ba english and literature

ba english and literature

The Importance of Studying English and Literature

1. The Role of English and Literature in Education

The humanities are those common arts of free men which derive from the union of knowledge, literature, and the art of communicating ideas verbally or in writing. They are called liberal because in their use, men receive an advancement of their knowledge which conduces to intellectual virtue. This knowledge is not useful, as are the professions; this alone of the activities of men is desired for its own sake. If there is any truth in the Surdsanapada’s conviction that in education lies the salvation of the nations, the premises set down in this statement should disturb us in their neglect. Countries which neglect the humanities through enshrinement of literature and ignore the practical potency in the university function should long ago have slipped under totalitarianism with the inevitable clublike insistence on technical and professional formation on a grand scale, in the mold of Marxist or fascist concepts.

The importance of literature in one’s plans for a well-rounded education in the humanities cannot be overstated. This is particularly true in higher education, where attention must be focused on the general education of the student. For more than three hundred years, the disciplines occupied with the literary arts, language studies, speech, and composition have held a place in university curriculum under the general title of the “Liberal” or “Free” arts. No student could hope to enter fully into this free society of scholars until he had demonstrated his own qualifications through intensive study of written and spoken symbols of the shared tradition of learning. Such study was justified by its very nature since it was required for the effective pursuit of the remaining classical studies.

2. Enhancing Communication Skills through English and Literature

Of society’s problems now, the first problem people will consider is the problem of school English and achievement tests. Most middle and high school students are also under huge pressure, so they have lost their real interest in studying English and take English as a tool to pass the examination. It’s not like the normal vehicles that are capable of transportation of messages. Chinese students are also relatively bad at speaking, grammar, and vocabulary. Actually, enjoying and focusing on communicating the brighter prospects and reducing the examination’s suspense might ease the teaching and learning of middle school English. In Mainland China, most universities look forward to students with good spoken English, strong abilities in listening, comprehensive English, and harmonious personalities.

English education, just as the education of other languages throughout the world, will develop essential communication abilities and gradually become a subject that is taught not only in Mainland China but also at an international level. The main goal of communication refers to the communication that the nation should emphasize among people. At present, Chinese people are being encouraged to exercise English more than ever, and they must know the significance of studying English. English is being entrenched in learning, home use, business, documents, official business, and all are reliant on it. Today, English is a subject for which each school requests an entrance test, and it is important for communicating party relations and the survival means for students. And it has become a tool for Chinese people with a broad trajectory, as well as for societal upward movement.

3. Exploring the Richness of Literary Works

Literature is the presentation of human experiences. It allows us to ponder the reactions of men in the face of their most diverse conflicts. Even before the establishment of writing, literature was already in the collective imagery of individuals. When we know the story of any great civilization, such as the Egyptians, we may learn from their pictorial representations on pyramids or in caves. Others know the story of the Greeks through the lyrical, tragic, and full of their divided hostilities. It could also be judicious to criticize the conflicts, values, and interests of each society through the literary set. The history of literature is a kind of interesting and meaningful story of all times and societies. It is through it that we get into contact with the various events, particularly those of the chronological order that determines what the cyst and the cultural changes.

Nowadays, we hear so much about the lack of reading habits among people. The problem is truly very serious. In order to promote sufficient reading, teachers need to intensify their efforts to motivate students to read. Students should realize that reading opens doors to an immense literary world. A suitable suggestion would be to introduce students to good literature by allowing them to read some of the many skillfully abridged or simplified classics that are available as a first step. These are prepared through careful editing, leaving the core of the story intact, with the language adjusted to the students’ level, while still retaining enough literary richness to stimulate one’s taste for reading. The student, who, due to the storyline and these abridged versions, becomes attracted to the literary work, will definitely want to read the whole version as it is.

4. Developing Critical Thinking and Analytical Skills

Then the question appears to be, when the essence is there, does speculative arts, like literature, actually have the power to lead society to virtue? There is no doubt that speculative arts contribute to society and the personal development of its members. In society, knowledge is often used for profit, not virtue. Strings, which form the theoretical framework, disappear when Jerome predicates theories not to be rescued from social behaviour, reminding that it is important for people involved in speculative arts to mix their thoughts with virtuous people.

In the story of good novels, characters face problems and show different kinds of solutions or suggestions, lose themselves, then recover, and finally proceed toward a direction. Such experience helps us in real life in our consideration of the direction in which the current well-equipped society is moving. It means that awareness, a person’s potential or problem in society can emerge while reading fictional works. If this speculation spreads, they will create a group. In this way, communication can also be developed in people who share a common language.

Suppose a literary work, like a mirror, reflects the realities of life or an imaginary world. In the work, people’s struggles, thoughts, joys, and sorrows are sketched in detail, from the ordinary to the uncommon, from the simple to the complicated. By reading the work, we understand the sympathies of the author, who has an understanding of different characters, and we ourselves understand their personalities.

Why are we often asked to read literature in the English language? What are small things like stories, poems, novels, and dramas, for bigger things like people and society, and what will happen if we read more books? Reading and learning English and literature increase our knowledge, broaden our horizons, and improve our imaginative abilities. But why? To answer this question, let’s try to look at the connection between literature and life as broadly as possible.

5. Making Connections between Literature and Society

Literature as a genre opens a wide field through which historical realities are perceived. It is through literature that peoples manifest their creative abilities, as such texts contain national myths, legends, customs, traditions, etc., embedded in the soul and culture of the people. In world literature, the Navajo’s literary orientation is also notable. The Navajo nation (Diné), the largest North American indigenous nation, has strengthened its presence in the United States. The paper is also a poignant testament to humanities’ global reach and the value of humanistic perspectives about the human journey. In our study, we focused on the Navajo (Diné) writer, Scott Momaday, and his immensely important novel House Made of Dawn. The importance of this study is also testified through the lenses of Navajo literary dynamics, such as centering and bringing forward the culture of Navajo people and the Diné nation.

Studying literature combines the abilities of logical and critical analysis, providing a broad methodology for researching information. Also, literature provides an understanding of social, political, cultural, and identity processes that have left a deep imprint throughout history. Besides that, there is a vast world of characters and situations in literature from which we can learn without feeling the pain through which the character passes. In literature, the most difficult and important thoughts are prompted, and in the novels, we are fighting for a different world directed towards hope. In this paper, I would like to refer to one of world literature’s classics and analyze its contributions as a phenomenon that has recreated the consciousness and perception of man, his role in society, and the world that surrounds him.