“How important has the theme of optimism been in the development of Western literature since 1493?”
1. Optimism in Western Literature
Optimism. Its definition from Mirriam Webster is, “An inclination to put the most favorable construction upon actions and events or to anticipate the best possible outcome.” The other definition is, “A doctrine that this world is the best possible world.” With these definitions in mind, optimism is looking for the best and most appealing outcome in a situation or world. I believe that many people can see optimism as naïve, simple and stupid. I don’t think this is true. I think it can get this reputation because it is often portrayed this way in the media. While optimism can have these qualities, I think of optimism as something strong. A force that will not give up, even when faced with doubt and unreason. Or as something that is undoubtedly persisting and confident in itself. Optimism can be tiring. It is hard to consistently be optimistic. But it is something that gives hope to people, which is something valuable to humankind.
Since the beginning of literature optimism, has always been a big theme, whether it has been present or not. The Romans and Greeks, described in their fables and tales about the gods and their offspring in a manner that I would say is unoptimistic. So many of their stories are about fearing the gods because they have immense power and are immoral. Making them capable to take out their anger on people. If you contrast this with Christianity, who’s entire message is about God delivering his people from harm and sin, is far more optimistic than the Greeks or Romans.
A. Examples
Martin Luther, 95 Theses
In the beginning of this course we started with the 95 Theses written by Martin Luther. Who was in opposition of the immoral actions of the Catholic church. Luther wrote 95 points that although not perfect and would sometimes contradict himself, would later bring the split of the church. This split lead to the creation of the Baptist church. I would say that the 95 Theses was rather optimistic, it sparked a revolution that changed Christianity forever. Luther was not trying to cause an enormous revolution but rather disagreed with the Catholic church tricking people out of their money and valuables. I would call this a good thing, because no institution is perfect and the only way we can evolve is through others calling out our blind spots. “As iron sharpens iron, so another person sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:17, ESV.
John Foxe, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs
With a name that has a topic of something so serious, I think many people wouldn’t consider this an optimistic book, but a piece of literature that needed to be documented. Foxe wrote this book to document the list of martyrs that were happening during the reign of Queen Mary, or Bloody Mary. This book probably sparked some fear in the hearts of many Protestants, scared that they might be next. On the contrary, this book might have given courage to some protestants. That even though some were being persecuted, it gave them courage to keep fighting for what they believed in. Queen Mary announced that Protestantism would become illegal, informing her subjects of her intolerance towards Protestantism.
Fear is a normal emotion towards death and although it is seen as something negative, it is a defense mechanism programmed into humans. If the martyrs were not documented, a very important piece of history would have been lost. Although this book might have some seemingly negative emotions it was an important piece of literature.
Shakespeare, Macbeth
Shakespeare’s writing is often seen as something that is unenjoyable or depressing. Considering the fact that most characters die at the end of his plays, this detail makes his stories a little predictable. Although his stories are seen as classics, such as Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Julius Caesar, and are enjoyed all around the world, his writings and the dialogue are seen as old and did not age well. Macbeth is about a witches prophecy of Macbeth saying that he will become king. But little does Macbeth know he must murder the present king for him to take the throne. The story follows Macbeth as he commits the murder of King Duncan and descends onto the throne, while also descending into madness. The story of Macbeth isn’t exactly a happy one. With murder, betrayal, witches, insanity and ultimately death. It can dampen a persons mood.
Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe is a story about redemption. Robinson Crusoe gets lost at sea many times, searching for fulfilment and happiness. After being stranded on an island he finally realizes that his happiness can be fulfilled through God. The story of Robinson Crusoe has been extremely popular, using it’s basic premise in many other stories and turning it into film adaptations. Redemption is this books main theme and it is a positive message for people. Even when you feel that there is something out in the world that might be better than what you have, look for the joy that you already possess and be grateful for it.
Hans Christian Andersen, Fairy Tales
Hans Christian Andersen is one of the most famous fairy tale creators even known. With stories such as The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, and many more, he became a very popular writer. Many of his stories inspired Disney and other studios to create films from his writings. Anderson liked to have messages in his stories. The Ugly Duckling taught kids to not judge others based on appearance. The Little Match Girl taught about being generous to others. The Emperors New Clothes taught against ignorance and to not believe in everything and everyone. The Red Shoes is about vanity and the destructive nature that arrogance brings. Some of his stories were just for fun and didn’t seem to have a big message to tell, such as The Little Mermaid and The Princess and the Pea. Many of his stories were about impacting children’s lives in a positive way. To teach and tell them, that they are enough. Anderson has written some of my favorite fairy tales ever such as, The Little Match Girl, The Ugly Duckling, and The Red Shoes.
2. Questions
A. Is optimistic writing important?
With all these examples in mind, why is optimist writing important? Is it important? Why should we care if a fictional or nonfictional story has a theme of optimism? If we dig deeper into the themes of stories we can see the importance of optimistic writing.
- 1. What is it’s purpose?
Writers will often put themes in their stories to convey an emotion, passion or struggle that they have gone through. Hans Christian Andersen wrote The Ugly Duckling because he was often made fun of for his appearance in his childhood. We can relate to these stories and characters because we have empathy. If a story is told in a good way we will have feelings and connections to a particular story, event or struggle a character is going through. Characters that struggle through life makes them more relatable, because we struggle in life. It is a good thing to make your readers relate to your characters. Writers want their readers to sympathize with their characters. So they can better understand them, their struggles, and the choices they make. If a reader cannot relate to a character they tend to like the story less.
Optimism doesn’t only come from stories. Optimism is something we seek in our daily lives. In our friends, family, pets, work, and ourselves. Through these things we get a feeling of joy, love, fulfilment, and peace. Stories that are majorly optimistic can bring these feelings forward. It makes us feel good about ourselves. The purpose of optimistic writing can be interpreted in many different ways. It can give hope to people, hope is something that we all want. Hope is something that every human on earth wants to feel. In a world without hope, we feel lost, unwanted, without purpose and unfulfilled. Many people struggle with mental heath. A story about a character overcoming his or her mental issues, can be a beam of hope in peoples lives. Giving them hope to keep moving forward and get help. It can inspire people to be creative and do what they love. But sometimes we just want to read a fun story and experience things that we would never be able to if it wasn’t through stories.
- 2. How did it effect society?
Literature has been around for ages, for centuries, almost since the beginning of time. Although we can not be certain how it effected society back then, I can imagine that it effected people the same way it does now. Human emotions have not changed since when we were first created. We feel fear, happiness, and sadness. These feelings are partly what makes us human, along with the ability to think and process things in our own unique way. Even though everyone can respond to certain types of news in different ways. Generally speaking, people feel good when they hear good news. When we are brought bad information we can feel a multitude of things. Fear, sadness, anger, distress and so many other emotions because humans are complicated. I am positive that people responded in a very similar way that we do now, because those feelings and emotions do not and can not change. I am certain that when people read or heard something positive, some felt warm and bubbly. I am sure that people smiled and laughed when a story was concluded with a happy ending.
- 3. How does it effect our current society?
In our current society happy stories are still being told in many shapes and forms. Movies, television, songs, books and short stories. Although happy stories are still around a want for realism has been occurring in the past few decades. Stories such as La La Land, (Spoilers ahead), where in the end the couple does not end up together because of their drive for fame. It was nominated for several awards and won quite a few of those awards. Although the story did not end conventionally, people loved it, with a score of 91% from critics and 81% from the audience, as of the time of this essay. These past two decades have had a rise and a growing popularity for Young Adult fantasy novels. With popular books such as The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, The Percy Jackson Series, Harry Potter, The Rangers Apprentice Series and many others. Many of these stories have some very messed up qualities and plot points. Although these stories have their undesirable moments, they all have underlying messages and themes of hope. Hope to escape from their current society and reform their rather bleak situations.
In many of these books the storys are compelling and very complexed. If a story has a compelling and well written story people will not care if a story has optimist themes or not. If it is a good story it will be received with praise and good reception. That is not to say that happy stories are not well received either. Happy stories in forms such as comedy are sought after as well.
B. Is it effective?
I believe that different forms of media can raise us up or bring us down, if we let it. Although initially our thoughts and feelings may be difficult to control, over time what we tell ourselves is what we are going to become. If we are constantly telling ourselves that we won’t achieve anything valuable, then you won’t. You may have the potential to do something great, but if telling yourself your essentially worthless is what you believe, that is what you will become.
- 1. What are its benefits?
I believe the benefits of not just positivity in the media but in our minds, are very vital to our survival. No matter how good a story was, a sad story can always rip something from our hearts. It leaves us wishing for things to have turned out differently. We have a desire for happiness. We were not made to live in darkness with no hope. We need happiness and joy in our lives. Positivity has many good effects on our minds. We feel happy and more fulfilled in life. While it is not the ultimate source of our happiness, our attitude towards things shapes us into who we are. I believe a happy story or song can positively effect our minds and attitudes if we are willing to let it pierce through to our soul.
- 2. Does it inspire?
Yes, positivity does inspire. A happy story can whisk you away to another world. It can provide you with new perspectives on life that you did not consider. When watching a story of a superhero, I always feel like I need to go help people. I feel like I want to go do something bigger than myself. I want to become someone who can tell of my accomplishments later on in life. I want my legacy to live on.
We put ourselves into a characters shoes and we, in a sense, live through that character. We wish the best for ourselves, if we are living through a character, we will wish the best for that character. When something negative happens to the character, we can feel it. We are empathic. While it comes more naturally to some than others, we can all feel something for other people. With the combination of empathy and the sense that we are living through a character, a story can have a big impact on us. It can change how we viewed something and it can change us for the better.
C. Should optimistic writing continue?
I think that optimist writing is something that should continue. I also believe it will continue whether some people took it’s themes into consideration or not.
- 1. Why it is important
It inspires, it can bring out the best in people. It provides information in a rather bleak world. Where everything is not sunshine and rainbows, it brings a perspective that can be difficult to see. This perspective is something that should be valued and treasured. Even if you are not a naturally optimist person, that does not mean you can not appreciate an optimists view on the world. I know that when I am struggling, my closest friends can give me different perspectives, that help me analyze things from as many points of view as possible. The perspective I value the most is the one that brings to my attention that there is good in the world, we just need to find it.
- 2. Why we need it
We need positivity in the world. We value hope, joy and happiness. The endless optimist that I think of is Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings. No matter what is happening Sam is always on Frodo’s side. Keeping his spirit’s up, reminding Frodo even when it becomes difficult, why he is still doing this and why Frodo has value. “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” This is how I view the endless optimist, constantly fighting and pushing forward. They are strong when we become weak and lose sight of what the world has to offer us.
- 3. Why it should continue
It should continue merely because we need it. If we value it, protect it, and utilize it in the best way possible. To change the world for the better, then I believe we will have done a beautiful thing that can change the way the world works for generations to come. I believe that positivity can change the course of history forever.
Hannah Ludwig 