Literature is basically everything that has ever been written. Anything from the earliest poems of Homer to today’s web pages can be considered literature. But for a specific sense, there are several types of literature. Literature can be written in a specific language, such as English literature, or written by a specific culture, such as African literature. But literature really means more than printed words, and the Internet is certainly a part of literature. I should point out that the word literature comes from the French phrase belles-lettres, which means “beautiful writing.” When a work is called literature, it is generally considered a great work of art. Literature on the Internet does not necessarily have to be this way because no one controls literature on the Internet. In the following essay I am going to talk about the impact of the internet on current literature.
There are two main classes of literature that are also present on the Internet: fiction and non-fiction. Fiction is writing that an author creates from imagination. Authors may include personal experiences or facts about real people or events, but combine these facts with imaginary situations (Moran, 45). In non-Internet literature, the project suffers from at least some censorship as to what words can be used, but the Internet allows authors to put whatever they want on the website and enjoy it. Most fiction is narrative writing, such as novels and short stories. Fiction also includes drama and poetry. Nonfiction is factual writing about real life situations. Major forms of nonfiction include the essay, biography, autobiography, and journal (Browner, 90). The Internet presents new forms: Internet pages or Internet books.
People read literature for a variety of reasons. The most common reason for reading is pleasure. People read to pass the time, or to gain information and knowledge. Through literature, people meet characters with whom they can identify and sometimes find solutions to their own problems. With literature, a person can often understand situations that they might not otherwise understand in real life (Koehler, 28). Often just the arrangement of the words can be nice, just like a child likes the sound of “Ring Around the Rosie” even though they may not understand what the words mean. There are four elements of literature: characters, plot, theme, and style. A good author has the ability to balance these elements, creating a unified work of art. Characters are the central interest in many dramas and novels, as well as biographies and autobiographies. A writer must know each character thoroughly and have a clear idea about the appearance, speech and thoughts of each one. Internet literature is not difficult to create due to the fact that, unlike “traditional” literature, Internet literature requires minimal start-up costs (Moran, 47). And because reading generally implies convenience, one would not be surprised at some point to see convenient electronic devices that could be carried anywhere and would download books from the Internet and present them in digital format.
Motivation is the reason for the characters’ actions. A good writer will make sure that a character’s motives are clear and logical. Internet writers don’t have to be like this, they are not controlled and they risk almost nothing by publishing on the net. The setting is where a character’s story unfolds. The plot is built around a series of events that take place within a defined period. It’s what happens to the characters. There are no rules for the order in which events are presented. A unified plot has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In literary terms, a unified plot includes an exposition, a rising action, a climax, and a denouement or outcome. The exposition gives the background and situation of the story (Browner, 93). The rising action is based on exposure. Build suspense, or the reader’s desire to know what happens next. The climax is the highest point of interest, also a turning point of a story. The outcome is the conclusion. The theme is the basic idea expressed by a literary work. It develops from the interaction of character and plot. A theme can contain morals, to warn the reader to lead a better life or a different kind of life. Internet literature doesn’t have to be like this because no one controls it. Writing takes minimal risk in terms of investment, but the possibility of finding readers from all over the world, who can pay for the e-book and download it to their own computers, is very high (Moran, 49).
A serious writer strives to make his work an honest expression of true feeling or emotion. They avoid sentimentality, which means placing too much emphasis on emotion or pretending to feel an emotion. An honest emotion writer doesn’t have to tell the reader what to think about a story. A good story will lead the reader to the author’s conclusion. Style is the way a writer uses words to create literature. It’s hard to enjoy the characters or plot of a story without enjoying the author’s style (Browner, 98). An author’s style is as important as what he is trying to say. Point of view, or the way a story is presented, is another part of style. A writer can tell a story in the first person, using the pronoun I, as if the narrator were a main or secondary character. Or, the writer can use the third person method, in which the narrator steps away from the characters and describes the action using pronouns like he and she. There are two types of third-person views: limited and omniscient. In third-person limited point of view, the narrator describes the events seen by a single character. In the third-person omniscient, or all-knowing, point of view, the narrator reports what various characters are thinking and feeling. Reading is an intentionally personal art. There are no final rules for judging a piece of writing. Often people’s judgment of a work can change as taste and fashion change. Yet the classics continue to challenge readers’ imaginations and provide timeless advice. Chances are Shakespeare will be as popular a hundred years from now as he is today. That is the power of literature. Literature is timeless (Moran, 53).
It should be noted that literature can have many different values in a person and it is the internet that allows literary values to be delivered to the audience without any kind of barrier. It all depends on the story and the value or moral theme that the author wants to get out of it for you, the reader. The value that literature had for me was really difficult to put into words. But to understand the value of literature you must know the definition of value and literature. Value has many meanings but there are two that are related (Browner, 102). Value in utility or importance to the possessor and a principle, standard or quality that is considered valuable or desirable. Literature is a body of writing in prose or verse. Literature produces value because it is basically an analysis of an experience or situation (Koehler, 30). I got a different value from each story. With The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain showed me that one does not have to be civilized or conform to society’s ideas to become cultured or mature. With Huck Finn he fled from everything that was considered civilized (Moran, 58). He had nothing and he really wanted nothing. But at the same time he experienced and matured living dangerously. This made me value Huck’s adventure and take it as my own. Huck demonstrates his maturity when he comments on how the king and duke trick the villagers into thinking they are the dead man’s brothers, and Huck says, “I never saw anything so disgusting” (Twain 163). a horrible act for the villagers, he still feels sorry for them when they get tarred. Huck comments, “Human beings can be terribly cruel to each other.” (Twain 225) William Faulkner’s Barn Burning tells of a man named Abner Snopes who burned down barns when he was upset or angry. This was his way of getting back at them. “Barn Burning” has two very obvious matches (Browner, 105). Abner oppresses his family as the upper class has oppressed him. For me, “Barn Burning” is based on misdirected anger. Which is basically happening these days. For example, a teenager and his parents argue, he leaves, and now his anger is directed at anything that gets in his way. “Barn Burning” has value in that it shows in life that people actually deflect anger from him. As in the school shootings and bomb threats that have occurred in recent years (Koehler, 33). Just as Abner Snopes felt like an outsider to the upper class, so did the students who committed these violent acts. In “The Swimmer,” he made me value life and what it brings. Because if you are not careful or attentive, it will happen to you without warning (Browner, 109). As with ‘Daily Use’, one of the daughters did not value who she was or who she was because she went out looking for her story. That she already had within reach.
Conclution:
To conclude, I would like to point out that reading all the literature that colleges and universities assign to their students implies very high costs for society in terms of paper consumption and loss of time (that implies going to the library, or to the bookstore, etc.) . The Internet and the ability to download online books to a portable device would lower costs, save trees, and make people more efficient. I realize that there are many things that we as people in this society take for granted. Literature has made me value many experiences and situations so far and I enjoy holding the paper book at night preparing for the next day, but I do not protest against the use of digital technology to create digital books that would contribute not only to efficiency but also to the reduction of costs for society as a whole.