Truth in Fictional Literature
One of the themes in Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote is the opposition of truth and imaginary in literature. Various characters within the novel, including the priest, state that literature’s purpose should be to only illuminate the truth and even suggest censorship on books that could rot one’s mind, like Don Quixote’s mind. However, one of the aspects of fictional literature that the priest and others do not understand is that fictional literature does contain truth that is to say to expose aspects of human nature and to provoke catharsis—to cleanse the mind’s palate. This is evident throughout various works throughout history.
Exposing and exploring various aspects of the human condition is a large part of what Joseph Campbell calls the hero journey, in which protagonists, through adventure and trials, learn about the world’s true nature and learn about their own limitations and strengths. The hero journey is a reflection of the trials one would face in their own lives, and any fictional story, which Campbell …show more content…
Gilgamesh’s adventures, we can assume, are fictional; he does not, in reality, kill a giant in the forest, and he does not literally visit an innkeeper at the end of the world. What he does do, however, is highlight the moral lessons of mortality, hubris, and brotherly love. Gilgamesh comes to terms with his own mortality, and in doing so, realizes that the civilization that he built will become his immortality by standing the tests of time. However, he cannot do this before he overcomes his own hubris. Gilgamesh realizes that he is not invincible when angry gods killed his brother, whom he loved. The lessons of Gilgamesh carry on in our own stories today, portraying important human lessons and mirrors the trials that we face today—our own mortality, for example. In addition, through the exploration of those themes, one can experience
One of the themes in Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote is the opposition of truth and imaginary in literature. Various characters within the novel, including the priest, state that literature’s purpose should be to only illuminate the truth and even suggest censorship on books that could rot one’s mind, like Don Quixote’s mind. However, one of the aspects of fictional literature that the priest and others do not understand is that fictional literature does contain truth that is to say to expose aspects of human nature and to provoke catharsis—to cleanse the mind’s palate. This is evident throughout various works throughout history.
Exposing and exploring various aspects of the human condition is a large part of what Joseph Campbell calls the hero journey, in which protagonists, through adventure and trials, learn about the world’s true nature and learn about their own limitations and strengths. The hero journey is a reflection of the trials one would face in their own lives, and any fictional story, which Campbell …show more content…
Gilgamesh’s adventures, we can assume, are fictional; he does not, in reality, kill a giant in the forest, and he does not literally visit an innkeeper at the end of the world. What he does do, however, is highlight the moral lessons of mortality, hubris, and brotherly love. Gilgamesh comes to terms with his own mortality, and in doing so, realizes that the civilization that he built will become his immortality by standing the tests of time. However, he cannot do this before he overcomes his own hubris. Gilgamesh realizes that he is not invincible when angry gods killed his brother, whom he loved. The lessons of Gilgamesh carry on in our own stories today, portraying important human lessons and mirrors the trials that we face today—our own mortality, for example. In addition, through the exploration of those themes, one can experience