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Western Literature

In: English and Literature

Submitted By aimee26
Words 2722
Pages 11
INTRODUCTION
Most of the influential masterpieces in the literary world are undeniably, from Western Literature. Those that shaped most of the modern day thinking are found in books that belong to the Western Literary Canon.
Any literary work can be considered as Western Literature as long as it is written in the context of Western Culture, in the languages of Europe and some other Indo-European languages.
Tales of frontier heroes Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett set the stage for the Western hero and the Lewis and Clark Expedition written in the early nineteenth century gave readers some of their first visions of the landscape and native peoples of the West. Later explorers added to the colorful picture of the West.
However, as the realities of the West changed, so did the focus of writers who used the West as subject and symbol. Land became less available and the uses of land came into question. The environmental movement led to a reevaluation of humanity’s relationship to nature. As the region was settled a mix of cultures came into play. Writers now have come to emphasize the complexity of Western life, rather than its simplicity. Contemporary Westerns sound with more diverse voices than ever before.
In George Orwell’s novel, 1984, he writes about his dark vision of the future. It may not just be of the future of the West, but the way of thinking and system portrayed are particularly Western in nature. A lot of terms coined in this novel are also use widely already in the modern day English language.
It is a chilling depiction of how the power of the state could come to dominate the lives of individuals through cultural conditioning. Perhaps the most powerful science fiction novel of the twentieth century, this apocalyptic satire shows with grim conviction how Winston Smith's individual personality is wiped out and how he is recreated in the Party's image

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