What is Literature?

Literature is mirror of society. This is what we have first encountered as the definition of literature. Which means that literature is the mirror which shows the real face of society and that is why it is mirror of society. To counter argue this there is other metaphor given to literature which is literature is photograph. Literature shows photograph of society. While taking photograph people forget their worries to show them selves happy in picture and that is what literature does. It shows photographed reality of society. Some say literature is an axe to break the frozenness of society. According to this metaphor people are froze in to the rigidity of society and religion and literature should be the axe to broke that frozenness inside society or people. Another metaphor for literature is X – ray report. Literature is X – ray report of society. It is ugly but it is real. It shows where the problem lies. So some say literature is like X – ray report which shows ugly face of society.

We have seen literature already has many definitions. To define it again will be hard but here I am giving my understanding. Though to define something means to limit something in some kind of boundaries but literature is limitless it doesn’t have frontier. Then even for me literature is a Train. The first station from where train starts its journey, it will be your first book. As soon as you sit in to the train the train starts moving. Now there is no destination, there will be halts. The train will only stop if you stop reading otherwise the literature train will never stop. With the changing of book, the train will also change its appearance. You are suggested to not to judge its ride by look of train. The writer will be the driver of train. There will be other people in the train but those are the characters whom you find in a book. They will change with the book. Now there is also not fix route of train. Sometimes it will take you to utopia and sometimes to dystopia and in between it will also show you the real world, with that it will show you fantasy world also. It will also show you, different types of people. Some are good some are bad but it will be best if they have grey shade. Some you may like some you may not but what important here is your journey. Because you know there is no destination and you have not pick up this train to reach some where. You just pick up this train to travel, travel where that you don’t know and it is also not necessary to know. What necessary is that you pick up the train. Everyone who choose to travel in this train they have their personal one. Your train is only for you. Sometimes it will be electronic train sometimes it will be local train. We can not assure you how your ride will be, because it can be anything. It can be either smooth or roller coaster. It is not necessary that it will give you happiness only. It can give you tears, fears, and at most it can give you unrest also. But what is need to pick up one train, when there is no particular destination and when it can give unrest then why would one wants to travel in such train? Well, because you like to take risk and pick one. You will pick it by your choice and will left it also by your choice. At the end of the day, the journey of this train will give you Something. Not necessarily a thing, but I assure you that you will not return with empty mind or heart, lets not say hand because it might not give any physical things.

Literature is kind of Maze from which, one don't want to come out.