Long before human civilization started in this world, stories are found

among the constellations, beneath the depths of the oceans, and

within the woodland realm. Long before language was invented,
stories were told and engraved upon stone tablets and wall carvings.
Long before humans began to know how to read and write with the
words that our ancestors created, literature already existed.

Literature is the foundation of humanity’s cultures, beliefs, and

traditions. It serves as a reflection of reality, a product of art, and a
window to an ideology. Everything that happens within a society can
be written, recorded in, and learned from a piece of literature.
Whether it be poetry or prose, literature provides insight, knowledge
or wisdom, and emotion towards the person who partakes it entirely.

Life is manifested in the form of literature. Without literature, life

ceases to exist. It is an embodiment of words based on human
tragedies, desires, and feelings. It cultivates wonders, inspires a
generation, and feeds information. Even though it is dynamic,
endless, and multi-dimensional, literature contributes significant
purposes to the world we live in.

Literature in History
Literature is present during the era of the ancient world. Even without
the invention of words and language, literature was already
manifested in the earliest human civilizations. Carvings and paintings
on walls inside caves of stone give evidence about the lives of
prehistoric people. They explain their way of life.

Literature is also a tool for the foundation of a religion. The Holy

Bible, one of the oldest written scriptures, is a compilation of tales,
beliefs, and accounts that teach about Christianity (for both the Old
and the New Testament) and about Judaism (for some selected books
in the Old Testament). Within a span of more than a thousand years
from the Prophet Moses to the Apostle Paul, the Bible was written by
numerous authors believed to be inspired by God’s divine wisdom
and tries to explain about the mysteries of life as well as setting rules
for one’s personal faith. The same goes with the Qu’ran for Muslims,
Torah for the Jews, and the Bhagavad-Gita, Ramayana and Veda for
the Hindus.

Literature explains human values. The works of Plato, Socrates, and

Aristotle (the most famous Greek philosophers) contain virtues that
promote perfection to a society if only human beings have the
willingness to uphold and practice them. Plato’s Allegory of the
Cave speaks about the importance of human wisdom and the penalties
that one would face to achieve a higher level of understanding.
Through these philosophers’ contributions to literature, not only did
they craft an artistic convergence of words, but exposed logic and
ideas as well.

Literature in Revolution
Literature is an instrument of revolution. Political turmoil, societal
injustice, and genocidal conquest can all be ended and resolved in the
form of literature. A writer can be a warrior with his words as his
weapon. He can be a revolutionist by writing a literary piece that
exploits corruption in his nation yet fosters development for his fellow
countrymen. Not all revolutions have to be fought in blood.

In Europe, Martin Luther, the German monk most famous for the
reformation of the Christian church during the Renaissance Era,
nailed his 95 Theses on the door of a cathedral to inform the
townspeople about the Roman Catholic Church’s corruption of riches
and tithes. Although he was excommunicated eventually because of
this mere and blasphemous attempt of protest, the Christian church was
then divided into two sectors: Catholicism and Protestantism. Victor
Hugo, a notable French writer, gave us a vivid view of the French
Revolution in his novel, Les Miserables and an epitome of French
romantic literature in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Anne Frank, a
Jewish girl who was a victim of the Holocaust during the reign of
Hitler in Nazi Germany, was only an innocent youth when she wrote
a diary that details her life and struggles as a captive during that time.
The diary became known as The Diary of a Young Girl and was one of
the most read books in the twentieth century, with the readers
sympathizing the victims of the genocide geared towards the Jews in
the Second World War.

In America, the novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet-Beecher Stowe,

and the memoir, 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, spoke about
the cruelties and the hardships of the Negro slaves in the southern
states. These books gained attention and eventually ignited the Civil
War that paved the way to the abolition of slavery and the freedom of
the African-American people. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous
speech, I Have a Dream contains the revolutionist’s desire for a new
America – a country filled with liberty, not only for the Whites but for
the Blacks as well. With courageous effort and an ambitious zeal,
Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his speech and recited it in front of the
masses during the Civil Rights Era (1960’s). Another cultural
revolution that happened in the late 1960’s made possible the
transition of conservativism to modernization in societal norms when
the Hippie Movement was practiced. John Lennon’s song, Imagine,
basically tells us about the philosophy of the hippie community –
make love not war.

In my motherland, the Philippines, or national hero, Jose Rizal, was a

revolutionist as well as a writer. He wrote novels that aimed to
threaten the Spanish Empire during the colonization of the
Philippines by Spain. His best works, Noli Me Tangere and its
corresponding sequel, El Filibusterismo, were two of the many
revolutionary tools that contributed to my country’s independence
from Spain. Both of which didn’t involve violence and bloodshed.
They were pieces of literature.

In addition to being a tool for revolution, literature can also be a

device for an adoration to a nation. It can do so much for one’s own
country. Numerous poems, songs, sonnets, ballads, and odes were
written by famous writers as manifestations of their love and
patriotism towards their own country. A national anthem, with its
sole purpose to praise a nation, is a form of literature. A national
anthem is a lyrical verse. Not only does it praise the country, it also
emphasizes its beauty, acknowledges its history, and signifies its
majesty.

Literature in the Modern Era

Literature in the present generation still exists as an expression of art,
a source of knowledge, and an instrument of entertainment. Books are
being read seriously by readers who crave for information and
recreationally by those who are passionate in exploring their
imagination. Literature kindles new ideas. It gives voice to the people
who want to express their opinions about certain things in life –
whether it be in politics, health, religion, and the like. Literature is the
heart of songs, rhythmic and harmonious pieces that give message
and inspiration to people. Films are visual representations of
literature, they give life and action to the words written on a page.
Magazines, newspapers, the television, the radio, and even the
internet contain literature. It is found everywhere and anywhere. The
power of literature affects all of us. It is complex, intergenerational,
and long-lasting.
Literature is found in the beginning of all things, this is what I am
truly certain about. It continues to live throughout the ages. It
connects human beings and mirrors reality in an artistic way, in a
profound value. As long as our world lives, so does literature flourish.
ABSTRACT
Today the human race stands at the center of the universe .Human beings are supposed to
be endowed with inner powers capable of autonomously taking decision and constructing
their own destiny. But the material condition and systems being generated and the trends of
thought developing today raise questions regarding the values orientedness of the human
race. Everywhere in the world, the decimation of values in various spheres of life is visible
.Humanity is to be considered as the highest value in the global human society. For, the test
for humanity is to achieve unity among the world with the preservation of historical and
cultural differences as well as the distinctiveness of nation states and communities. Such
human unity can be driven only by recognizing human values such as truth, love, respect,
forgiveness, kindness, dignity, respect etc. Because, it is the human values which are to be
treated as the keys to solving the global problems. There is no denying the fact that the
present global society is facing a lot of crises. Human value crisis is a known fact of the
modern society
The main focus of this paper describes the need of value based education and focuses on
how English literature can be an effective tool to inculcate values in human race. It has also
tried to focus on a few strategies that might help in learning better values through English
literature would be discussed in detail in the full paper.
Keywords: English literature, Humanity, Human Values, Inculcate.
INTRODUCTION
Human values play a crucial role in the society, for they are said to be the foundation of
human beings for a head leading a better desirable life. It is persuaded that all holy books of
all religions embrace the values of good life. Values judge especially in questioning of
cultural concern for the preservation of cultural heritage. Importance of human values is
seen right from preschool stage that lays the Information of foundation on human values
and end in the period to adolescence. We human beings through our five senses that help
us to discriminate from good and bad, right and wrong. We have access to information
readily however, transformation is slow without practice of human values, and this is where
the importance of human values plays a significant role in bringing solutions to the global
problems such as ecological, moral and social problems.
In this present global human society we almost see only the demoralizing values. What the
genuine cause of the degradation of these values could be is an unknown answerable
question to the society This paper shows a theoretical framework of need of value based
education in the first part of the paper and in the second part it focuses on how English
literature can be an effective tool to inculcate values in human race and few strategies that
might help in learning better values through English literature.
NEED OF VALUE BASED EDUCATION
Human value crisis is one of the intense burning problems in our daily life. The values like
truthfulness, kindness, honesty, law, justice, patriotism, humanism, etc. are to be conserve
in society in order to influence human life to regulate in a well-ordered manner. Value-crisis
has emerged due to not understanding its proper role in our human society. The problem of
value deterioration in our society can be stored out, if we have concern and consciousness
about the deep-rooted ethics and values in our society. Modern human society seems to be
valued on the basis of material thing and its position. There is no place for feelings of
mercy, sympathy or kindness, etc. human values have become neglected and meaningless,
for human beings have become the means for the rich to earn money. People are so busy
with earning material things that they have no time and no desire to think about the plight of
human. Human value may lay as cornerstones for the foundation of social value. Those
who show adorable respect to human value will be entitled to social value, so the
preference to social value over human value crisis is one of the intense burning problems in
our daily life. The values play very crucial in the society and surpasses all other values. The
choice to co-create a better future for our children by ensuring excellence and quality in
education as mere core values that will help transform our world.
Value education simply means developing appropriate behavior and habits involving
inculcation of certain values and habits. Value education starts from families and it is
continuous at schools with the help of educators. Because of these teachers, families and
educational activities are important in values education. Families are the first source of role
models to their children as they give information so they should be careful about their
behaviours and attitudes. the role and cooperation of teachers is very crucial for the children
most is what the teacher does in the classroom counts them more to inculcate. Educational
activities like seminars, conferences; families can take an active part in organizing so that,
there can be an effective harmony among families, educators and educational programs.
The inculcation of value based education has become a need of the hour. The need of
values are to promote fundamental values and direct people to lead a healthy life which
help them to improve overall qualities of life to become responsible citizen.
INCULCATING VALUES THROUGH LITERATURE
Literature is the speculum of society. Literature from time immemorial has invoked students
of all ages. Literature starts in delight but ends in wisdom. Literature helps students
appreciate diverse cultures and certain emotions like love, anger, jealousy, greedy etc. are
universal. Once the students have self-determined control over their emotions, it will help
them in balancing their professional lives also. In short, one can say that literature serves a
reflection of dual purpose which would include acquisition of English language and
inculcating value education.
TEACHING VALUES THROUGH LITERATURE
Teaching English Literature opens a new era of world to the students. It cultivates the
abilities of Human society to have a set of core ethics and values to live. The importance of
inculcating these values in our children is acknowledged universally. The study of literature
in the form of short stories and novels forces students to find moral lessons everywhere.
Students they learn to monitor their behaviours by reading stories and fables having a moral
behind them. Every fable with a moral leaves a deep impression in their minds and imbibes
such values in their day to day living.
INCULCATING VALUES THROUGH POETRY
Poetry is one of the powerful instructional tool and an important art to study at any age and
most universal vehicle of human expression. It is a worthy expression of emotion or deep
feelings and aesthetics or a sense of what is beautiful about the world. Poetry helps to
understand universal truths as well as cultural differences. Throughout the history, poetry
has been made to address a subject matters, including social issues, war, love, and the
beauty of nature and the love of God. Poetry is meant to invoke experiences, it emphasizes
the role of the senses, calling to mind memories and feelings and an excellent tool for
encouraging students’ creativity and for exposing the aesthetically elastic boundaries of
language. Poetry encourages students to develop empathy and understanding to view the
complexities of the world in new ways. Poetry should have a central place in all of our lives,
not only for the aesthetic pleasure it affords, but also for its competency to awaken our
senses, connect us with ourselves and others, to lead our life in synthesizing way.
INCULCATING VALUES THROUGH PROSE
The students learn values effortlessly and in causal manner when they are taught through
prose. Students know the value of being responsible, developing tranquility of mind, helping
each other when they are taught through a certain prose and which help them to become
confident to express their thoughts, feelings and emotions. A good literature can be vital aid
to language development and competence; conflict resolution; cultural assimilation,
emotional development and stability; development of positive and good-oriented attitudes to
life. The use of prose has, doubtless, made learning more engaging in inculcation values
and ethics.
CONCLUSION:
Moral and Social values are substantive elements of the corporate lives of any community
without which the present modern human society may not be able to continue to sustain.
Therefore, human values should be preserved and protected. Looking at today’s human
society, Human values are beginning to lose their importance. The degradation in the moral
life of the human community leads to loss of moral integrity. There should be a general
awareness being created by socio-cultural groups concerning the value education of
traditional customs and heritage. Thus, English language acquisition helps in attainment of
ethics and morals through value education. It helps to understand those beyond the visible-
values, beliefs and attitudes for sustainable life and help to learn to build bridges from one
culture to another.

REFERENCES
[1] Cruz, J.H.R. (2010). The role of literature and culture in English language
teaching.[2] Duff, A & Maley, A (2007) Literature (Resource Books for Teachers),
Oxford University press.
[3] Johnson Bill, 2003. “Values in English Language Teaching.”
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[4] Maley, A (2001) Literature in the language classroom,
The Cambridge Guide to Teaching ESOL, Cambridge University Press.