Ethical Criticism in Artwork
Uploaded by amany kamal on May 26, 2006
As the title might suggest, ethical criticism is a discipline in artwork that focuses on the ethical and moral effect of any given literary text on the reader. In this sense, ethical critics think that it is literature's job to teach the moral lesson and, in a sequence, they reductively transform every text into a moral fable (story). Those very critics believe that such didactic values would be absorbed by the reader whether consciously or subconsciously. The question that might raise itself here is: How can one read ethically? Well, the answer is easy. If somebody is meant to be reading ethically, he/she should occupy their emotions and imagination with the text they read; they also should develop certain ethical standards by finishing reading the text. Another question might be moved up here is: How can a reader be sure that he has been reading ethically? Well, the answer is quite simple too. By the end of the reading, one should start asking himself a number of questions such as What did I learn from what I read? Did I like that character? If Yes, Why? What are that good qualities that I liked about it? If not, Why? What are that bad qualities that I liked about it? Thus by trying to answer this kind of questions, one can be sure that he was reading ethically. As a last word, I believe studying ethical criticism is important simply because no one can deny that we are at least partially constructed by the stories we have read, heard, or viewed.