Socratic Seminar Reflection

Jee Young Kim

Period 1

August 20, 2012

Socratic Seminar Reflection

According to the ideas discussed during the seminar, literature is a work made of words which contains a theme and a story plot. Although it is disputable whether the theme is more important or the story plot is more important, literature contains those two elements to convey a message or lesson. When these lessons are timeless and universal, the work of literature is considered “great” for readers of any time or circumstance will be able to relate to the work and gain something, such as a new idea or perspective, from it.

A work of literature is something that is able to be interpreted to hold some kind of message. These messages often relate to universal issues such as human nature or society.

For example, the book The Lord of the Flies is a work of literature that conveys the notion that humans are naturally evil. The author of the book, William Golding, conveys that message through the use of a story plot in which many literary elements, such as characters, symbols, setting, etc., work together to provide a story that tells that message.

Different types of literature have different purposes. There are ones that function more as entertainment rather than something to receive a message from. In those works, the story plot is often more emphasized than the theme. For example, although the Harry Potter series has some messages hidden in the words, the themes of the books come second to the story plot because the main purpose of those books is to entertain the readers. On the other hand, for those works that are meant to serve the purpose of providing a message to the readers, the theme is more emphasized.

All in all, many different types of work may fall under the category of literature, yet all works of literature have one thing in common: They provide some kind of reward.