And I understand and agree with what you say, DJ. There were
some others here who were saying, in effect, "these things
offend me, so I'm not going to read this kind of literature."
Problematically, the kind of story that this list/group deals
with, is specifically about morally reprehensible behavior. I
didn't read The Confession, and probably won't, because I am
just too busy these days and am therefore very
selective.
I think this avian's feather's were ruffled because of the
"paint with a broad brush" view. It's like someone else said,
denying oneself literature from a period of time where (for
instance) racism and classism were considered the norm really
cuts out a large chunk of very good stories.
So, in essence, you and I don't disagree. I just pontificated
a little too much!
Tony
--- In
rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, DJ-Anonyme@w... wrote:
>
> Tony wrote:
>
> "In other words, why is it OK to write about some
morally offensive
> behaviors, but not OK to write about
others?"
>
> Short version, I'd say it's okay to write about all
of those behaviors.
> Racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, etc, can be as
fascinating a
> subject as murder, corruption, etc; put them all
together and you've got
> a book I would read. My problem comes when any one
of these is
> unexamined (by the author, it's fine if the
character is unware f things
> about him/herself), when a racial slur is overused
for no reason other
> than to shock or, worse, without even thinking
(again, by author, not
> character). Saying people actually say it isn't
enough. People say
> "fuck" all the time, but it can have far more effect
in a book when used
> sparingly, with a purpose.
>
> As for non-PC language getting more criticism than
morally reprehensible
> actions, well, it may be rare to criticize a book
for including bribery,
> murder, rape, etc, seldom are those acts included
without a well thought
> out reason, and seldom are the most vicious acts
depicted in a positive
> way (except when meting out vengeance). In fact,
wasn't that what the
> controversy was over The Confession (well, at least
among those who
> actually read it before calling for its burning),
that there wasn't
> strong authorial disapproval against the main
character and his actions?
> Murder is pretty much seen as universally bad in
crime lit (with a few
> rare, well rationalized exceptions), but gratuitous
racial slurs can
> actually be mistaken as a sign of how edgy a writer
is.
>
> Mark
>
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 13 Nov 2005 EST