Literature is allowed to expand across class lines because it is constantly seeking out new forms of expressing the human experience. Even the most elite of the bourgeoisie are allowed to enjoy the latest experimental or ethnic literature, which serve as pure representations of the proletariat human experience, "it is common to see 'literature' defined as 'full, central, immediate human experience,' usually an associated reference to 'minute particulars,'" (Williams 45). These "minute particulars" are what make literature so interesting and entertaining, thus successful. It is with this understanding of literature as an ideology that the concept of ideology can take on duel roles, "A common culture is thus entirely compatible with a hierarchical one," (Eagleton The Idea of Culture 115). Much unlike the theories which state that a true ideology cannot live up to a duel existence, literature as an ideology proves to do just that.

It is in this...
[ View Full Essay]