The Same but Different

Jessica Bourdage                                                                                                                                         

1/23/13

“How to Read World Literature” by Damrosch

The Same but Different

1. Can a specific cultural work be seen as universal?

Literature means different things in different places. It can simply be anything that is text at all or it can be confined to poems, plays, and prose fiction. (pg. 6) Essays, oral compositions, and movies all can be included in certain definitions of literature. With so many ways to define literature how can the literature itself be universal if there is no universal definition for it? There are so many works in which a reader needs to understand the cultural background of the piece in order to really make sense of what the author was trying to convey. “Confusion can arise when we mistake a work’s genre or an author’s intention.” (pg. 8) The book gives the example of Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds. When an audience doesn’t understand the meaning or background of a work they can’t possibly understand the work. With ignorance a cultural work could not be understood but there is a way for it to become universal. By learning more about other’s traditions and not imposing our own traditions on a work, we can better understand other’s works. On page 13, it states that you can’t assume that the author is “just like us, playing by the same rules and with the same sorts of cultural assumptions.” But we also can’t see them as “people who feel an entirely different set of emotions.” It’s when we find a balance of understandings others beliefs and feelings and our own that we can universally understand. By taking the time to read other writers with the same beliefs/cultures a reader can better understand a work and appreciate it more. A universal work can “transcend the boundaries of the culture that produces it.” (pg. 2) We can understand works from the past and from different places. By being exposed to these works we can expand our horizons and understand another’s culture.

2. Can we look at foreign works the same? And can we compare them in the hopes to find similarities?

Audiences place their own expectations on a work. When the audience comes across a work that is strange and foreign to them, they try “assimilating it superficially to what [they] already know.” (pg. 46) By taking what the reader knows they can use that knowledge to “provide a common basis for analysis. Without some meaningful ground of comparison, we would be left with a scattershot assortment of unrelated works.” (pg. 46) In order to understand a work that is foreign to us we need to learn more about the cultural background that the work comes from. Once we have that foundation we can merge it with what we already know and compare the two. Many times one can find similarities in the basic themes, characters, plots, and genres. “A basic ground of comparison of works from different cultures is provided by literary genres.” (pg. 47) The book gives the example of Oedipus the King and Shakuntala as two works from different cultures yet have the same basic principles. In both stories the “rulers must come to accept their destiny, as their attempts to avoid it only make things worse.” (pg. 53) Sophocles’ was Greek while Kalidasa was Indian and yet both wrote a story that had similar themes. They may have been closer with their “emphasis on fate over individual ability” than with “later dramatists in the West.” (pg. 52) Even across cultures works can be similar and universally understood.

3. Does the translation change the meaning of the work? 

Translation helps make works available to more people. Translating a piece word for word or “metaphase” doesn’t always give justice to the original. Translators have to find a medium which Dryden believes is paraphrasing. Paraphrasing doesn’t translate word for word but it also doesn’t create a completely different piece that the translator created themselves. (pg. 67) A translator brings their own biases to a work (pg. 4) along with their literary and cultural values. (pg. 68) The Thousand and One Nights, had many different translators that each brought a different story. Burton and Lane’s translations were completely different from each other. Translation definitely changes the story of a work. In Haddawy’s translation he leaves out the ending. (pg. 81)All these people translated the same work and yet it resulted in completely different stories. It is difficult to decide how to translate a book and keep its integrity and “strive to convey its force and meaning.” (pg. 67)