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When we think about the purpose of a novel, one might assume
that it's intended solely for the enjoyment of the reader. After all,
enjoyment is something that comes through our sense organs - we experience
pleasure when our tongue recognizes a delicious taste or our ear hears
beautiful music. And just as we need experience to enjoy these things, we
also need experience to enjoy a novel. We might find pleasure in the
personalities, life situations, human feelings, and conflicts of interests
that we see in a novel, especially if we can relate to them based on our own
experiences.
But is enjoyment the only purpose of a novel? What about education?
Education is all about drawing out the best powers in an individual and
training them to desirable levels and degrees. It's about properly
channeling and developing our instincts, emotions, and sentiments. In this
sense, a novel might not seem like an educational tool - it might bring us
wider experience, but it doesn't necessarily claim to develop our
capabilities.
Of course, there are exceptions. A student of literature might study novels
for their education, as part of a course of study. And it's possible that
reading novels might develop language ability in some readers. But these
cases are not the norm - they're specific circumstances where a novel is
being used for educational purposes.
Ultimately, it seems that the primary purpose of a novel is indeed for the
enjoyment of the reader. Novels might make us more reflective or help us
expand our experience and knowledge, but these are side effects rather than
intended outcomes. So the next time you pick up a novel, do so with the
expectation of enjoying it - that's what it's there for. |
