Importance of Literature in a Society

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Importance of Literature in a Society Literature is important because it stimulates one’s imagination, although the values of literature in a society are argued by many people. Interestingly, the author with the most effective writing techniques can argue their points most convincingly. In The Republic, written by the philosopher Plato in 373 B.C., The Educated Imagination, by Northrop Frye, a university professor and literary critic, and If You Want to Write, by Brenda Ueland, a journalist and teacher or writing, many different techniques were used in expressing their thoughts on the importance of literature. Some are more convincing than others. In Plato’s passage about literature, he talks about the ideal society. He speaks about God, a carpenter, and a painter, all making metaphorical beds in society. God has the idea of the bed, the carpenter makes the bed, and the painter makes an imitation of the bed. God, in Plato’s eyes, is the greatest of the three. God’s bed is considered the most useful, and without the idea of the bed, it could not be created by the carpenter. In addition, Plato says the painter has the worst bed and that the “imitative art is inferior” (Plato 17). The painter’s bed is a mockery of a real bed, and is exaggerated. Furthermore, Plato said the “imitator knows nothing of true existence; he knows appearances only”, which further shows how he does not like what the painter does (Plato 14). Moreover, Plato compares the painter to writers and poets, who are all “creator[s] of appearances” (Plato 8). For example, Plato talks about how putting a mirror up to something will duplicate it however, the mirror image is useless, just like a painting. Additionally, Plato used many techniques in his text. For the most part, he used the Socratic Method. That is where he tried to pull the reader in by asking questions in order to convey a point.
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