Charles Larson argues against the idea of universality in literature. He claims that expecting others from different cultures to respond the same way to Western literature is a form of "heroic ethnocentrism". Larson draws on his experience teaching English novels to African students, who struggled not because of problems with language or technology, but because of cultural differences in areas like relationships, gender roles, and values. Larson concludes that the concept of universality ignores the multiplicity of cultural experiences, and that we should not expect or force others outside Western culture to respond the same way to Western literature.

1. Heroic Ethnocentrism
The idea of universality in literature
Charles Larson
By Muhammad Rizwan
mrizwan0099@gmail.com

2.  Ethnocentrism
→ Ethnocentrism is a view or opinion that one's own
group is the center of civilization; all other groups are
merely a reflection of one's own group, and one's own
way of life is the best way of life
 Or
→ when a person tries to judge the culture of other
people from the point of view of their own culture.
Ethnocentrism can look at things like language,
custom, religion and behavior.

3.  Example
→ We try to judge or access American Culture on the
basis of our own culture, it will be termed as
ethnocentrism
 An ethnocentric person will use their own culture as
the basis for judging other cultures. They see their
own culture as the best and believe other cultures
should change to be more like theirs.

4.  Basis of Ethnocentrism
→ a belief in the superiority of one’s own culture over
others, and it too may be transient /ˈtrænz i‿ənt/ and
superficial.
 Heroic Ethnocentrism
→ Refers to the concept of developing a literary text, in
which the whole text revolves around only one person,
named as the HERO
→ Western writers believe that this practice of making
one character as the center of the attention is the
standard or of superior quality for developing any
literary piece

5.  The idea lays the foundation stone for the concept of
UNIVERSALITY in literature
 What is Universality in Literature?
→ Universality refers the claim that great literature goes
beyond the limits of time and place
→ It is the quality of a text which enables it to transcend
the limits of the particular situation, place, time,
person and incident in such a way that it may be of
interest, pleasure and profit (in the non-commercial
sense) to all people at any time in any place.

6.  Robert Scholes /shōlz/ (According to him)
→ “If human nature is always and everywhere the same,
then it follows that every literary text may express
aspects of that great universal truth. But if human
beings are constituted differently in different cultural
situations, then the varieties of literature must be seen
as temporal rather than eternal.”
 All authors are shaped and fashioned by their
particular culture, so they can not feel all humanly
feelings.

7.  Charles Larson in his essay “Heroic Ethnocentrism:
the idea of universality in literature”
 First he talks what universality of literature is
→ “The belief that the universal attitudes should be the
same irrespective of society”
 Later, he rejects the idea of universality in literature;
According to him
→ literature produced in one culture represents a set of
values which are peculiar to that culture only,
therefore to call a piece of literature universal is to
impose these values on other arbitrarily

8.  He writes,
→ “when we try to force the concept of universality on
someone who is not Western, I think we are implying
that our own culture should be the standard of
measurement”
→ “Why do we expect to others to react the same way as
we do?”

9.  Larson claims,
→ “For the most part, the term ‘universal’ has been
grossly misused when it has been applied to non-
Western literature, because it has so often been used
in a way that ignores the multiplicity of cultural
experiences.”

10.  He justifies his views by sharing his English teaching
experience in Africa,
→ When he was teaching an English novel, his students
faced a few problems
→ He thought (problems)
− Related to
» Technology
» Science

11.  Reality
→ The problems were related with
− Language
− Literature
− Culture

12.  Language
→ ESL
→ Vocabulary
→ Connotations (Experience of Literature)
 Literature
→ Plot
→ Characters
→ Length of Novel
→ Long Description passages

13.  Culture
→ Kiss
− Meaning
» What it is
» Adult (15-24 years)
» GFs
» Married
− Occurred
» Students = Confused / Emotional
− Solution
» European Educated Teacher
 African “Don’t Kiss”

14.  Larson holds that
→ the concept which are very in vogue in west and are
parts of western culture, such as kissing, sex, love,
lengthy descriptions of country-life and the concept of
hero.
→ He analyses the African culture and literature in
comparison to that of the western and concludes that
whatever are deemed fashionable in west, are even
not recognized by many people in Africa.

15. Western and African cultures are different from each
other
Western Culture
 Love Story (Central
Theme)
 Hero -> Mate (plot line
progresses)
 Seduction (Major Goal)
 Fate of Lover (Significant
element of the story)
 Lack of concern about
death
African Culture
 Don’t write love stories
 Women (Minor Role)
 Marriage (Not concern of
the noel)
 Not Available
→ Graphic description of
erotic love
→ Kisses
→ Holding Hands (Western
Sense)
→ Hero Concept (Groups,
Instead)

16. → But does it imply that these people are inferior and
uncivilized if they don’t know the western values,
→ He writes,
− “Are these attitudes so different for the African?
→ Is the African way of life less sophisticated than our
own? Or
− Is the belief that these supposedly ‘universal’ attitudes
should be the same as ours the naïve one?

17.  Is this what we really mean when we talk about
‘universality’ in literature—
→ if someone does not react to something in our
literature the same way that we do, then he is to be
considered inferior?
→ Perhaps the term itself is meaningless”.

18.  He says that I learned from this
→ Each culture has its own set of norms and values which
are peculiar to them.
→ One thing natural in one society is not natural at all in
the other
→ Culture shapes our interpretations of literature in
different ways
→ Description of nature/events differs from culture to
culture
→ People love/die in every society, but their reactions are
different to these so is their interpretation of literature

19.  Conclusion
→ “The time has come when we should avoid the use of
the term ‘universal.”
→ We should not expect people who are not of our own
culture and heritage to respond in the same way that
we do to our own literature
→ The purpose of any piece of literature, no matter what
culture it was produced in, is to show us something we
were previously unaware of

20. THE END