Types of Literature:
Nonfiction
In This Page
• Nonfiction genres and subgenres
• Practical and theoretical nonfiction
• Understanding biographical writing and essays
• Media as nonfiction
Like fiction, nonfiction is classified into genres, usually based on subject matter. Nonfiction subject matter falls into two main categories: practical (informative writing) and theoretical (experimental writing). It is as important in nonfiction as it is in fiction to know which genre you are reading in order to gain a full appreciation of the reading experience. You will probably be able to classify your reading quite easily. In fact, the more nonfiction you read, the easier it will get.
In this page, in addition to learning how important genre is to nonfiction reading, you learn the differences in nonfiction genres and how to identify them.
Nonfiction Genres
Scholars and critics do not overly concern themselves with classifying nonfiction into genres because nonfiction literature is fairly cut and dry and doesn't cross boundaries quite as often as fiction tends to. Nonfiction shouldn't cross over into the fiction genres, whereas fiction often crosses over to nonfiction. (Confused? Keep reading!) For example, you can read a novel about a fictitious person who lives in the court of Queen Elizabeth I of England. The historical facts are authentic, but the main characters and the dialogue are not.
One incidence where nonfiction material can cross into the genre of fiction is when an author writes an autobiographical novel. The story may be based on certain truths from his life (for example, a character based on himself or someone else from his real life). Another example is when an author inserts his or her opinion into a work of fiction—something Mark Twain liked to do quite often. Twain regularly employed illogic, unreasonableness, and bizarre assumptions to make the reader laugh while simultaneously slipping his message between the lines, so to speak.
For example, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Twain paints a picture of Huck's guardian, Widow Douglas, as a harsh, judgmental Christian. Twain himself was not a fan of religion, and believed zealots such as Widow Douglas did more harm than good in the world. However, rather than say this straight out, Twain writes a humorous exchange in which the widow harasses Huck about his godlessness. The reader, of course, is on Huck's side, thinking that Huck's righteous guardian should give him a break. Who knows how many readers took that message with them, though, and carried it over into their lives?
Even though he uses humor, his purpose is a serious one, to alert and to teach the reader. But the only way to know what Mark Twain intended is to get to know Mark Twain as the man and the author and to become familiar with his intentions for his readers.
Practical Nonfiction
On the most basic level, nonfiction can be divided into two categories: practical and theoretical. Practical books (such as this one, for example) require you, as the reader to take some kind of action. If you were to read this book as the theories of Amy and Regina Wall on critical reading, you wouldn't be required to do anything but peruse it and think about it. But the goal of this book is to teach you something. And for you to learn from it, you have to actually go do some of your own work—such as taking notes on what you've read, doing some further reading on literary criticism or about the author of a particular book, or talking with others about what you have read. This book is a starting point, a little kick in the pants. The rest is up to you as the student.
Different kinds of practical books include the following:
- Self-help books
- Instruction manuals, books, and guides
- Cookbooks
- Textbooks
- Travel guides
- Reference books such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and thesauruses
Theoretical Nonfiction
The other type of nonfiction you will encounter is theoretical. Theoretical books don't require you to take any action except thinking. An author of a theoretical book chooses an idea and then tries to prove it to you by backing up his or her idea with facts.
For example, someone who writes a book on the decline of the Soviet Union will have a theory about why the Soviet system didn't work. Whereas one person might blame the decline on communist theory itself, others will insist that it was international pressure that made the system economically unsound. Then maybe someone else will determine that it was the internal politics that made the system collapse in the end.
In theoretical nonfiction, it's the author's job to prove his theory to you, the reader. For any argument to be valid, the author must back it up with facts and sound ideas.
You are not required to do anything but read and decide for yourself whether the author has done his job.
Some categories of theoretical nonfiction include the following:
- Historical
- Philosophical
- Theological
- Scientific
Within each of these types of theoretical nonfiction categories are several more subcategories.
For example, books on mathematical theory or astronomical theory would fall under the scientific book category, whereas the study of Judaism or Christianity would fall under the theological category.
Reading About Someone's Life
Books about someone's life, whether written by that person or by someone else, would fall under the category of theoretical nonfiction. You might be wondering how this is possible if their lives are factual and not theoretical. Although you would expect an autobiography, memoir, or journal to be factual—because it is written by the person who lived the life—you just can't know for sure whether the story is true.
Without having lived that life, you will never know; you can only trust that the author is being truthful. In fact, autobiographical nonfiction is really someone's own theory and perception of who he or she is.
Suppose, for example, that you have written an autobiography about what a great person you are and all of the wonderful things you have done for various charities. Someone else could write another book refuting your claims, saying that your generous contributions were actually tax write-offs, and you benefited more than anyone. There's no way any one of us, as readers, can really know the truth. And ultimately, reading autobiographical nonfiction does not require you to do anything except read and think—another reason this type of nonfiction would be considered theoretical.
Biography Versus Autobiography
Although nonfiction cannot cross the boundary to the fiction genres, nonfiction can be written as though it were fiction. For example, the biography by Mitch Albom called Tuesdays with Morrie is a work of nonfiction. It's a story about the lessons a man learns from his dying college professor whom he hasn't seen in 20 years. Before he dies, Morrie teaches his former student, Mitch, how to live. You get to know these real people in the same way you would get to know the characters in a work of fiction.
Although this is a true story with real-life characters, it reads like a novel and even like a philosophical piece of nonfiction. And although Tuesdays with Morrie is technically a biographical tribute to Morrie, a reader could argue that it's also an autobiography, because after all, who is this book really about? Morrie or Mitch? Biographies are theoretical nonfiction. The author of the biography can only theorize what that person's life was all about. To draw your own reasonable conclusions, it is best to read several biographies about that person.
Since not everyone is a writer, there are people who will hire someone to write about his or her life. An author will often write the biography based on a series of conversations or interviews. When the subject agrees to or approves of a book about his or her life, it means that the biography is authorized. An unauthorized biography is written by doing research about a person without the person's consent or approval.
Autobiography Versus Memoir
Although it is quite clear that a biography is written by someone about someone else's life, what is an autobiography, or a memoir, for that matter? Ask yourself why someone would write an autobiography. Most people do it because they feel they have gone through some kind of transformation in life that they want to share with others or because they've had a very interesting and/or unusual life, and they believe the particulars of their existence are interesting enough to share with others. (Many of you may be saying "Come on, it's for the money!" Well, that may be true—but only if the writer expects to sell millions of copies of his book.) So how is an autobiography different from a memoir? An autobiography is a life story that shows the growth of an individual through his or her life experiences. It's an exploration of identity that often reflects a person's development from childhood to adulthood. Memoirs follow a certain theme, and the writer tries to make sense of what certain past events mean to his present-day life.
Most books that are marketed as memoirs aren't memoirs at all; they're high-priced, hardcover tabloids. A celebrity who writes a "memoir" detailing whom she regularly lunches with and how much she pays for shoes isn't really sticking to a theme, and she's probably not wondering how paying $600 for a pair of boots last year has affected her life. A book focusing on that same celebrity's struggle to overcome poverty during her childhood could be considered a memoir (and then she could even throw the shoe thing in there as a way of saying "I made it!").
Journal or Diary Writing
One of the most famous diaries ever written is The Diary of Anne Frank. Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929. The Frank family fled to the Netherlands in 1933 after Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany. In 1942, the family and four friends went into hiding in Amsterdam. In 1944, the family was found by the
Nazis and sent to various concentration camps. Anne later died in the Bergen-Belsen camp. She was only 15.
The Diary of Anne Frank is Anne's day-to-day recounting of her life. She shares the story of her time living in cramped quarters by writing everything down, at times writing to herself, at other times to an imaginary person whom she called "Kitty."
Anne Frank's diary cannot be called an autobiography because she wrote it day by day. Although there is room for some reflection on her past and present and ponderings about the future, there is no way she can reflect on her changing self because she is still developing. Also, autobiographies are most often intended to be the author's life story, presented to the masses. Anne did not begin writing her diary with the intention of having anyone read it.
When she began her writing, Anne had no idea her youthful interpretation of wartime events would be studied in schools and made into motion pictures and stage productions. She didn't intend for her writing to become a historical document and an inspiration to future generations. So although The Diary of Anne Frank is an inspiring true story, it doesn't fall into the category of a true autobiography.
The Essay
The essay also falls into the classification of theoretical nonfiction. An essay is a brief composition in prose that attempts to discuss a matter, express a point of view, or wants to persuade the reader to accept an idea. The essay is different from a treatise or dissertation because it doesn't pretend to be a complete explanation of anything. The essay is for a more generalized (rather than specialized) audience. A treatise or dissertation usually pertains to one particular subject such as Media Scrutiny of the Presidency or Violence in the Art of Francis Bacon. Dissertations are written for people specializing in a specific area. An essay, however, can be read and understood by pretty much anyone. An essay topic could be Moving from the Big City to a Dairy Farm or My Trip to the Everglades. That's not to say that an essayist in not knowledgeable,
but he is writing for the general population.
Media as Literature
Journalism is a specialized field that serious and respected writers spend years perfecting as a craft. The object of American journalism is to report facts objectively as they occur in the world. The type of newspaper or magazine you choose to read will determine what kind of journalistic information you will be receiving.
It may seem strange to place media under the cate-gory of theoretical nonfiction, but in fact it is. In digesting media reports, you are not required to do anything but read (or listen), think, and draw your own conclusions. In fact, you can even subcategorize journalistic media into the history genre of nonfiction . Current events change with every passing day newspapers, magazines, on tele-vision, and on the radio eventually become our history. When you compare certain historical situations to current-day events, you will often come out with a theoretical concept. For example, there is no way you can understand why there is violence in Israel right now without understanding the history of that region and the struggles of the people who live there.
Newspapers and Magazines
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune and The San Francisco Chronicle are some of the most respected newspapers in the United States. This is because they make every effort to hire talented writers, editors, researchers, and fact checkers who do their best to be objective and stick to the art of their craft as unbiased journalists.
Of course, human beings have opinions, and one can spot biases in even the most respected print media. This is where it is critical for you to be a good reader. The more you read, the more you develop your own opinions, which will enable you to spot poor or slanted journalism and draw your own conclusions about what is being reported as "fact." There are international, national, regional, and local newspapers, all of which provide different levels of information. It just depends on what you want to know. There are many different genres of magazines as well. There are news magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and US News and World Report. These magazines are published weekly and often reflect upon current news stories or recently published medical studies. They give you longer, more in-depth looks at particular stories in the news. There are countless magazines out there for your perusal, too: entertainment, travel, home decorating, cooking, society, and ... well ... lewd periodicals. Magazines tend to include specialized information about specific areas of interest.
Literature on the Internet
Many respected newspapers and magazines have websites where they publish articles in addition to printing their papers. This enables people to sit at home and read the same headlines they would in the daily paper without getting newsprint all over their hands. Television stations also publish transcripts of their programming so you can be sure you didn't miss anything.
But beware! Anyone can publish anything on the Internet. It's simple to get a domain address and create a web page. That means absolutely anyone can create articles that appear to be factual news stories. The sites look respectable, but you have no idea who is behind the writing. Many of these sites are referred to as blogs. Try to stick to websites of well-known and well-respected news organizations. If you don't, you will probably be reading more gossip than truth. Now that you know everything about genres of literatures, you have more information to help you in the development of your reading skills. Knowing the genre will open your eyes in new ways to the literature in front of you.
The Least You Need to Know
- Practical nonfiction requires the reader to follow through with some kind of action. Theoretical fiction requires only reading.
- The more familiar you are with nonfiction genres, the easier it will be to know what you are reading.
- Nonfiction can be opinionated, so always keep your own ideas on hand as you read.
- Autobiographical nonfiction focuses on the retelling of the author's life.
- Media also has a place as a nonfiction genre.
- Don't always trust what you read as "news" or "fact" on the Internet.
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