Literary Bulldozer

On this earth at this very point in time, there are approximately 3,493,685,789,422 books on this earth (or so it seems), all waiting for us to open and peruse their leafy pages. Obviously, one could never read this myriad of works, and it is not socially acceptable or healthy to make such an attempt. So how do we, “… seek… out of the best books…” (D&C 109:7) as it counsels to do in one of the many I have read? What, or who decides which books are to be considered “great”? Is there a committee who decides which works are worthy of acceptance onto the “great works” list? I would submit that is not that way.
Defining greatness in literature is a slippery task. Any definition make must be nebulous, at best, in order to include the many genres and styles worthy of this category. My definition is exactly this way. Before I attempt to define greatness, I must give you another definition for a word in this context: moving. Something is moving when it is: “actuating, instigating, or impelling; stirring or evoking strong feelings or emotions, esp. touchingly or pathetically.” (dictionary.com) With that stated, I would submit that a “great work” is any work which moves the audience in an emotional or spiritual way. The more “movement” that occurs within the audience, the better the work. Remember that this movement occurs completely within the heart of the reader. You wouldn’t conclude from this definition that a bulldozer is an excellent literary work.
Within this broad definition, many interpretations can be made. People are different. Each has a different heart and mind – each a tool of interpretation. One person, considering his or her social standing and background, will receive a different impression than the person next to him or her. Depending upon age, a work may be taken as great or plain silly; to a five-year-old, Sesame Street and The Giving Tree are the greatest things since Mac and Cheese. However, to a thirty-five-year-old, these works have lost some of their former passion. Even mood and situation can alter the weight of a certain passage. As one can see, the amount of emotional movement within the heart of a reader changes with the background, age, and situation of the reader.
So where does that leave us? It seems we are no closer to choosing one of the three trillion or so books on the earth because all of which can be moving to someone at sometime. However, I would also like to submit to you that there comes a point in the existence of each great work, where it moves and continues to move enough people throughout history, and it eventually comes to be considered one of the “Great Works” of today. Works that are able to do this are characteristic in there applicability, versatility, and universal nature. They often teach moral lessons and can be allegorical in nature. However, these characteristics do not a great work make. It comes from a combination of these, as well as other numberless effects an author may add to bring power to his words, that qualify a text for greatness.
In conclusion, out of the many books on earth today, many of them are on the “Great Works list,” and rightfully so. But it is not a number of literary devices or a pattern of writing which defines these works to be great. Instead, a work can and should be considered great if it moves the audience, whether emotionally or spiritually; the more motion, the better the work. Just as a bulldozer is great if it can move dirt and get the job done, so too is a work great when it moves us, getting the “job” done.