(http://nutritiondata.self.com/images/home/nutritionIndex.gif)
What is literary nutrition? What is it about literature that nourishes the soul? Well, what is it that makes society better? It is a message, a view about the world that is expressed through the literature. Hey, wait a second, that sounds a lot like theme.
Theme is how literature changes a soul as nutrition changes a body. It refreshes it, maintains it, keeps it alive. What's really cool is how this analogy doesn't break down right away. I mean, what happens if you only eat one kind of food? Let's say that you only eat doughnuts. Is that going to be very nutritious? Nope. And in much the same way commercial fiction is the McDonald's of literature. Basically not theme, and what there is is something that isn't novel, it isn't anything that isn't already in excess like sodium or fat.
But what about the rest of it? Nutrition is a very complicated thing, there's an entire pyramid of different kinds of foods that give different nutrition. One must balance this; more than that, every person's balance is different. Every person enjoys a slightly different balance of food either because there isn't one healthy; after all, who is to say that you can't get your protein from peanut butter and instead must eat steak? And there are different kinds of books to, many, many kinds - horror and adventure, action and mystery, historical and futuristic. So many kinds of books, so many books in each kind. Which to read? Which to explore? So many options, just like looking at a restaurant menu - which I think is where this analogy starts to break. That is now like saying that a restaurant is like a library. Yet is that a break or a bud?
But I digress. Too much food isn't exactly a good thing; let this food for thought digest. Library menus are for another day.
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ReplyDeleteI think this is a pretty apt analogy. If you read nothing but one kind of books, you'll soon get sick of them, just as you'd start to hate pancakes if you ate them for every meal.
So would calories be like facts learned / themes gleaned? Is there a recommended daily intake for literature?
Thanks!
DeleteOne can never have enough pancakes. Or waffles. Syrup though, yes. Need to mix in some jelly for variety.
To expand further one would have to classify themes and connect it to different aspects of nutrition... and finding aspects of society (audiences) that are analogous to parts of the body, e.g. the theme representing folic acid would have to be specifically targeted to an audience that is analogous to the nervous system. This would be a monster classification. Could be interesting though.
But what about people who don't have access to "healthy" literature? Just as there are food deserts, aren't there populations that can't read as many good books? I would think that you could get morals and enrichment from other sources, such as other art forms or just people. Maybe that's like vitamin supplements or Ensure, or maybe I'm stretching the food metaphor to death.
ReplyDeleteMaybe you could say that it is art in general that enriches a culture. However, I personally feel that literature is a lot more informative than art or music or whatnot, so I'd lean towards vitamin supplements and such being other aspects that can sorta help but not make an entire diet.
DeleteI like how you always manage to find some aspect of food to relate with literature. It's actually very intriguing to read.
ReplyDeleteMy question for you is what happens when you eat something with food poisoning. I you read 'poisoned' literature, will you be unable or unwilling to read for a set period of time? Is there even any works in literature that are analogous to 'food poisoning'?
By the way, I also have to disagree with your last statement: "Too much food isn't exactly a good thing."
Sure it is, bring it on. Take what you can't finish in a to-read box.
I suppose some literature could have bad messages that make societies act like big bad meanies, perhaps leading them to go to wars that then annihilate them and thus kill the culture. So I suppose some literature could be poisonous.
DeleteDo you not want a great excuse for not doing your literature homework?
Your blogs are always so delicious and (almost ) infinitely explorable, with the limiting favtor being how hungry you get before leaving the conversation to eat. I like your analogy, and I think an decent extwnsion to relate the elements of literature to be the broad categories of nutrients in food. As food could be considered amything that is essential for a being to absorb to maintain life. With the connection made, how do you think thia could relate to a definition of literature?
ReplyDeleteThank you! The solution is to just bring food with you to your desk.
DeleteI suppose you could say that literature is food. And then go from there. All of my analogies can be interconnected, so in theory you could smash 'em together, oil it up with transitions (vegetable oil, not WD40), and get an essay.
I never really thought about comparing the nutritional values of a food to literature but you made it happen. Your post was an enjoyable read and they always leaves hungry. I'm excited to see what this "library menu" consists of.
ReplyDeleteThanks!
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