Best Novel of the Twentieth Century Essay

Best brisk of the Twentieth Century Alfred Nobel gave his last name to maven of the some esteemed writings breads to daylight. He specified that the award should go to the person who sh solely ca-ca produced in the field of belles-lettres the most outstanding reverse in the ideal direction (Cited in Danson & Gupta, 2005) Over the historic period the criteria the dough was awarded on kept on changing along with the changing meters. In 1964, the cut philosopher, mythist and picnicwright Jean-Paul S subterfugee voluntarily declined the Nobel accolade. (Danson and Gupta, 2005, p. 212) The prize for the surpass novel of the 20th light speed go forth follow guidelines that possibly withal Sartre would consider bonny and birth the prize if it were offered to him. Today, the Nobel Prize is regarded as whizz of the highest honors in literature only there was a period in hi taradiddle when Sartres refusal peril its universality of honor. Five years later, Samuel Beck ett received the award and the Nobel Prize gained screen some of its authority as a universal honor.Becket had contemplated whether he should adopt the award or non because he realized the recent careen arisen by Sartes rejection but did non want to patently mime his actions. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 213-4) The Booker Prize was launched in 1968 to provide a benchmark for the best of contemporary British fiction by awarding a prize for what was deemed to be, in the joint opinion of the sound outs selected by the management committee, the most outstanding novel by a British or province writer in any prone year. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 295) Tom Maschler found the booker prize and faeces be viewed as a successful vendor of his clock time. His goal was to ensure that serious British fiction gains market dispense through and through public relation-ing efforts, specific ally, the use of touch programs. He did for books back in the 1960s for books, what people do for mov ies now create a lot of hype before the release date, a lot of publicity, and going bouffant at the box office.Stated by Iyer in 1993, the Booker had occasion capital of the United Kingdoms way of formally commemorating and coronating literary tradition the adpressed thing in writing to the movies Academy (cited in Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 295) Plato suggests that literature is not an end in itself it has a broader social responsibility which imposes a art on poets to make sure that their effectings are not degraded or untrue. Poetry and art in general endure original responsibilities to the society that produces them.If poets are un go outing to tether their imitations of liveliness to the demands of that society, Plato argues, then they should be kicked out of the republic. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 4) This idea by Plato is the concept behind instrumentalism. If Plato was alive today, he would condone Corporate Social Responsibility all the way. Just resembling any bi g corporation should be held responsible for what its actions are away(predicate) of producing a certain product or service, Plato believed that poet was responsible for what he was producing. In reality, Corporate Social Responsibility, if analyzed in the long run, can be the best thing for a company.If a company carries out its duties some other than delivering a great product to society, it gains the peoples trust, primary(prenominal)tains goodwill, and cashes in on the steady profits in the long term. In the same light, gibe to Plato, a poet must create poetry responsibly and cater to the demand and demands of his society. In doing this, the poet must create forms that might eventually become simply a thing that society demands. By doing this, literature looses its load and becomes simply what the public wants but to create continuously what the public wants and vex it accepted by them is an art of its own.To observe the cycle like this, Platos simple theory of producin g bat responsibly becomes producing use to cater to a specific demand, which then becomes a sort of artistic economics, and simply a work of beauty like Oscar Wildes. For this reason, instrumentalism or aestheticalism alone cannot be the judge of good literature. Basically, both the Nobel and Booker were found to expand British literature, the source by means of transforming the judging criteria from time to time and the later by 21st century marketing tactics.A neo-Kantian might advise the Nobel or Booker judges as follows derive your standards for judging literary works themselves rather than by following extant rules of literary conceit reflection to exemplary works of genius for guidance in judging the work before you treat such(prenominal) works as models, and never fasten them to a list of determinate rules, formulae or precepts. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 203) Keeping in object the advice precondition by the neo-Kantian the new prize for the best novel of the twentie th century will weigh the literatures strength according to its aesthetics, instruments, and modernist views.The goal of the prize is not to simply canonize a work of literature or deem it best because beauty is a much important feature of speech than content or vice versa. The goal is to view the work for it is, right like a human being, and appreciate what it intends to do or tell. ex permuteable the age old pattern of apples and oranges, the prize will confront at each work for what it is. A work may not be deemed the best simply because it is more inclined towards Wildes criteria or Platos criteria.No one will be thrown out of The res publica but instead the competition will be different because the apples will be competing against the other apples and the oranges against the other but not against each others. In other words, a work may be the best aesthetic plot of land of literature or the best instrumentalist literature. The superior will be the work which tells of something deeply moving and presents new ideas that are life changing way in the most beautiful manner possible. The achiever will the perfect blend of apples and oranges and the runner up will be the best apple, the best orange, or the less perfect blend of the two.Writers such as Oscar Wilde and Joris-Karl Huysmans advocated a view of art which denied that it should have any moral, semipolitical or social function. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 4) Cuddon stated in 1982 that art for arts sake (cited in Danson and Gupta, 2005) was the fundamental of aestheticism. When we consider Virginia Woolfs novel Orlando, it has all the elements of beautifully portrayed writing and meaning and content. What causes this text to be the winner of the prize for the best book of the twentieth century is that as time went on, the books purpose and meaning evolved.In a survey of the Nobel Prize, Kjell Espmark (1999) discerns the following phases from 1901 to 1912, prizes were given to writers who dem onstrated a lofty and sound idealism from 1912 to 1920, a literary policy of political neutrality was followed in the 1920s, award winners were marked as a possessing a classical great style in the 1930s, universal invade was considered key from 1946 to 1977, writers were chosen who had made a pioneering contribution from 1978 to 1985, attention was given to unknown masters from 1986 onwards, the emphasis had been on recognizing the literary productions of the whole knowledge base(Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 211) Unlike the Nobel prize and its changing criteria over the years, Orlando was viewed differently as time went on. We read Orlando now most often as a womens liberationist work that researchs the boundaries of sex activity and sex activity and the limits of women writers within literary history, or as a sharp limited review on the possibilities of biography.But Orlando was often offshoot read by its contemporary audience as a loquacious portrait of Vita Sackville-West. ( Tetterton, 1995) When the novel was low written it was a mere work of comedic art with no instrumental purpose but to paint a certain portrait of someone. Virginia Woolfs writing is difficult to read and generalize because of the transitions she makes and her style of writing. Back in the day, this novel was, taken as the beautiful joke that Woolf herself claimed it to be. It was a hugely successful joke not just critically, but financially as well, both in England and America. It was Orlando that enabled the Woolfs to procure their first car, and it put them on stable financial footing for the balance wheel of their lives. (Tetterton, 1995) The novel perhaps served an instrumental purpose to the Woold family but not society, it was viewed as a work of fiction and no action was taken against it because of the hints of lesbianism since the important character was a man when he fell in heat the princess. This work could be simply viewed as art for the sake of art at the time b y the audience but it had a greater purpose. Some say that it was a secretly a love garner to the woman Virginia Woolf loved. When we read Orlando now we pay more attention to the sex activity outlets present in the book. The book was not viewed as an important work I feminine and lesbian literature back in the day because none of the womens liberationist movements had occurred yet. When we ascertain at the work now we cant help but get a smell of what Woolf was in reality trying to say. It was only in the later years that the work evolved from simply aesthetical and comical to instrumental.Woolf sheds light on the issue of lesbianism and gets away with it in the era where other writers were being banned for deliverance up the same subjects. She fulfils the purpose of feministic liberation because after the 300 years the main character becomes a liberated and free woman in the early nineties. These demands were initially not required by society and no one but Virginia and her contemporaries who felt the same way craved the need for someone to bring about this revolution. Today, Virginia Woolfs Orlando caters to the demands of society and the feminist revolution that is still shaping itself and the freedom of exploring ones sexuality freely. Virginia created the perfect blend of aestheticism and instrumentalism with the aide of time.In the century that it was written in, the novel served its aesthetic purpose and in the next century it the audience learnt to look at its real instrumental purpose. Woolf created this perfect blend and proved that she was two steps ahead of the whole world. She was a modernist because she re-evaluated where society currently stood and where it call for to go and through what means. Woolf paved a way for future writers to explore new territory and have the freedom of self conveyion. One leaning presented by Kelly Tetterton at the The Fifth Annual Virginia Woolf Conference at Otterbein College, June 18, 1995 is that the c ontinue the audience made from the comical to the serious category is through the payoff method of the book. She points out,Partly yes we are far more sensitive to issues of gender than those readers of long ago because its now part of our social brain even those who might disagree with such a critical get down must now acknowledge the validity of the approach itself. And partly no we are simply reacting to what were given to read. Take a look at the most recent paperback ensures for Orlando one from Harcourt Brace Jovanovich and one from the Quality Paperback Book Club. Anyone casually glancing at these covers is likely to pretend that issues of gender and sexuality are involved in the text beneath the covers. The 1973 HBJ paperback gives us two almost identical figures, one masculine and one female, divided by a clock the 1993 QBC book cover is more abstract, but theres a prominent criticize triangle on its spine and back.If we are better readers today, its because we h ave some help from the publishers. (1995) The second half of her argument is valid because the pictures or hype that surrounds a text greatly affect how a work of literature is viewed. The different publications have a sort of Booker Prize affect on the audience. The different paperback version somewhat manipulates whats inside and this factor can be used to sway the judgment about the work greatly. Nevertheless, the publication or marketing aspects do not take away from the book itself because part one of the argument presented by Tetterton is just as valid and in sync with the entire critique of the book reservation it the best book of the twentieth century.In 1934, the first issue of the British journal Left Review published a position command by the Writers International, a group of radical writers. The statement included the following thoughts on what role writers should play in the British societyIt is time for these, together with the working-class journalists and writers who are trying to express the feelings of their class, to organize an association of revolutionary writers. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 117) Interpreting this role British writers were asked to play in society is the very fundamental of instrumentalism, producing responsibly what the society demands as a whole. The author of Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic gibbon replied to this message in a mostly positive manner except for two discrepancies.This declaration stated that literature is anything but elevated, self-contained or sacrosanct, as the aesthetes had claimed rather, for the Writers International, literature has the potential, even and obligation, to criticize society and to contribute to the building of a socialist future. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 118) gibbon said, I hate capitalist economy all my books are explicit or implicit propaganda. (cited in Danson & Gupta, 2005, p118) The first of the two points Gibbon disagreed with was that capitalism was perhaps dead economically but the literature was thriving, untouched, and unharmed and that there was a huge difference between the two. Second, he thought that writers should actually work for the socialist coast and not just say it. (Danson & Gibbon, 2005) The use of Scotch accents and dialects is present passim the entire novel. This style earns him points for true instrumentalism.He sticks to his roots, some(prenominal) like the writers of today who add flavorful touches of their mother tongue in their works. From the earlier point about supporting the revolutionary cause of socialist economy he strips away whatever he can of capitalism by staying true to his origins no matter what. The young Chris must choose between life on the land, her Scottish identity, and the English part of her which draws her away from firm towards books and education. Yet even once she has made her decision, the way of life of her connection is altered forever by the Great War. (BBC) The story is about a little boy understand ing what really is going on almost him and how he must deal with everything.The book is runner up to Orlando by Virginia Woolf because it is the best work of instrumentalism at its extreme whereas Woolfs novel encompasses all the concepts of aesthetics to modernism to instrumentalism. Sunset Song is a great example of a believing in a cause and writing for it to change the society as a whole and lead into a revolution. However, it is important that while Sunset Song mourns the loss of a past age, it is not hopeless. The images of light and the morning star in the closing pages of the novel send for the rest of the trilogy, emphasizing Gibbons desire to construct a future rather than simply mourn the loss of a friendly Age. (BBC) Gobbin, like his response to the Writers International delivers what he has said and paints a window to the future. He can be viewed as a modernist in the sense that he re-evaluated how society was going to reach a certain tush and stuck to different id eas and did not conform to capitalistic views. Gibbon uses the narrative pull of flashforward, or prolepsis, at the start at each of the four main pliberal arts of the novel. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 132) His style of writing and the techniques he uses also earns him points for creatively constructing the overtaking of work. All Gibbons sympathetic characters the Guthries, Chae Strachan, Long Rob and, more ambivalently, Ewan Tavendale are associated with the traditional peasant way of life.In contrast, the characters who embrace nonaged capitalist production Ellison, Mutch, Munro and Cuddiestoun are represented as good unattractive. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p. 141) The author clearly indicated his leaning towards socialism through his characters and their analysis throughout the book. He successfully achieves his goal of taking a stance against capitalism and that lands him into the runner up spot in the best writer of the twentieth century. An important motivation at the co re of Gibbons writing, nigh connected to his political commitment, is his desire to rescue the forgotten, unrecorded histories of Scotlands poor. (Danson & Gupta, 2005, p.150) Gibbon is one of those revolutionaries whole believes that all the toil and blood and hardship that went into making the future what it is today should never be ignored. It should be remembered and used as inspiration to move forward and achieve even greater things. (Danson & Gupta, 2005) Virginia Woolf takes away the award from Gibbons for first place because she is a modernist in the true sense. Gobbin beautifully portrays what an instrumentalist should do and inspires people and connects with them on a deep level from the get go. He has always presented his work mischievously and believed it to bring about a change and get to the end through revolutionary socialist means.The judgment criteria of this award is not to award a socialist when a socialist revolution is going on or a capitalist when capitalism as it its peek. The goal is to judge literature for what is no matter what guards the standards of society now. Gibbons is a story that can be read in the democratically inclined clock of today and still have an impact and show the clarity of how one can stick to his beliefs and paint a convincing and moving piece of literature. References Brown, R. D. , & Gupta, S. (2005). Aestheticism & modernism debating twentieth-century literature 1900-1960. Twentieth-century literature texts and debates. London Routledge. Brown, R. D. , & Gupta, S. (2004).The popular and the canonical debating twentieth-century literature 1940-2000. Twentieth-century literature texts and debates. London Routledge. Gibbon, L. G. (1981). Sunset song. New York Schocken Books. Tamir, E. (2007). Gupta/Johnsons A Twentieth-Century lecturer and Johnsons Debating Twentieth-Century Literature, 1940-2000. Science-Fiction Studies. 34, 343-345. Tetterton, Kelly (1995, June, 18). Virginia Woolfs Orlando. Retrieved May 18, 2008, from http//www. tetterton. net/orlando/orlando95_talk. html The Writers. BBC, Retrieved May 19, 2008, from http//www. bbc. co. uk/scotland/arts/writingscotland/writers/lewis_grassic_gibbon/works. shtml Woolf, V. (1928). Orlando a biography. New York Harcourt, Brace.