No, not dialogue in fiction, but the dialogue we have with one another, every day, in so many different forms.
One of the reasons I like fiction so much is it gives you insight into Life, in a way no amount of mere information could. Not just Life, but life as viewed by another person. Even if the meager fan fiction, the amount of creative energy put into any real artistic effort shows how the author views the world. There are limits, of course, but you can learn so much about Life from fiction.
Yet, even the author’s worldview, the Authorial Intent, is only one perspective. When you engage in the study of literature, you’re not just studying the work and what the author intended to say, or even his worldview, your studying the perspectives and worldviews of people who’ve spent their lives dedicated to the development of them. In doing so, you can better understand and develop your own.
However, Life doesn’t really exist in the, sometimes literal ivory towers of Academia. Much more of Life can be found in fiction, but is not contained there. Fiction cannot contain Life. Nothing could. It can only represent a small sliver of it.
This is where dialogue comes in.
Dialogue is the representation of human life in all it’s fumbling glory: from it’s stunning strength to it’s stuttering instability. Having a dialogue with someone, in the right way, is the only way to really begin to understand someone. That is where Life is truly contained, in other people.
Yet Life, is rarely inoffensive. It isn’t often nice, nor is it largely agreeable. It is, famously, “Nasty, Brutish, and Short.” However, it is often what we make of it. I think if we can come together in reasoned dialogue with one another we can learn things about each other, ourselves, and Life that can have a profound effect on the sense of unity we have within our society. We can learn not only the things that differ about us, but the things that make us the same.
To that end, some of my future blog posts will tackle different topics that are relevant to the day, the times, or just something I’ve spent too much time thinking about. I’ll try and present the facts of the topic as best I can, and try to find a new perspective, if I can.
What I’d really like is to foster discussion in the comments, to learn what you think, so we can have a dialogue. So I’ll probably often come away with more questions than answers. I want to know what you think, and why.
So here’s my question: What do you think of the importance of open dialogue?
How “open” should open dialogue be?
Should anything that forms a coherent opinion, regardless of taste or crudity be included?
Let me know what you think.
And, as always, Happy Reading
Creative Mine 