Chapter 11: Violence

Foster's Ideas

"It's nearly impossible to generalize about the meaning of violence, except that there are generally more than one, and its range of possibilities is far larger than something like rain or snow. Authors rarely introduce violence straightforwardly, to perform only its one appointed task, so we ask questions...The answers may have to do with physchological dilemma, with spiritual crises, with historical or social or political concerns. Almost never, though, are they cut-and-paste, but they do exist, and if you put your mind to it, you can usually come up with some possibilities."

In this chapter Foster helps readers to further analyze why an author would use violence in a piece of literature. Sometimes authors use violence to prove a point, to get rid of a character, to cause a problem, to solve a problem, or to further a pattern of violent writing. Often times violence is the answer in literature for writers when they want a shift: whether it be shift of tone or a shift in the climax.

As a reader we should question violence in literature by asking questions about why the author would want a character dead or why they chose this method over that one. By confronting these questions we get a better knowledge of what the author was trying to prove and we can better connect with the actuality of the characters.

One book that comes to mind when I think of violence is "The Great Gatsby". From the death of Myrtle to the death of Gatsby, as a reader you begin to question why Fitzgerald would eliminate one of his main characters so near to the end of the book. But the sudden death of Gatsby is a way for Fitzgerald to end the complex relationship shared by Daisy and Gatsby. Also, the series of events helps to support the hidden theme of the book which is about the corrupt American life during the time period.


Another author that is famous for his use of violence is Shakespeare. Many of his plays focus around the use of violence but sometimes the reasoning behind his use of violence is unknown. Without it his playwrights and stories would not hold the same dramatic effect on the reader as they do now.

This quote from Foster proves that sometimes violence isn't even explainable by the authors. But most of the time if we as readers look at the series of events and context then we may be able to decipher the explanation behind the use of violence.