What is the Purpose of Fiction?

It’s a question that you probably have asked at some point in your academic career. Heck, you might even be asking yourself that right now. What use is fiction?

Well, that’s a complicated question. It really boils down to what kind of fiction you are talking about.

Now, you’re thinking; “What? There’s more than one kind of fiction?”

Of course there is! Though the sub-categories stretch into the hundreds, you can simplify it by categorizing them into two basic sets. Those being, Literary Fiction and Genre Fiction.

So, what is the difference?

Again, this is a pretty hard question to answer, but it can be simplified by defining the two.

Literary fiction is a type of fiction that is intended to portray meaning. The key, defining characteristic is that literary fiction is intended to contain a degree of aesthetic distinction and value. Generally, this means that a “literary” work must be flawless in style and form, complex and meaningful, serious in practice and stern in definition. Ultimately, a piece of literary fiction must deliver a message to the reader that comments on or questions some aspect of humanity.

Genre fiction, on the other hand, is a type of fiction that is plot-driven and conceptualized in a particular style and theme to be geared towards a specific readership. I like to call genre fiction, “Commercial Fiction,” as it is primarily used in the attempt, not to portray meaning, but to sell books by providing entertainment to the reader. Because of its deep contrast from “literary fiction,” it is often classified as “paraliterary fiction,” as being fiction that may utilize literary devices, but does not contain the sole purpose of portraying meaning. They are a form of entertainment, just like movies or television. Genre fiction is just what it sounds like; a story set in a specific genre. If a story is about a pair of cowboys defending a town from banditos in the 1800s, it is in the western genre; if a story is about a group of survivors, trying to live out the events of a grim zombie apocalypse, it is in the horror genre; if a story is about a group of friends traveling to a distant land to vanquish an ancient evil using magic, it is in the fantasy genre. These are all genres that you are likely familiar with.

*It should be noted that, even though genre fiction is primarily intended to provide entertainment, it still fulfills the “reading” benefits that I mentioned in my previous post. Reading commercial fiction, though not as useful to brain development as literary fiction as it is not as complex and strenuous, still qualifies as educational.*

So, the key difference between the two is that:

Literary fiction portrays meaning and may fall into a genre.

Genre fiction tells a story within a stipulated setting, and may portray meaning, but targets the key purpose of sales and entertainment respectively.

Now, back to the original question; “What is the purpose of fiction?”

Well, for one of these types of fiction, I have already answered it. Genre/Commercial Fiction serves the sole purpose of entertainment. The publishers put it out so that you will buy it because you will be entertained by it. Pretty simple. And, just to squelch any of you who might think that I am calling commercial fiction inconsequential, I will go ahead and say that I have nothing against commercial fiction; on the contrary, my livelihood depends on it. Commercial fiction promotes greater brain functioning just as literary fiction does. However, when you ask the question, “What is the purpose of fiction” when looking at something like Harry Potter or the Hunger Games series, the purpose is just that; to entertain a set audience.

For literary fiction, however, the question of purpose is far more multilayered. Literary fiction is the absolute best way to extract greater functioning in your brain (again, as outlined in this previous post). It tells a story, yes. But it does more than that; it preserves our humanity. If you have ever seen the movie, V for Vendetta, then you probably recognize the line, “Artists use lies to tell the truth while politicians use them to cover the truth up.”

This is how literary fiction works. It tells the truth of human nature, emotion, sociology, behavior.  Basically, everything that a person experiences, literary fiction is intended to be the vessel through which those sentiments are personified.

Perhaps I will go deeper into the purpose of literary fiction in a later post, but for now, this brief summary should suffice.

Until next time.