MORALIST APPROACH ON LITERARY TEXT ( For Educational Purposes)

Key Concepts:

1. Literary Criticism Defined:

Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature.
Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which involves philosophical discussions about the goals and methods of literature.

2. Moralist Approach Explained:

The moralist approach views humans as rational beings with intellect and free will.
It assesses whether a literary work accurately portrays human nature.
This approach is closely tied to the morality of literature, focusing on questions of ethical goodness or badness.

3. Central Questions for Moralistic Literary Criticism:

Question 1: What behavior does the character exhibit that the author wants us to think is right?
Question 2: What behavior is wrong? What religious or ethical beliefs does the text deal with directly? Are there any religious or philosophies mentioned especially in the text?
Question 3: What religious or ethical beliefs or philosophies does the author seem to favor?

4. Example: "The Tortoise and the Hare"

Story Summary: A hare (rabbit) and a tortoise (turtle) have a race. The hare, confident in his speed, takes a nap, while the tortoise continues steadily. The tortoise wins because the hare sleeps too long.
Moral Lesson: "Slow and steady wins the race." The tortoise's determination and persistence led to victory, while the hare's overconfidence and complacency resulted in defeat.
Moral Criticism Application: The moral criticism looks for the lesson in it.

5. Analysis of Moral Lesson:

6. Conclusion:

The moralist approach in literary criticism focuses on identifying the moral lessons and ethical implications within a literary work.
It examines character behavior, religious/ethical beliefs, and philosophical perspectives to understand the author's intended message.
The "Tortoise and the Hare" example illustrates how moral criticism extracts valuable life lessons from even simple stories.