Study American Literature?
reflects human ideas, beliefs, and societies.
This is so fundamentally obvious that we tend to overlook it.
Literature is diverse in its portraits of life and its claims about the world. Why
take the time to read it then? 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
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.
|3. When we read
literature, we also discover significant differences. This allows us to explore
anothers message or life, even those separated from us by time and social barriers.
|4. Literature is full of human
reactions 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 most inevitably compare our lives to those in
As we compare and contrast the views of authors not only
with each other 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.
|6. When we do
this, we have the opportunity for discovering pride in our community and culture, for
gaining respect for anothers, and for learning humility as we interact across
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 dont always agree with
what we read, or we agree in part. We read literature to test the truth of a message
against our worldview.
|8. We can
cultivate wisdom; learn of good and evil; and experience the call to justice. Literature
can not in itself make us a better person, but it can assist us in that quest.
Wisdom can be defined as skill in living. By
examining literary texts, their stories and their messages, we can increase in 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
|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.
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 are
not laziness but times of celebration.
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 for 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
- 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)
literature in particular is associated with Christian faith and Christendom's influence on
It is impossible to
read the works of Jonathan Edwards, Emily Dickinson, or Kathleen Norris without being
aware of Christian ideas, principles, and questions.
literature is haunted by questions of faith and doubt. These continue to form the
subtext of the literary experience.
Even when their
Christianity is not explicit, it is deeply enriching to read the works of John Updike,
Denise Levertov, and Louis Erdrich with their faith in view.
can open us to our own latent interests and talents; we may even discover part of our
vocation from God.
Frederick Buechner has noted that
"the place God calls you to is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger
meet." For some of us, the study of literature plays a part in this calling.
Literature can challenge us to grow as individuals and as communities, and for that, it is
worth spending time with.
Cowan, Louise and Os Guinness. Invitation to the Classics. Grand Rapids:
Gallagher, Susan V. and Roger Lundin. Literature Through the Eyes of Faith. NY:
Ryken, Leland. Windows to the World. Dallas: Probe, 1990.