Literature: The Mirror of Human Spirit
Throughout time literature has been an expression of unspoken emotions. All authors have dealt with private feelings that they express through written works. A main driving force behind these works is spirituality and all that it entails. Spirituality is a major part in ones daily life; it allows one to know the difference between right and wrong and to act accordingly. Literature is, essentially, a mirror of human spirit. It is who you are and your feelings. When authors write they are expressing their feelings and thoughts; their human spirit. It is said to be divided into three categories; intuition, conscience and fellowship. The intuition aspect of human spirituality guides us through life knowing God has made us a path to follow, despite reason. Conscience plays a part in our everyday life; it helps us to discriminate between right and wrong. Finally, fellowship allows us to seek contact with God. We do this through pray and believing in a certain faith. The works; "Deer Dance", "Hard Rock Returns to Prison from the Hospital for the Criminal Insane", the Qur'an, and "Requim" all portray these different portions of the human spirit. Literature is fundamentally art and each piece of art expresses spirituality in different forms.
When Etheridge Knight wrote "Hard Rock" he presented a man torn apart by poverty, racism and oppression. Hard Rock was revered by the fellow inmates. They wanted his courage, strength and ability to survive. Knight makes sure to stress that the inmates thought he was one that was: "'known to take no shit from nobody'" (Knight 1). These feelings play ...