Good Literature example essay topic

379 words
"Good literature substitutes for an experience which we have not ourselves lived through" is a quote stated by Alexander Solzhenitsyn. This quote is properly interpreted as that literature is used as a leeway for people to feel and go through experiences to which they are restricted to in their lives. This is an agreeable quote because there are so many things in life that are within limit, and good literature helps pacify those yearnings for going somewhere and experiencing things beyond unyielding bounds. Two good works of literature that relates to this quote precisely are Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare and A Doll's House by Hendrik Ibsen. Being one of the most notorious masterpieces of Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet is a piece of literature which provides the reader great emotions and drama. Through the setting of this play, one can experience life in Italy during the fifteen hundreds.

Also, through the characterization of Romeo and Juliet, the reader could get the feel of the complicated lived led by two love-stuck teenagers who's amour was threatened by the honor and pride of their feuding families. The ability to live so vicariously through these characters and to experience their thoughts and dreams is quite enthralling. A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen is also an excellent example of a good piece of literature that dispenses the reader a different view of society and ways of life. The setting of this play was established in the 1800's in Norway, and that provides a certain comprehension about why the men flayed their power and women were submissive caretakers and mothers in this story. The reader cannot help but feel sympathy for the protagonist Nora, who, through characterization, is portrayed as a woman who had lived her whole life being controlled by first her father and then her husband.

One would only feel her pain as she faces the final decision of either leaving her husband or swallowing her pride. Through the above works, proof is visible that good literature provides an experience for those who have no access to such endeavors. It is that good literature that helps us overstep our bounds and take our imagination to new and broadened heights.