Multicultural Literature Analysis

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Multicultural Literature Analysis Multicultural Literature Analysis Literature in itself is a widely diverse art form. While not physical, or truly visual in form of art, literature is art as an expression of oneself and a visual, by means of imagination, way into another life, time, person, etc. Multicultural literature expands the boundaries of diversity. Multicultural literature allows people from all cultures to get a glimpse into the lives, customs, thoughts and feelings of those from a culture potentially unknown to them. Reading multicultural literature is not merely for pleasure, it is also for knowledge and understanding. The knowledge and understanding gained by reading multicultural literature, if read open mindedly, has the potential to close the cultural gaps many people face and bring the world closer together. Determining what multicultural literature will be most beneficial to read to gain knowledge and understanding can be difficult and tedious. Most important is for the literature to be factual in regards to the culture. Reading about the author should tell the authors culture and from where and what time period he or she is from. These simple facts give the reader more insight into the piece of literature. Those facts can determine the nature of the piece as the author would be more inclined to write about his or her own culture, time period, and origin. Different historical periods will give pieces of multicultural literature different meanings. Examples of this are with “Under the Banyan Tree” by R. K. Narayan and “Jewish Christmas” by Faye Moskowitz. While the time peiods are not significantly different with these pieces, they are far enough apart to see a difference. In “under the Banyan Tree” the story is written from an older time where villagers meet together to hear stories. The author writes of the storyteller and
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