Khadija Mistry, Grade 12
UWC Costa Rica
Literature is elitist. Do you agree?
Immerse Education
Essay Competition Entry
Written 04/01/21
(Won a partial scholarship to OXBRIDGE Summer Program)
Elitism as Royalty
Royalty are elite; but to find the most royal of royalty is a question I don’t see an answer to. I believe all
academics are elite. In that manner, how are we to find the elitist? To start at the basics, literature
broadly is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically
considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition
has expanded to include oral literature, much of which has been transcribed.1[i] [C1] Words such as nobility,
royalty, or in fact, elite, are nowhere to be seen in this thorough definition of literature.
Elitism is a standard of discernment that seeks to exclude everything (or everyone) perceived to fall short
of that standard.[C2] 2 Literary criticism could be elite, but literature, itself, simply cannot. Consequently,
writers who believe literature is elitist might have a view on what is considered to be proper literature or
literature with a capital L. A corollary of this peculiar view of literature, as an ornament, and not a social
force in itself, is that you will assume that the poor will not be able to produce, or even appreciate, proper
'Literature.'3 [C3] These assumptions should be challenged.
Literary elitism is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it takes only a small break beyond the surface to realise
that our whole understanding of classic literature is shaped by the social elite. Additionally, world
literature will never be able to be accurately measured and understood when we consider the amount of
literature which, over the centuries, has been lost or is unpublished. This indicates that the many lost
writers may have been amongst the ‘greats’ had they simply had access to publication and readership
from elite factions of the society[C4] .4 Therefore, there really is no possible to truly gauge works that really
could have been elite had they been published.
For example, we all know the heroic tale of J.K Rowling, struggling to make ends meet before becoming
one of the world’s wealthiest women after her inspiration with the Harry Potter series. However, The JK
Rowling narrative speaks to the one in a million case that the author can succeed to the extent where they
transcend social classes[C5] .5 Moreover, for most authors, no matter how valuable their work is, this won’t be
the case, and thus a ‘love’ of their literature is not enough to massively compromise their standard of
living. Hence, the issue of millions of writers being unable to reveal their potentially brilliant art remains.
Our tastes in all things differ as much as our opinions do according to every aspect of our unique
personalities. “Objective evidence for subjective preferences does not makes the value judgment itself
objective, but merely objectifies the preference.”[C6] 6 Literature is, after all, something to be read for
pleasure and not simply a historical artefact. Thus, to describe literature as elitist could be seen as holding
one opinion higher than another proving no stable standard of discernment. It is as hopelessly beside the
point as giving your cat two stars while a friend gets 4 stars.
[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature#:~:text=Literature%20broadly%20is%20any%20collection,fiction%2C%20drama%2C%20and%20poetry.&text=Literature%20is%20a%20method%20of,and%20transmitting%20knowledge%20and%20entertainment.
[C1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature#:~:text=Literature%20broadly%20is%20any%20collection,fiction%2C%20drama%2C%20and%20poetry.&text=Literature%20is%20a%20method%20of,and%20transmitting%20knowledge%20and%20entertainment.
Wikipedia definition of literature
[C2]https://publishingperspectives.com/2014/02/issues-on-the-ether-the-literary-elitism-question/#:~:text=Elitism%20is%20a%20standard%20of,fall%20short%20of%20that%20standard.&text=She%20goes%20on%20about%20what,But%20literature%20simply%20cannot%20be.
Elitism definition news magazine
[C3]https://sergiotroncoso.com/essays/eptimes/02-1222/index.htm
newspaper article
[C4]https://theboar.org/2019/06/elitism-in-the-world-of-literature/
newspaper article
[C5]https://theboar.org/2019/06/elitism-in-the-world-of-literature/
newspaper article
[C6]book ― Wolfgang Iser, The Act of Reading: A Theory of Aesthetic Response
Immerse Education
Essay Competition Entry
Written 04/01/21
(Won a partial scholarship to OXBRIDGE Summer Program)
Elitism as Royalty
Royalty are elite; but to find the most royal of royalty is a question I don’t see an answer to. I believe all
academics are elite. In that manner, how are we to find the elitist? To start at the basics, literature
broadly is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically
considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition
has expanded to include oral literature, much of which has been transcribed.1[i] [C1] Words such as nobility,
royalty, or in fact, elite, are nowhere to be seen in this thorough definition of literature.
Elitism is a standard of discernment that seeks to exclude everything (or everyone) perceived to fall short
of that standard.[C2] 2 Literary criticism could be elite, but literature, itself, simply cannot. Consequently,
writers who believe literature is elitist might have a view on what is considered to be proper literature or
literature with a capital L. A corollary of this peculiar view of literature, as an ornament, and not a social
force in itself, is that you will assume that the poor will not be able to produce, or even appreciate, proper
'Literature.'3 [C3] These assumptions should be challenged.
Literary elitism is not a new phenomenon. In fact, it takes only a small break beyond the surface to realise
that our whole understanding of classic literature is shaped by the social elite. Additionally, world
literature will never be able to be accurately measured and understood when we consider the amount of
literature which, over the centuries, has been lost or is unpublished. This indicates that the many lost
writers may have been amongst the ‘greats’ had they simply had access to publication and readership
from elite factions of the society[C4] .4 Therefore, there really is no possible to truly gauge works that really
could have been elite had they been published.
For example, we all know the heroic tale of J.K Rowling, struggling to make ends meet before becoming
one of the world’s wealthiest women after her inspiration with the Harry Potter series. However, The JK
Rowling narrative speaks to the one in a million case that the author can succeed to the extent where they
transcend social classes[C5] .5 Moreover, for most authors, no matter how valuable their work is, this won’t be
the case, and thus a ‘love’ of their literature is not enough to massively compromise their standard of
living. Hence, the issue of millions of writers being unable to reveal their potentially brilliant art remains.
Our tastes in all things differ as much as our opinions do according to every aspect of our unique
personalities. “Objective evidence for subjective preferences does not makes the value judgment itself
objective, but merely objectifies the preference.”[C6] 6 Literature is, after all, something to be read for
pleasure and not simply a historical artefact. Thus, to describe literature as elitist could be seen as holding
one opinion higher than another proving no stable standard of discernment. It is as hopelessly beside the
point as giving your cat two stars while a friend gets 4 stars.
[i] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature#:~:text=Literature%20broadly%20is%20any%20collection,fiction%2C%20drama%2C%20and%20poetry.&text=Literature%20is%20a%20method%20of,and%20transmitting%20knowledge%20and%20entertainment.
[C1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature#:~:text=Literature%20broadly%20is%20any%20collection,fiction%2C%20drama%2C%20and%20poetry.&text=Literature%20is%20a%20method%20of,and%20transmitting%20knowledge%20and%20entertainment.
Wikipedia definition of literature
[C2]https://publishingperspectives.com/2014/02/issues-on-the-ether-the-literary-elitism-question/#:~:text=Elitism%20is%20a%20standard%20of,fall%20short%20of%20that%20standard.&text=She%20goes%20on%20about%20what,But%20literature%20simply%20cannot%20be.
Elitism definition news magazine
[C3]https://sergiotroncoso.com/essays/eptimes/02-1222/index.htm
newspaper article
[C4]https://theboar.org/2019/06/elitism-in-the-world-of-literature/
newspaper article
[C5]https://theboar.org/2019/06/elitism-in-the-world-of-literature/
newspaper article
[C6]book ― Wolfgang Iser, The Act of Reading: A Theory of Aesthetic Response
www.unitedworldwide.co