Reply to comment

I find myself considering a subject we discussed previously in class, whether or not Zadie Smith’s On Beauty could ever be as generative as Forster’s Howards End, or for that matter generative at all.  It seemed pretty unanimous in class that Smith’s work would not have the staying power of Forster’s, but the reason behind this fact is difficult to articulate.  Both works are grounded significantly in the times they describe, however, Howard’s End seems to transcend the trappings of culture to deal with larger themes.  Smith also deals with larger themes, but those she chooses to handle, the downfall of academia, the importance of beauty and the subconscious seem more tied to modern intellectual concerns than Forster’s critique of intellectualism, practicality and class.  It seems the most universally relevant theme in Smith’s work regards questions of race in modern society, but this alone does not make her work stand out as one that will withstand the passage of time.  Perhaps the mark of a great work of literature is not an attempt to “fail better” as Smith suggests, but the ability to withstand the passage of time while remaining relevant and generative.  In this way, the life cycles of literature are highly evolutionary.  A work’s survival may depend upon its ability to generate new ideas, while still remaining viable in its original form.
Elise