Chapter 13

"So is every literary work political? I can't go that far. Some of my more political colleagues may tell you yes, that every work is either part of the social problem or part of the solution. I do think, though, that most works must engage with their own specific period in ways that can be called political." (Page 115)

In this chapter Foster makes it clear that he believes politics influence a major portion of all literature, and I have to agree with that. He talks about how writers generally write about the world around them and much of the stuff going on around them is a part of politics. So whatever the writer is inspired by to write about more chances than not it will be influenced by politics. Sometimes the writer may be writing to simply state their views on a possible solution to fix something in society that they feel does not work. Others may write because they feel there are problems in society that are not well known or understood so writing a novel could help spread the word about the issue. Using works of literature can be a very effective way of persuading or influencing an audience without them even knowing it. When a reader is reading, they generally connect with the main character. If this main character were to be in poverty or whatever it may be, the reader would be more apt to feel sympathy towards that type of person, even if they're fictional, because they get to see every detail about that person's hardships. This is a manipulative way that writers use that can broaden their audiences political views to that of the writers. In the end, it is safe to say that writers are motivated by the world around them, and since the world around them is governed by politics there will likely be a politcal aspect to the literary work.