Measuring the value of literature

Real Life Situation

• sold over 125 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 52 languages
• Overwhelmingly negative reviews

Questions

• Why is it popular?
• What is a "bad book"?
• Should we define literature to be "good" or "bad"?
• Is language a criterion?

Knowledge Question: Should we measure the values of literature?

Definitions and Assumptions

• Literature: works of creative imagination
• Value: worthy to be read
• Assuming that creating rankings for literature is a norm

A good work must evoke emotional response (?)

Does everyone experience the same emotions when reading the same text?

Claim #1

• six common innate emotions: happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise and disgust
• developed by Paul Ekman

Claim #2

• Prior learning and experience influence our interpretation of literature
• Expression of emotions is culturally specific
• "Selling Manhattan" by Carol Ann Duffy

Small Conclusion

• Emotions are totally personal and subjective
• An invalid criterion

A good work must exhibit a high quality of language (?)

How important is the language in literature?

Claim #1

• language should not hinder the delivery of message
• "Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway

Claim #2

• "Art for art's sake"
• "Finnegans Wake" by James Joyce

Excerpt

• “Sir Tristram, violer d’amores, fr’over the short sea, had passencore rearrived from North Armorica on this side the scraggy isthmus of Europe Minor to wielderfight his penisolate war”

Claim #3

• The preference for language differs from time to time

Small Conclusion

• Language is not the primary factor of consideration when evaluating the literature
• Idea over the means of expression

A good work must have a timeless importance (?)

What are classics?

Claim #1

• Universal message
• A purpose of being studied

Claim #2

• Classics are not universal
• What are the purposes of learning literature or reading?

Claim #3

• A trend in people's preference for literature
• Not universal

Conclusion

Untitled Slide

Modern Arts

Bibliography

• http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/news/a42274/meanest-reviews-of-gr...
• http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/02/hard-feelings-sciences-st...

Bibliography (cont')

• http://jezebel.com/5991715/literature-trends-show-that-no-one-wants-to-feel...
• https://odinslounge.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/youre-so-ugly-you-could-be-a-m...
• http://www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/the-25-most-challenging-books-you-wil...