Writing Help 129 | - ☆ Freelance Writer
Apr 06, 2013 | #1
Terms You Need for Writing about the Novel
Ideology is a term that has been used and abused frequently in the popular media, and as a result its meaning has been somewhat confused. Too often I see students using ideology as a synonym for idealistic worldview, who attribute it to dreamers who are not sufficiently realistic about the potential course of human events. Also, there has been a tendency to use ideology to refer to the worldview of a single person, and while a given individual may be described as having or following a given ideology, the ideology itself reaches far beyond the idiosyncrasies of any one person.
Ideology refers to a unified collection of ideas, an organized set of principles upon which a given group or even society can base their existence. An ideology can be larger, shared by an entire nation or political hemisphere, as in the ideology of the West, or it may be smaller, as in Republican ideology, or Liberal ideology. Ideologies can exist on several planes, and there is great overlap in some areas between religious, political, ethical, and legal ideologies. Those who share the same ideology tend to agree from the outset, and their disagreements will be about specific details within a given system. Those who possess opposing ideologies, however, will find it difficult even to agree on starting premises, and will be highly unlikely ever to agree at all.
The level of disagreement will also depend on whether the specific ideology in question is nested in a larger common ideology. For example, Republicans and Democrats hold differing ideologies, but they share a larger ideology that serves as the basis for American culture as a whole. For example, Republicans may argue that abortion should be banned, while Democrats argue it should be permitted, but both would agree that government should serve the people, and that freedom is a paramount value. Contrast this with the ideology of Muslim extremist groups, which believe that adhering to the precepts of their religion is paramount, and freedom as the Americans perceive it is nothing but damnable sin. Obviously, these values contradict general American ones so completely that the differences between Democratic and Republican ideologies seem insignificant in comparison.
None of this may seem relevant to you insofar as the study of the novel of concerned, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because of its open form and ability to stir powerful emotions, the novel has throughout its history been a vehicle for various ideologies, and a weapon for fighting against them as well. One of the best and most storied examples of this is seen in the case of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, which, because it was written from a non-Muslim ideology about (in part) Muslim topics, was banned in many countries, and caused an uproar in the Muslim community. To this day, Rushdie lives in constant danger of assassination, and many of his colleagues who helped to produce and disseminate the book have already been killed or seriously injured in related attacks.
Ideologies are often so ingrained in the social consciousness that they become nearly invisible, and serve as the common sense of a given people. Although some novels make the erection or destruction of given ideologies their primary goal, all novels are written within a given ideological framework, and it is important to recognize what this framework is. Charles Dickens, for instance, wrote many novels with a Liberal-Socialist ideology, and the heroes of his works and the values they express reflect this well. Ayn Rand, on the other hand, wrote from a Libertarian-Objectivist ideology, and the same actions and characters that might be praised in Dickens are often lamented in Rand. Only by knowing what positions are being taken can you evaluate them critically, and come to your own conclusions.
Ideology
Ideology is a term that has been used and abused frequently in the popular media, and as a result its meaning has been somewhat confused. Too often I see students using ideology as a synonym for idealistic worldview, who attribute it to dreamers who are not sufficiently realistic about the potential course of human events. Also, there has been a tendency to use ideology to refer to the worldview of a single person, and while a given individual may be described as having or following a given ideology, the ideology itself reaches far beyond the idiosyncrasies of any one person.
Ideology refers to a unified collection of ideas, an organized set of principles upon which a given group or even society can base their existence. An ideology can be larger, shared by an entire nation or political hemisphere, as in the ideology of the West, or it may be smaller, as in Republican ideology, or Liberal ideology. Ideologies can exist on several planes, and there is great overlap in some areas between religious, political, ethical, and legal ideologies. Those who share the same ideology tend to agree from the outset, and their disagreements will be about specific details within a given system. Those who possess opposing ideologies, however, will find it difficult even to agree on starting premises, and will be highly unlikely ever to agree at all.The level of disagreement will also depend on whether the specific ideology in question is nested in a larger common ideology. For example, Republicans and Democrats hold differing ideologies, but they share a larger ideology that serves as the basis for American culture as a whole. For example, Republicans may argue that abortion should be banned, while Democrats argue it should be permitted, but both would agree that government should serve the people, and that freedom is a paramount value. Contrast this with the ideology of Muslim extremist groups, which believe that adhering to the precepts of their religion is paramount, and freedom as the Americans perceive it is nothing but damnable sin. Obviously, these values contradict general American ones so completely that the differences between Democratic and Republican ideologies seem insignificant in comparison.
None of this may seem relevant to you insofar as the study of the novel of concerned, but nothing could be further from the truth. Because of its open form and ability to stir powerful emotions, the novel has throughout its history been a vehicle for various ideologies, and a weapon for fighting against them as well. One of the best and most storied examples of this is seen in the case of Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, which, because it was written from a non-Muslim ideology about (in part) Muslim topics, was banned in many countries, and caused an uproar in the Muslim community. To this day, Rushdie lives in constant danger of assassination, and many of his colleagues who helped to produce and disseminate the book have already been killed or seriously injured in related attacks.
Ideologies are often so ingrained in the social consciousness that they become nearly invisible, and serve as the common sense of a given people. Although some novels make the erection or destruction of given ideologies their primary goal, all novels are written within a given ideological framework, and it is important to recognize what this framework is. Charles Dickens, for instance, wrote many novels with a Liberal-Socialist ideology, and the heroes of his works and the values they express reflect this well. Ayn Rand, on the other hand, wrote from a Libertarian-Objectivist ideology, and the same actions and characters that might be praised in Dickens are often lamented in Rand. Only by knowing what positions are being taken can you evaluate them critically, and come to your own conclusions.