Rule #13: Everything’s Political
October 20, 2016 How To Read Lit 1 comment cclark17
Nearly Everything is Political:
Writers often write about things that are troubling or occurring in society such as:
- Corruptness
- Ends of great times
- War
- Economic turmoil
- Civil Rights
Examples:
D.H. Lawrence (Women in Love) Edgar Allan Poe (The Masque of the Red Death 0 (The Fall of the House Usher) Washington Irving (Rip Van Winkle) Diedrich Knickerbocker (The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) Sophocles (Oedipus at Colonus) Virginia Woolf (Mrs. Dalloway)
Example of “Everything’s Political”:
Braveheart: Scotsman William Wallace fights in a rebellion to make his people and land from English oppression. He arranges secret meetings with the King of England’s Son’ French Wife to gather information of battle plans and makes deals.
Star Wars: Rebels fight against a tyrannical empire. The Son of the greatest Sith lord fights on the good side whilst his father fights for evil.
Kingdom of Heaven: Christian crusaders fight to defend their holy city of Jerusalem. The main character is the son of a great crusader who is conscripted to fight in the 3rd Crusade. His efforts to rally the people and defenders of Jerusalem allowed for great battle scenes and a military defeat.
We were soldiers: US airborne troops fight against Viet Kong to cease the expansion of Communism in Southern Asia. These Americans enter a hostile country and fight the “evil bad guys” in the jungles of Vietnam. It goes so far as to discuss the family problems of soldiers (both American and Vietnamese,) Racial segregation and how family members cope with loss.
Master and Commander: Brilliantly shows how the struggle aboard a British Frigate and a French Corsair compares to the British and French warring during the Napoleonic War. The impact of the battling changes how the war could’ve been different on the seas. If the French had successfully arrived at their destination (south-east Asia) then they would have severely impacted the British Far East Trading Company.
Schindler’s List: Heart breaking true story of saving lives contrary to Nazi rule. His views on politics were null on the outbreak of war but shifts once he realized how he was impacting thousands of people’s lives.
Photo credit: DavidWees via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA
1 Comment
I really liked your rule and I thought it boiled down nicely. I was wondering why you gave so many examples. They all do work and fit the rule. I would choose the movie Gladiator (2000) I believe it fits the whole detonation. It takes place after the death of a great emperor, Marcus. Then he is enslaved, harsh economic times. Then the revolts against the corrupt morally emperor who is jealous of him. Then he declares a civil war against the emperor and sadly dies in the end. However good did triumph killing the emperor. Also he was fighting for his freedom, civil rights.