Even when studying stories that seem to be about good and evil, there are nuances. For example, in Shakespeare's Hamlet, although Hamlet's mother commits a terrible action -- marrying the murderer of her husband -- she seems to do so only half-knowingly. Surely Gertrude has a right to find her own sense of happiness after her husband dies, even though Hamlet only sees her as a mother. Also, Hamlet is far from perfect and treats Ophelia very cruelly.
Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart also contains complex heroes and villains. The central protagonist is a brutal man named Okonkwo who ruthlessly estranges his own son because he seems 'weak.' But this tribal leader is also sympathetic because it is clear his way of life is being destroyed by British colonizers. Not all of the British are portrayed as bad -- some of them seem to mean well and genuinely believe that their faith and civilization are better than that of the native population. But the toxic mix of misunderstanding and miscommunication results in the death of the Igbo's influence and reign in Nigeria.
Approaching Nigerian history from a fictional perspective makes the reader care more about what might otherwise seem like an unfamiliar and closed chapter in the history of the world, the history of colonization. Yet it is essential to learn about this history to understand the anger and resentment that continues to characterize relations between Africa and the developed world today. The reader, through reading...
Even Plato's philosophical dialogues use creative, fictional techniques to encourage the reader to empathize with as well as support the intellectual perspective of
Socrates.
Concepts
Faith for me is no longer simply about belief: even though I may have faith, I also understand that my faith is part of a culture, and is in dialogue with other cultures and perspectives. I do not wish to be like the characters of Things Fall Apart, who can only see the world from their linear, enclosed, and singular perspectives. I can understand the ancient Israelite
culture that produced the Bible, while still apply the truths of the Bible to my own life on a more personal level.
Being able to contradictory concepts within one's mind at the same time is the essence of being a thoughtful person. Being a good thinker is part of one's
duty as a citizen, just as much as honoring one's responsibilities as a child or a
parent. Because of the timelessness of the stories I have read, I am all the more determined to make my life meaningful to others. I am more able to look beyond the constraining and limiting stereotypes pertaining to different social groups, classes, and gender and appreciate the similarities and differences between human beings in life, as a result of my encounters with fictional persons in
literature. That is the paradox of reading fiction: when an author tells a kind of a
lie, the reader leans many great truths.
