"Novels Arise out of the Shortcomings of History"

Novels: Society's Mirror to history's Loopholes, Diving into the Genre of Historical Fiction

Novels showing various shades of ideas

In his famous interview by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, insights on the relation of history and fiction as in case of novels were highlighted. Mahatma Gandhi famously enunciated – “Be the change you want to see in the world”, where in this case when history negates the facts laced with political and social pressures, literature or particularly Novels acts as deus ex machina for throwing light on society’s loopholes, becoming the much needed change.

 

What makes ‘Novels’ the ‘mirror’ ?

Novels percolate deep down into the shortcomings of history. While history sometimes comes as a token of political and other influence, literature becomes the recluse in upholding the truth and thus act as flagbearer of facts. The history of literature itself is divided  into many eras where uprisings and movements like Renaissance, and theories like Structuralism, Romanticism, Realism, Marxist Criticism et al. have helped in refinement of this sphere of information. So, what particularly makes novels the mirrors? The answer is simple, yet insightful. Writers and activists put forth their voices averse to all suppressions to show what the actual situation is about. Like in case the famous novel of Salman Rushdie “Midnight’s Children”,the grassroot experience of the blood- stains of Partition reverberate through its columns.

Role of Politics in staining the History:

Images of history mingling with literature

In today’s era, anything with absolute purity is seldom found. But if the whole scenario keeps on changing according to the Government at Lok Sabha then the matter is something which wants attention. Such is the case with history. While people find  the age-old stories in them, many perspectives are accepted while most rejected due accordingly. What place novels and literature in general acquire is of much importance. Several acts and orders had been issued time and again to counter freedom of expression. Yet they had poignantly kept their position firm pass centuries.

 

Famous works of Historical Fiction

In the history of English Literature, the genre of historical fiction is of much acclaim. It is a literary genre where history amalgamated with fiction. Here, the setting is based on past, historical events but the genre is fictional. Some seminal works of this includes- Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace , others like Gone with the Wind, All the Light We Cannot See, A Gentlemen in Moscow, The Song of Achilles, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain to name a few. 

 

 Conclusion 

One has much to take and learn from the brave presentation of truth. Novels arising from the shortcomings of history acts as a potent vehicle in upliftment of society. The readers can look up to the given examples for more insights into the topic. 

 

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