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There was once a teacher that complained about technology every day.

It was unreliable,
it has difficult, a waste of time, the list went one. Specifically this teacher complained about how
technology is ruining literature. The internet, mass printing, e-books are all making it so simple
for any type literature to be distributed to the public. There are those paperback romances that are
produced at an exponential rate and the short and not so short stories littering the internet.
Finding anything to read with substance is as difficult as searching for a needle in a haystack.
Despite the dubious quality of todays literature, it is all devoured up by minds searching to
satisfy a sweet tooth, or actually a sweet neuron, and through these actions society is revealing a
rather large problem that it has. In recent literature many aspects of life including love and the
harsh realities of life are portrayed in an unrealistic light because there are simply too many
harlequin romance novels, fantastical adventures and aspiring authors on the internet that are
floating around ready to prey on the minds of idealistic consumers.
Literature is defined as writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas
of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels,
history, biography, and essays. The biggest culprits in literature today are books and what will
be referred to as essays for the time being.
To start, romance novels can be considered brain candy, There is no arguing that.
Erievyovbe Emore was quoted as saying, I dont have to think when I am reading them. That
statement could not be any truer. After all, if you have read one romance novel you have virtually
read them all. The plot line is usually as follows: a man and a woman (for the most part) meet
one day, by chance of course. They cannot stand the sight of each other but with every glance,
every breath, every accidental brush of their arms, every moment there are even near each other,
they are reminded of the physical pull between them, the chemistry, the animal desire to just

pounce. Their primal instincts are screaming for them to engage in the ultimate act of bringing
two people as physically close as possible in a dance older than time. For part of the book the
two fight the temptation. They deny the attraction, trying to play it off as something else. They
blame it on the heat, something bad they had the dinner the previous night, or perhaps just
loneliness. It doesnt matter how his sea colored eyes glimmer every time she gazes into them!
How could she possibly be lusting after such a pig? What could her mouth and the shadows of
her deliciously feminine curves that he sees when she is dressed all prim and proper have to do
with anything? How could he possibly be pining over that overzealous virgin feminist?
Eventually they succumb to their desires and in a fit of passion they attempt to relieve the
tension, actually it is usually more than one fit of passion. Despite the pure satisfaction they feel
upon their couplings they end up hating themselves for their weakness. Even in light of their
conflicting emotions the couple ends up engaging in what they believe to be a purely physical
affair, just because they are so desperate to have that unique itch scratched. Eventually during
what is usually a tearful exchange one member of the dynamic duo will let it slip that he or she is
actually madly in love with their bedmate and all the truth will come spilling out since both
parties had been utterly entranced since the first hello. Depending on the quality of the book
there may or may not be an epilogue where the avid reader can learn about how the couple goes
on to have a spectacular wedding, sire a large litter or humans and live happily ever after.
Although this type of romance novel is notorious for its predictability, these books are
still rather popular. For one thing they are easy reads; they do not need to be analyzed for deeper
meaning and there most certainly isnt going to be an assessment on any of these books. There is
also the fact that the human pleasure centers probably get very happy during a harlequin
romance. Besides, reading about there all too perfect love affairs may be just the thing to induce

warm and fuzzy feelings in the more susceptible individuals. The hopeless romantics are also
perfect consumers of such literature. It cannot be forgotten that they are the ones that actually
want to fall in love like in the romance novels. These books give them a chance to get lost in an
imaginary world where everything is roses and daises. There are also those that indulge in this
form of literature just for kicks and giggles. They think it is funny when people fall passionately
in love. Either was this literature is exposing a very dark aspect of todays society. Some people
tend to be too idealistic, expecting that a stable fulfilling relationship will grow out of intense
physical attraction. Other people are just too pessimistic and they discount all romance as being
meaningless and unrealistic.
Another aspect of books that uncover some dirty little secrets of todays society is the
fantasy novels that tend to be written with adolescent in mind. They usually appear in neverending series form and tend to be the epitome of fiction. Some examples include Harry Potter,
The Twilight Saga, and Eragon, just to name a few. There fantasy novels, like their romantic
counter parts are also produced by the millions with their predictable plots. The protagonists
always live, or at least they dont really die, the bad guys are defeated, the world is saved and
everyone lives happily ever after. In the book How I became stupid this hero glory syndrome is
described perfectly. Nothing annoys me more than those stories where, at the end, the hero is in
the same situation but hes gained something. Hes taken risks, survived adventures but, in the
end, lands back on his feet. (Page 3). Ulysses did not die during his adventures, Batman always
manages to save the day, even Jimmy Neutron manages to save the world on an almost daily
basis and he dousnt seem to be permanently scarred. Even in the Harry Potter series, right from
the first book it was clear to see that Harry Potter was going to defeat that batty old wizard that
wanted to be immortal and he was going to get the girl. Not only does the hero save the world, he

gets to fall in love too! There is a perfect example of this phenomenon in the third Maximum
Ride book.
Maximum ride and her buddy Fang are running for their lives from the Erasers who are
mechanical wolves that are pretty much the result of government experiments on human beings.
For those who are wondering, they have wings as well. Anyways, Max and Fang escape
unscathed (obviously) and they hide in a cabin where they share a sloppy yet passionate first
kiss. Max and Fang eventually end up hating each other because they cant agree on how to
destroy the school, which is just a huge government run lab where they perform experiments on
human, fiddling with their DNA. Despite the disagreements the School is eventually taken down
and whem Max and fang are reunited their exchange, as written on pages 397-398, is as follows:
I hold him tight, trying to swallow the lump of cotton in my throat, my head on his
shoulder, my eyes squeezed shut.
Dont ever leave me again, I said in a tiny voice.
I wont, he promised into my hair, sounding most un-Fang-like. I wont. Not ever.
What a perfectly wonderful ending that what seemed like a suicide mission!
These books show that our society tends to be a little nave. Many people view the world
through rose-tinted glasses. Because people are exposed to the concept that everything turns put
amazing in the end, society ends up largely unprepared for disaster. The saying is to plan for the
worst and hope for the best. For the most part people expect the best with a side a magic dust.
This risky behavior can be traced back to the literature consumed during impressionable
adolescent years.
Another source of literature that reveals societys values and ideals is the internet. The
internet is a virtual library containing everything from short stories to epic fanfictions published

by aspiring writers, enthusiastic fans, and prepubescent girls that are not capable of spelling just
to name a few. One very popular form of literature found on the World Wide Web is fanfiction.
Fanfiction is the result of authors, usually fans of various levels of writing ability, borrowing
characters, plot points from published media and creating their own story.
Fanfiction often includes an unrealistic view of love and the perfect hero happy ending
problem. And there is a plethora of it floating around in cyber space. It is about any movie, TV
show, book, play, celebrity, band, and manga. There are countless archives on the internet that
house the billions of stories. FanFiction.net, The Petulant Poetess, OWL- the Online Wizarding
Library, LiVEJOURNAL, and Coloured Grey among many, many, many others. Then each
archive has hoards of members, a fact which is a testament to just how many people consume
and are presumably influenced by the literature found in said archives. The predictable romantic
plot lines as well as the fighting epic battles and winning concepts are usually included. One
fanfiction titled Hinge of Fate includes another popular plotline although there is a little twist to
it. What happens is that one day Severus and Hermione are captured by a band of death eaters.
Under the Imperius curse Severus is forced to force himself upon Hermione. The two are
eventually delivered to safety but by then it is too late, Hermione has conceived and Severus is
very ill. Over the course of her pregnancy Hermione nurses Severus back to health and by the
end of the nine months the two are hopelessly in love. The teacher-student romance turns this
fanfiction into one of those marvelous forbidden love stories, making it all the more predictable
yet addicting all the same.
Literature reflects how a society thinks. Literature today shown that we think love is
magically perfect and all trials can be solved with minimal damage to a person. So much
literature that can be found today romanticizes so much, clouding the vision of the masses.

Perhaps the idealistic view is the reason for skyrocketing divorce rates. The literature that is
consumes is probably responsible for blinding many individuals that what it really takes to build
a strong, satisfying, and lasting relationship. People rush into marriage and realize too late that
they dont have what it takes to make it work. Even in issues that are not love people are
negatively influenced by literature. The unconscious hope for the magic powder makes one lazy,
not working to make something happen, just figuring it will work out in the end. Their idealistic
view of their financial standing may lead someone to make an investment that they are clearly
not equipped to make. The source of the financial crisis we are currently experiencing can easily
be explained by such frames of mind. Reality is harsher that what is presented in books. Despite
what readers consume on a daily basis they cannot be blinded by the world that they read about.

Works Cited
Emore, Erhieyovbe. Personal interview. 7 June 2010. My aunt explained to me why she enjoys
reading romance novels in her free time. It was useful because she was very frank about
why she enjoys brain candy. This source fits in my research because she reads for the
entertainment and the simplicity of the books.
Eutychides. Things That Change. LiVEJOURNAL. N.p., 14 Feb. 2006. Web. 7 June 2010.
<http://eutychides.livejournal.com/292.html>. Draco date rapes Harry, has Harry child,
ends up living with Harry, the two end up falling in love and having three more kids and
live together for twenty more years.. This source is a fanfiction which is online and was
never a published book unlike most of my other sources. It is an example of romance in
online literature where you have a purely physical relationship become something of a
solid relationship.
Haydon, Elizabeth. Destiny: Child of the Sky. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2001. Google
books. Web. 7 June 2010. <http://books.google.com/books?
id=ShfbON2IUhoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=elizabeth+haydon+destiny&source=bl&ot
s=sixpW2d6vC&sig=cqdcUQoDTGZKaA8DQf1PG4a0Yjo&hl=en&ei=ioINTMW9PM
L38AbNlylBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CCYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage
&q&f=fal>. This book is an example of how heroes tend to go through life threatening
ordeals and come out relatively unscathed. It was a useful source because I had already
worked with it previously and I was familiar with it. This source supports my argument
because it is one of those fantasy novels that there are just too many of and it has only
reinforced how I feel about the topic.

Literature. Def. 1. Dictionary.com. Random, 7 June 2010. Web. 7 June 2010.


<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/literature>. Literature is loosely defined as any
written work. This site is reliable because the definition I found was similar to that I have
heard before. This relates to my paper because I am analyzing literature.
Page, Martin. How I became stupid. Paris: Penguin, 2004. Google books. Web. 7 June 2010.
<http://books.google.com/books?
id=nDge6WcKz_kC&printsec=frontcover&dq=how+i+became+stupid&source=bl&ots=
3wO9oAD1W8&sig=lGbpAr-J9inUuTRzpmB_iaTY4g&hl=en&ei=J4kNTNndOoT78AablunBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCkQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&
q&f=true>. Anotine is a guy that is entirely too smart and believes it is aging him so he
embarks on an adventure to take it easy, a.k.a. get silly. The goal of this source is to
entertain but at the same time it is reliable because it is a primary source. There is a epic
passage in this book that makes my day because every time I read it I think, Man, I
couldnt have said it better myself!
Patterson, James. Maximum Ride: Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports. New York: Little,
Brown and Company, 2007. Print. Maximum Ride and her siblings perform death
defying feats to escape the evil scientists. The information is reliable for this is a primary
source that supports my point of my research. This book features the kiss, hate, make up
and never separate ever again scenario as well as the hero always comes out on top
scenario.
Ramos. Hinge of Fate. FanFiction.net. N.p., 7 Feb. 2006. Web. 7 June 2010.
<http://www.fanfiction.net/s/1024910/1/Hinge_of_Fate>. Hermione and Snape engage in

some unsavory behavior under the Imperius Curse and a child is conceived as a result.
Throughout the course of the story they come to terms with the incident and its results.
The goal of this fanfiction is to entertain, it is very useful as it contains one of my favorite
plots. This source fits into my research because it includes the first comes the baby, then
comes love scenario.
Roberts, Nora. Dream Makers. New York: Harlequin, 2006. Print. In this story the ring mistress
of the circus hates the new owner of the circus because she is afraid he is going to change
things, their differences are eventually resolved. This source is useful because I was
already familiar with it and it is a genuine harlequin romance. This source is a classic
example of the I hate you but I cant resist your body syndrome that eventually leads to
the perfect engagement.
Rowling, J K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. New York: Authur A. Levine, 2007. Print.
Harry Potter endures life threatening adventures, kills the bad guy and lives happily ever
after. The goal of this source is to entertain young adults that enjoy happily ever afters.
This source is an example of a mostly never ending series and the hero defeats evil, saves
the day, and gets the girl.

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