“It takes a great deal of history to produce a little literature”
In saying this, Henry James highlights a fundamental truth of art. It is informed by life. Every moment within our universe can only exist as a result of the innumerable ones that have preceded it. This is seen most explicitly in literature that directly comments on our society. Writers like George Orwell, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Arthur Miller would be incapable of producing the masterpieces they did without taking the time to observe and reflect on their surroundings.
Miller’s Death of a Salesman is the story of a man who is stifled by his obsession with the idea of the American Dream. He so strongly believes that, one day, his and his children’s efforts and likable character will yield unimaginable riches that it leads to the destruction of both his family and himself.
Miller would be unable to write this narrative in a way that rings true and was so critically acclaimed that it earned him a Tony Award for Best Play as well as a Pulitzer Prize for Drama if he did not have an understanding of American culture in his time surrounding these things. When writing about reality, history cannot be disregarded in that process. If Arthur Miller was to set out to write similar material but set in and informed by modern American society, the result would be vastly different. An integral factor of all literature is an intimate involvement with the history of, the current state of, and the projected future of our world.
One thought on “Week 1 Oluwafemi Olosunde”
Femi, your second sentence says it all. Art is informed by life, and life is full of complicated pasts and, as you write, “projected futures.” I’m also struck by your observation that “when writing about reality, history cannot be disregarded.” Every moment of life becomes a part of history, and every character comes with a history that is part of the fabric of a story.You also refer to actual cultural history, which is the context of stories. To fully grasp “The Story of an Hour,” for example, readers should know something about the 19th Century and the societal norms for men and women. You expressed all of this so well.