Ideology and Literature
By Lecturer: Sameerah Atshan ALFayyadh
Eagleton (1991: x), states that we should consider the following paradox. The last ten years has seen an extraordinary resurgence of ideological movements through the whole world. He also declares saying: ” How are we to account for this absurdity? Why is that in a world racked by ideological conflict, the very notion of ideology has evaporated without race from the writings of postmodernism and post – structuralism”.
It is argued that three key doctrines of postmodernist thought have conspired to discredit the classical concept of ideology. These doctrines are summarized as follows:
1-the rejection of the concept of representation.
2-the revolves on an epistemological doubt that would hold that the very act of identifying a form of consciousness as ideological entails some untenable notion of complete truth.
3-the reformulation of the relationships between rationality, interests and power.
Ideology is vital in our life. It persuades men and women to mistake each other from time to time. It is for gods or vermin. It is so hard to comprehend how men and women may come to do something as seemingly abstract as ideas. Ideas are what humans live by, and will surely die for.
The use of the item ideology in relation to literature was for long typical of Marxist criticism. It is specific to the Athussrian school. His own first and second theories of ideology exerted a powerful influence on literary criticism and theory (Moriarty, 2006: 43).
Farrell (2002: 1) states that literature, if successful, makes literature the handmaiden of politics. It also makes it the manageable servant of ideology. For this reason, the writer accepts this notion and tries to make it operative in the actual creation of novels. Literature is one of the arts which re – creates the consciousness and the sense of right and wrong of an era. It tells us what might happen to humans, what could happen to them, what happens to man according to his /her imagination. Literature displays us the environments, the patterns of fate, joys and sorrows. It also presents the dream, the fantasies, the aspirations, the cruelties and the shames, and men’s and women’s dreams
as well. Literature allows man to understand nature and comprehends himself as well. Literature cannot solve problems whether social or political. Any solution presented in literature is purely mental (ibid: 4). In addition, those who want to officialize literature, they persist that the artist dresses the uniform of ideology (ibid: 6).
Cakirtas (2017: xvi) states referring to George Orwel when he wrote that in our age there is no such thing as ” keeping out of politics “. In fact, politics encircles all of man’s movements, all his financial, spiritual, artistic, official, military and methodical. Literature is itself harmoniously all- inclusive. Aristotal stated that man is a political animal. In this sense, literature will be the most brilliant transporter of the ideas, facts, notes and feelings. Each writer tries to transform his own culture. He is trying to associate each well-known name of his cultural heritage with ideology, politics, power, religion, etc.
So, ideology, and ideological thoughts are clearly shown in all literature types like novels, stories, poetry, prose. See for example; Mubarak, A.& Al Fayyadh, S. (A Discourse Analytical Study of Conceptual Metaphors in Selected Arabic Songs). In International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Vol. 24, Issue 04, 2020. ISSN: 1475-7192.
From: Al Fayyah, S. (2019). A Contrastive Critical Discourse Analysis of Centre and Margin in Selected English and Arabic Novels. (Thesis). University of Babylon. Iraq
