only relevant to those that might be African American. Classics are considered as suitable for everyone and African American literature was for African Americans. The very nature of the word 'Classic,' in this context, suggests that if something is not in this category then it is not classic and perhaps even more so, not relevant.
I am interested in the behaviour of racism. How does racist behaviour manifest itself? What does it look like? What is its behaviour from one person to another? I believe fully in the words of Frye. Literature can teach us about the most vile of things in such a way that we have no actual need to participate in the cruel manner which may be depicted.
But what happens if literature, that is deemed not a part of the classics, goes unread? How do we learn what another person feels or thinks, what their experiences are, if we don't expose ourselves to the words and experiences of the subaltern?
When I read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for the first time I did so as a student. I was the sole person of colour in the class. When the time came to discuss what we had read, I became convinced that I had read a different book than my fellow classmates. My classmates had read the book and deemed it a book about Huckleberry Finn. I read the book and thought it a story about Nigger Jim having to depend upon his survival from a child. It was also in this story that I watched a young boy, Huckleberry Finn grapple with his notions about slavery and come to change his viewpoint about Black people (during the time of slavery) and slavery itself. Huck had spent enough time exposed to Jim in the course of their adventures to come to the conclusion that he was no different from anyone else. Literature has the capacity to teach us how to be more humane. It has the power to reveal truths to readers in remote places, isolated circumstances and change the minds of those that hold ideas based upon preconceived thought patterns.
Over time I hope to write various essays that look at literature and to reveal what imaginary characters upon a page can teach us in our very real, everyday lives.
To end this short essay, I would like to suggest other classics that are important literary texts towards the understanding of the 'other'.
Suggested Readings:
Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison (An allegory on the experience of the African American Male)
Nobody Knows My Name - James Baldwin (Essays on the subject of being black in America)
A Small Place - Jamaica Kincaid (A must read for those that travel to host countries populated by Black peoples) (A must read of anyone interested in who those people are that seem to exploit you when you travel).
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