16.2 Analyzing Cultural Influences in Literature

Literature reflects and shapes cultural influences, offering a window into societal values, norms, and identities. By examining cultural elements in texts, we gain insight into how authors portray and critique their societies, exploring themes of belonging, diversity, and social change.

Analyzing cultural influences in literature reveals the complex interplay between individual experiences and broader cultural contexts. Through symbolism, language, and narrative structure, authors illuminate the ways cultural identity shapes characters' perspectives and challenges readers to examine their own cultural assumptions.

Cultural Elements in Literature

Cultural Touchstones and References

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• Authors frequently make explicit and implicit references to cultural touchstones such as historical events (American Revolution), religious beliefs (Christianity), social structures (caste system), cultural values (individualism), folklore (Paul Bunyan), and traditions (Dia de los Muertos)
• Identifying and understanding these references provides important context for interpreting the literary work
• Allusions to culturally significant people (Shakespeare), places (Great Wall of China), art (Mona Lisa), music (jazz), and literature (Greek mythology) are commonly used literary devices that assume a shared cultural knowledge
• Researching and analyzing allusions enhances understanding of the cultural context and meaning

Language and Symbolism

• Literature often incorporates culturally-specific language, dialects (Cockney English), idioms ("raining cats and dogs"), and slang ("bling") that reflect the cultural background and identity of the characters or author
• Examining language use can provide insight into the cultural influences and perspective of the work
• Symbolism in literature frequently draws upon cultural associations, using objects (bald eagle for America), colors (white for purity), animals (lion for courage), or other symbols that have acquired culturally-specific connotative meanings to convey deeper thematic significance

Setting and Cultural Significance

• The setting of a literary work, including the time period (Victorian era), location (American South), and social environment (urban ghetto), is often imbued with cultural significance that influences characters and shapes the narrative
• Examining the cultural aspects of setting provides a framework for analysis
• Cultural elements are the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group (Maori of New Zealand) and these elements are often reflected or referenced in literature produced by members of that culture

Cultural Values in Literature

Reflecting and Challenging Cultural Values

• Cultural values are the core principles and ideals upon which a community or society is based, such as individualism (American Dream), collectivism (Confucianism), equality (civil rights movement), or filial piety (Confucianism)
• Authors often explore, affirm, or challenge cultural values through their works
• Literature provides a mirror of the belief systems and worldviews of a culture, including religious beliefs (Buddhism), superstitions (black cats are bad luck), philosophies (existentialism), and ideas about the nature of reality
• Analyzing how beliefs are reflected in a text offers insight into the cultural perspective

Social Dynamics and Cultural Practices

• Social hierarchies (Indian caste system), power structures (monarchy), gender roles (women as homemakers), and family dynamics (extended families living together) portrayed in literature reflect cultural attitudes and practices
• Examining these social elements and characters' relationships to them reveals underlying cultural assumptions and biases
• Customs, rituals (Japanese tea ceremony), rites of passage (bar mitzvah), and traditions (Thanksgiving) depicted in literary works provide a window into the cultural practices of a society
• Interpreting the significance of these practices and how characters engage with or deviate from them illuminates cultural tensions and themes
• Behavioral norms, manners, etiquette (bowing in Japan), and social conventions represented in a literary work reflect the unwritten rules and expectations of a culture
• Analyzing characters' adherence to or departure from these norms provides insight into cultural pressures and individual identity

Narrative Structure and Cultural Aesthetics

• The narrative structure, style, and genre of a literary work can also reflect cultural values and aesthetics
• For example, a culture that prizes individualism may favor the bildungsroman (coming-of-age novel), while one that emphasizes social harmony may utilize a more cyclical or episodic narrative form
• The haiku poetic form reflects Japanese cultural aesthetics of simplicity, nature, and ephemerality
• Magical realism, associated with Latin American literature, incorporates fantastical elements into otherwise realistic narratives, reflecting cultural beliefs in the supernatural coexisting with the mundane

Literature and Cultural Norms

Influencing Social Change

• Literature has the power to influence public opinion, spark social movements, and shape cultural attitudes over time
• Assessing the impact and reception of a literary work within its original cultural context and beyond reveals its role in effecting social change
• Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin" fueled anti-slavery sentiment in the lead-up to the American Civil War
• Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" exposed the unsanitary conditions of the meatpacking industry, leading to reforms in food safety regulations

Subversion and Satire

• Subversive or countercultural literature deliberately challenges dominant cultural norms, assumptions, and power structures
• Analyzing how a work critiques or subverts prevailing cultural ideologies illuminates its social commentary and transformative aims
• George Orwell's "1984" critiques totalitarianism and the dangers of government overreach
• Satirical literature employs irony, exaggeration, and ridicule to criticize cultural norms, practices, and institutions
• Examining the targets and techniques of satire exposes cultural absurdities and advocates for change
• Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal" satirizes English attitudes toward the Irish by proposing that the Irish sell their children as food to the wealthy

Speculative Fiction and Cultural Criticism

• Utopian and dystopian literature extrapolates cultural tendencies to imagine potential future societies, often as a means of social criticism
• Assessing the cultural elements amplified or eliminated in these speculative works highlights the author's perspective on contemporary culture
• Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" envisions a dystopian future society based on consumerism, technology, and social conditioning
• Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" imagines a dystopian society where women are stripped of rights and reduced to reproductive vessels, commenting on patriarchal oppression and religious fundamentalism

Representation and Stereotypes

• Literature can perpetuate cultural stereotypes and biases through its representation of marginalized groups, or conversely challenge and humanize those stereotypes through complex characterization
• Analyzing patterns of representation evaluates literature's role in shaping cultural perceptions
• Early African American literature, such as the works of Phillis Wheatley and Frederick Douglass, challenged dehumanizing stereotypes and asserted the intellectual and creative capabilities of African Americans
• Censorship efforts often target literature that threatens to undermine cultural norms and power hierarchies
• Examining the motivations behind and consequences of censorship reveals tensions between competing cultural values such as individual expression and communal stability
• The banning of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" in some schools and libraries reflects discomfort with its frank portrayal of race, gender, and sexuality

Culture, Identity, and Representation in Literature

Cultural Identity and Individual Experience

• Cultural identity is the sense of belonging to a particular group based on nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct culture
• Literary works often explore the complex ways in which cultural identity shapes individual identity and experience
• Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" depicts the cultural identities and generational tensions of Chinese American women
• James Baldwin's "Go Tell It on the Mountain" explores the intersection of African American cultural identity, religion, and sexuality

Multicultural and Postcolonial Literature

• Multicultural literature, or works by and about people from diverse cultural backgrounds, provides insight into a plurality of cultural identities and experiences
• Analyzing how multicultural texts represent cultural identity illuminates issues of cultural diversity, assimilation, and hybridity
• Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Namesake" explores the cultural identity formation of an Indian American protagonist caught between two cultures
• Postcolonial literature grapples with the legacy of colonialism and its impact on cultural identity, often exploring themes of cultural dislocation, diaspora, and the struggle to forge an independent identity
• Examining how postcolonial texts represent cultural identity exposes the lingering effects of cultural imperialism and resistance
• Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" depicts the erosion of traditional Igbo cultural identity under British colonial rule in Nigeria

Immigrant, Diaspora, and Indigenous Literature

• Immigrant and diaspora literature depicts the experiences of characters navigating between two or more cultural identities or homelands
• Analyzing the cultural conflicts and negotiations faced by immigrant characters illuminates the complexity of cultural identity in an increasingly globalized world
• Junot Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" portrays the cultural identity challenges of a Dominican American protagonist straddling two cultures
• Indigenous literature represents the voices, experiences, and cultural identities of indigenous peoples, often challenging dominant narratives and asserting cultural sovereignty
• Exploring how indigenous texts represent cultural identity reveals the ongoing impact of colonization and the resilience of indigenous cultures
• Leslie Marmon Silko's "Ceremony" affirms Laguna Pueblo cultural identity and spirituality in the face of cultural dislocation and trauma

Intersectionality and Identity

• Intersectionality acknowledges that individual identities are shaped by multiple, overlapping cultural factors such as race, class, gender, and sexuality
• Examining the intersectional representation of characters' identities illuminates the complex ways in which various cultural identities interact and influence lived experiences
• Applying an intersectional lens to a text involves considering how different aspects of a character's cultural identity combine to create unique forms of privilege or oppression, and how these intersecting identities influence the character's perspective, relationships, and choices within the narrative
• Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" explores the intersections of race, gender, and class in shaping the experiences and identities of African American girls in the 1940s
• Audre Lorde's biomythography "Zami: A New Spelling of My Name" reflects on the author's intersecting identities as a Black, lesbian, feminist poet