In his book, Thomas Foster uses King Solomon's precept, "There is nothing new under the sun," to synthesize one of his central claims, which states, "[all] writing and telling belong to the same story." More specifically, Foster alludes to the many similarities between plot lines, character developments, and symbols to establish a link between all text. Foster asserts that "there's only one story" (27), and that all of literature and fiction is simply a variation of this original story, so, therefore, "there's no such thing as a wholly original work of literature" (Foster 24). Moreover, this concept adds and enriches the reading experience because it allows readers to better understand and relate to the text. More specifically, if every story is merely a different version of this main story, there will be several elements shared between all texts. Therefore, when readers encounter these elements in a certain text, they will recognize and understand them more easily, as well as have firmer grasp on them, since they have seen them in other stories under somewhat different applications. This, in turn, allows the writing of texts to become richer and more meaningful without the writer having to put in as much effort, as the many facets of his/her text will already be established as 'important,' or 'unimportant.' From a personal standpoint, I have found this theme to be true and applicable to many other fields of art. For example, paintings and sculpture often have recurring subjects, and even abstract and expressionist art involve recurring elements. Although different pieces, whether textual or visual, might seemingly depict radically different content, they all revolve around certain fundamentals, which indicates that they all are mere derivatives of one big story.
I really like how you mentioned art in your response because it opened my brain a little more and allowed me to better grasp the concept that “there is nothing new under the sun”. It made me think of our Art History class and the architectural significance found in Piazza d’Italia. The Piazza d’Italia was a piece created to honor Italian-American history. It used elements of the contemporary/modern art era it was created in such as the use of steel. The piece also brought in elements from the Roman Classic era such as ionic order and Doric columns. This work of art takes pieces from other stories throughout art history to create its own story. Knowing the elements brought in from different periods of art further enriches the viewers take on the architecture, allowing them to understand that artist’s purpose which is to give honor to Italian-Americans.
ReplyDeleteI like how you subtly mentioned the importance of intertextuality and symbolism within your post. I believe in Foster’s book, he mentioned various themes in literature that all coincide in enhancing the reading process. If all is ‘one big story’ then the writer must incorporate different themes and expressions that is shown explicitly in other texts (intertextuality), and will probably insert a figure that represents a greater meaning (symbolism). In my opinion, the ‘one big story’ phenomenon promotes the rest of the themes
ReplyDeletethat Foster examines within the text. I appreciate how you mentioned art, because alike of novels, art is primarily motivated by symbolism whose underlying meanings most likely are derived from another source. Overall, I think it's interesting to note how well Foster incorporated these things into his text, thus allowing myself to understand the importance of all of these themes because of how it all relates to the idea of ‘one big story’.
I also believe that intertextuality is extremely important in making a text more meaningful and understandable for readers, it allows for the meaning the author intends to truly be grasped by his or her audience. By using texts understood by readers, the writer is better able to pass on different symbols and ideas and apply his own thoughts and opinions on them, allowing for the original structure to be presented but with a modern twist. I also love how you incorporated art into your post, there are so many styles and mediums of art but all belong to a specific time period influenced by other great artists before that. It is so interesting to see how this dialogue is not only applicable to written literature, but is also to art.
ReplyDeleteThe way you mention the three main ideas and tie them together was an eye opener for me. I did notice some of the things you listed and explained, but you did an excellent job of quoting Foster and explaining what he was saying in your own words. I like your thoughts on it and they genuinely helped me understand even more than I had previously understood. I really liked that you incorporated art into your post because it shows me that I was not the only one who had thought about that. Foster in himself was full of artistic ideas and you truly did a fantastic job of showing that. Foster really wanted to show his readers the deeper picture behind all of his ideas and on how they connect. His themes are one big story and that shows how sincere his message to us as readers really is.
ReplyDeleteThe way you decided to focus on the similarities between pieces of art such as paintings as sculptures. It is a very good reminder that these things also tell stories and share similarities. This ties into the idea of one big story as it shows how the story has the ability to stretch across mediums and really puts the idea of one big story onto a much larger scope. It was also very interesting to see you talk about the “certain fundamentals” that all pieces of art revolve around but it did leave me wondering what specifically those fundamentals are.
ReplyDeletePeople often view the many different art forms as separate entities, when in reality they can all be analyzed and experienced in the same fashion. Literature, artwork, music, all have recurring themes that tie the many disciplines of art together and can add additional layers to the depth of a certain artwork. It's incredible to not only make textual connections, but also interdisciplinary connections within the realm of the arts, as they all tie back in to the original story referenced by Foster. I love the direction you took this question, and how you referenced the fundamental properties shared by all artworks.
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