Eid 1 Jenny Eid English 12 5 September 2013 Finding God, Tradition, and Self in Literature Many people around

the world do not have an idea how literature originated or what it stands for. However, literature is defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary in many different ways such as; literary culture, the production of literary work especially as an occupation, and writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest. Ever since the world was created stories were told. Through the generations past people began to document stories on paper and since then the start of literature began. Three main things people always look for in literature are God, Tradition, and Self in literature. First and most importantly is the concept of finding God in literature, which in my opinion is up to the reader, if secular or Christian readers are reading the same exact story they might interpret the story in many different ways due to their outlook. For instance if the story was about nature a secular reader may not pick up on the beauty of the land that the Lord has created. Just like the word of God states in 1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babies desire the sincere milk of the word that ye may grow thereby. The Lord has called us to be educated in his word as well as everything. Literature is such so broad, that no matter how close-minded one is, they are forced to at least acknowledge Gods presence in it. Next, finding tradition in literature, in my opinion finding tradition in literature is the easiest because tradition has shaped literature. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines literary tradition as A collection of works that have an underlying interconnectedness and coherence that makes them more than simply a group of works sharing geography. Tradition helps serve as

Eid 2 the building blocks for contemporary literature, as well as it provides a window for all cultures to merge into one subject. Many are avid believers in the fact that tradition established literature due to the stories that helped form it such as fables and folk tales. Finally, studies have shown that different types of people find who they are in different things such as reading, listening to music, being outdoors or writing. As readers we are accustom to fall in love with the characters were reading about or love to hate them. In many books that Ive read although they were fiction some stories were based or real life situations that could happen to anyone. If someone was going through a hard time in their life and was also reading about a character that was facing issues of their own, granted maybe the issues may be completely different but as humans weve gotten used to letting something like a book or movie cheer us up even though we know that is only temporary. Finding ourselves in literature might help us get out of a hard time we are going through and numb the pain for a while but nothing can truly heal us like the grace of the Lord. Thats why in my opinion literature is a great hobby to get our minds off a tough time, but in the end the only thing well need to find ourselves in is our God and savior. With so many different things to find in literature, finding God, Self, and Tradition were the most relevant. With these three different aspects to look for in literature my personal favorite was finding tradition in literature because tradition was the foundation upon what literature was built on. Also finding God in literature is essential because as a Christian one should be able to recognize the work of the lord and be able to gain something from the miraculous things the Lord has done. Thus the main and most important is finding God, because without him we are nothing and can never be anything.

Eid 3 Works Cited

"What is literature." Academics' web pages. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. <http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome/siryan/academy/foundation/what_is_li terature.htm>. Ron. "The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. Essays & Summaries." The Literature Network: Online classic literature, poems, and quotes. Essays & Summaries. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. <http://www.online-literature.com/>. NIV Bible. Large Print ed. London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd:,2007. Print. "Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online." Dictionary and Thesaurus Merriam-Webster Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/>.