In The Educated Imagination Frye discusses the human imagination. Frye claims that the imagination plays a role throughout literature, as well as in everyday life. Where is the human imagination present in society?
Frye uses Nineteen-Eighty Four as an example to state that “the only way…to create a literal hell on earth, is deliberately to debase our language by turning our speech into automatic gabble.” (92) If successful this destruction of language will control the actions of humanity. If this is true, how does the imagination influence action?
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According to Northrop Frye, the imagination is said to be a combination of both intellect and emotion. As the imagination is examined, it highly encourages people to educate the imagination. With this in mind, to educate the imagination results in more morally and socially informed people present in our modern day society. The “educated imagination, and education is something that affects the whole person, not bits and pieces of him. It doesn’t just train the mind: it’s a social and moral development too” (95). Indeed, in society and within the actions of each individual, the imagination is evident. Thus, the imagination is evident through the manner in which more educated and informed people view society and through the people who chose to do something about the world that they live in.
As mentioned in the Educated Imagination, the imagination allows an observer to see the situation entirely, here; it is shown how the imagination is present when people are given the ability to see situations differently. People that are able to formulate an educated opinion or question society, display signs that the imagination is active in our modern day society. In fact, people that actively form comparisons between the world they imagine-“anything goes that’s imaginatively possible” (8) and the real world-the world that they live in. As it is suggested that both looking at both worlds are essential, Frye says, “imagination gives us both a better and worse world than one we usually live with, and demands that we keep looking steadily at them both."(58). The imagination is then present in society, as people are then able to show what they envision in society. When what is imagined is put to human shape, there, the imagination is present in society. “The fundamental job of the imagination in ordinary life, then, is to produce, out of the society we have to live in, a vision of the society we want to live in." (86). Here, it is evident that unlike the conditions of living in Orwell’s 1984, it is evident that people are given the freedom to think and how people are granted with the freedom of speech. Also, the imagination is present in society and our actions through people who chose to do something about the world that they live in and make more morally and socially informed decisions. By the world we construct and the lives we build-“world of what humanity has done, and therefore can do, the world revealed to us in the arts and sciences. This is the world that won’t go away” (96).
Therefore, the imagination is evident through the manner in which more educated and informed people view society and through the people who chose to do something about the world that they live in. In the essence of thinking, formulating mental images-then producing an outcome, opinions and questions, the imagination is apparent.
The human imagination is the language of consciousness and awareness which concerns itself with self expression, it is the language of practical sense which concerns itself with social participation and it is also the language of literature which concerns its self with the world we want to live in. These three areas are the main divisions of the human imagination and are present in are everyday society in many ways. The language of consciousness and awareness can concern its self with any artist trying to express themselves through their artwork; this can be musicians, painters, writers etc. The practical sense can be present in anything with social interaction, for example teachers, politicians, public speakers and just about anyone with a message to tell people. Lastly this one applies to anyone who is doing something that is moving towards a world they want to live in. A public speaker who is spreading wisdom, a teacher who is trying to inspire or an artist trying to open peoples eye are all people living in a world that they want to change and these people concerning themselves with the language of literature. Frye says that words are a lot like the clothes you wear because they help you to be decently covered “You may have some social job to do that involves words, such as making a speech or preaching a sermon or teaching a lesson or presenting a case to a judge or writing an obituary on a dead skinflint or reporting a murder trial or greeting visitors in a public building or writing copy for an ad. In none of these cases is it your job to tell the naked truth: we realize that even in the truth there are certain things we can say and certain things we can’t say” (82-83) this also applies to relationships and talks to certain people such as your elders; words play a huge part in this and it is your imagination which allows you to find the right way to use these words. Now that we see what the imagination is used for in society it is easy to see how the lack of imagination could translate in to a lack of thought and therefore a lack of action. This is exactly how imagination and action are related, if you have an imagination you will act out in a unique manner and one that is suited to how you believe is necessary at that present moment. Without an imagination as we see in nineteen eighty-four there is very little individualism in action, this is because of the lack of imagination.
Northrop Frye’s Educated Imagination shows the importance of and educated imagination and how an imagination should be educated. Throughout the talks Frye is able to show the human imagination present in society and imagination that influences action. With an educated imagination we are able to lead and not be taken advantage of by others.
The human imagination is present in society through literature, the creating and the understanding of it makes this evident. But the way our imaginations are being educated in today’s society is often throughout a substitute like a film. “The society we have to live in, which for us happens to be a twentieth-century Canadian society, presents our imagination with its own substitute for literature.”(86) All actions we produce are influenced by our imagination. If our imagination is limited we are not experienced enough and can be misled in to believing false idea that would seem unreasonable to a person with an educated imagination. “If our experience is limited, we can be roused to enthusiasm or carried away by something that we later can see to have been second-rate or even phony.”(63) Another way of being able to mislead and control humans is by taken away our communication through fore controlling our imagination that leads into action. “The first thing our imaginations have to do for us, as soon as we can handle words well enough to read and write and talk, is to fight to protect us from falling into the illusions that society threatens us with.”(87) In order to better our selves we must educate our imaginations.
Throughout Frye’s Educated Imagination he is able to show the human imagination present in society and imagination that influences action. With an educated imagination we are able to lead and not be taken advantage of by others. To prevent a state of a tyrannical leader with must be educated, produce thought, and lead our thoughts in to actions.
The human imaginations is what the society is made up of. Even the simplest creation had to come from a genuine human thought. For example, if nobody had though of creating a pen, then we would still be using feathers and inks. Imaginations is what allows us to vision the impossible, which creates new inventions for a better life. Us humans have the freedom to imagine, which comes from our training of the mind. Northrop Frye argues that “the basis of what you have to say is your vision of society” (93) proving the idea that the people’s ideas are what is reflected upon the community.
The destruction of any language will be able to control the actions of humanity. It is clearly drawn out in George Orwell’s novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four that the government is capable of suppressing the people using the combination of unknown fear and censorship. But no matter how much they try to program or oppress the human, the only thing they cannot break is the human spirit. Humans are unique because we all have our opinions and spirits within us. We have the ability to question and form our own imagination, and share it with other beings. As Frye would say, the “society around us looks like the real world, but we’ve just seen that there’s a great deal of illusion in it” (95), which shows that the society will present us with ideas which seems ‘ideal’ for the mind. But with more trainings of the educated imagination, we can decipher what is true or not. This is why humans can never be completely controlled, because we act with our passion, leading to a direction of doing things differently from the idealistic view.
Literature plays a very pivotal role in the lives of many throughout the world. Literature adds to our vocabulary and allows us to articulate more specific and precise sentences. The words that we express and use through our knowledge of literature allow us to, as they say, “paint” a better picture for those we are trying to communicate with. Literature allows for an individuals communication skills to improve as well as for people to be able to make connections between words and they’re meanings. The understanding of the use as well as what certain words mean allows for our imagination to mold what we know into whatever it desires. Then again, without our ability to connect words to certain images or meanings, it would be very difficult for our imagination to operate when we are reading a novel or even just trying to visualize certain situations. Without literature there would have been a major lack of creativity in our lives. With our inability to imagine it would result in life itself becoming stagnant. We would go about or lives without any type of variation and in turn eliminate the uniqueness that is inside each and every human as well as our surroundings. Our lives would not only stagnate but so would everything that is included in them, there would be no drive to continue forward, to improve upon what has been achieved and continue from there. Life without literature would be a bland wasteland of continuity and boredom that would plunge the world into a place that only has three colors, black white and maybe gray. There is no doubt that those who live in this world would be deprived of one of the most underrated and rich actions that is available on the planet that allows for your mind to formulate and imagine, this action is reading. This would go hand in hand with mathematics and science, as if you did not have an imagination it would be difficult for a person to learn a math formula and apply it correctly to a variety of situations due to their inability to use their imagination. These reasons are why everyone needs literature.
The imagination acts as a tool to expand the necessity for action. In Northrop Frye’s The Educated Imagination, this process is implemented through rejecting the futile submission to current society, creating a better world in which you desire to live in, and communicating with others to decide whether the world you desire is fit for all of humanity.
Living in a luxurious society where a majority of the basic human needs are met in addition to many that are not compulsory, creates an atmosphere that is not often questioned. When an individual is comfortable it is of no sense to be bothersome and complain about what they are consistently given. An educated imagination reminds such an individual that although the situation seems to be at its pinnacle it is not often that it will remain that way. Accordingly to the social mythologies that sprawl across the world, none have been so successful to have sustained and “change [they all] did” (87) as they did not provide the proper standards and values which would grant these societies eternity. This concept should be the first indication that the individual is being called to action, as the society that they are living in is temporary. The individual will now realize that the “element of illusion…advertising is one example” (85) is the cause to the apparent fallacy of residing in an improved and advantageous surrounding. The flaws which keep individuals assured of their position are the reasons for a reaction of indifference.
If the world around the individual is visibly flawed, there is a personal search for the model of an enhanced society that never becomes obsolete. The imagination has the aptitude to create such a world. Although it is a reality “of unborn or embryonic beliefs:” (45) and is not tangible it is world where all personal preferences and possibilities can roam free. When the imagination identifies what it does not like in the current society it investigates and criticizes sources in which are used to educate itself. With a diverse knowledge the imagination can determine which aspects appeal to the individual the greatest. It is impossible for the individual to actually experience all that human nature agrees or disagrees with and therefore the sources are imperative to generating an ideal place to live. That is, the imagination is given the opportunity to be inspired by another “man’s revelation…” (64) and have the courage to build a personal revelation. With the newfound knowledge and prospect for the future the individual can “move out of the world of imagination into the world of action.” (8) where their belief in the personalized idea needs to be expressed.
The aspiration of an individual is to use the recreated imaginative society in which satisfies them to stimulate content in the world around them. Action entails a method of “social participation” (8) and a component of this is relating personal experience with others. An element of an educated imagination is a developed vocabulary which would allow effective communication with others. In this exchange of ideas with other individuals, the imagination can give way to “the language of human nature” (98) which ought to be the basis of the imaginative societies being established. If such a notion is thriving and all individuals concur with the concepts that underlie what makes all people human as well as analyze all ideas that will benefit humanity, then a collective action can be administered by all. This is the procedure that must be followed in order to build a “genuine and permanent human civilization” (97) as there would be no rebellion against a society that is solely concerned with the maintenance of humanity which affects every individual. The one impression that could cause distress in such a society is ensuring that all individuals have not been manipulated to regard humanity in a different light. If all individuals could attain similar belief systems then there would be no chance of misinterpretation as “Belief and action are closely related, because what a man really believes is what his actions show that he believes” (45) and the reference to the goodness of humanity would be the ultimate model.
The human imagination is present in almost every aspect of life. The very form of art is a work of the imagination." In practically everything we do it's the combination of emotion and intellect we call imagination that goes to work." (82) The answer to the second question lies in how one personally applies the imagination to life. Language is the basis of the society, it is how feelings are expressed and thoughts are portrayed, without it, the society would fail to function. In both Educated Imagination by Northrop Frye and 1984 by George Orwell, it is obvious that debasing the language of a people decreases the room for imagination. If imagination fails there will be no action against injustice nor there any action on behalf of justice. The reason for this is that there is a constant “battleground between…, the speech of a mob and the speech of a free society” (92) and if one’s imagination fails, they will be forced to speak the speech of a mob which will never result in any positive action. “The fundamental job of the imagination in ordinary life, then, is to produce, out of the society we have to live in, a vision of the society we want to live in." (86). Imagination forces a person to envision a better world than the one in which they live, they will then allow for change, or action. Without this tool, one could be under the control of anyone who decides to take power, this is why debasing a language to nothing is a form of control, because the world can become mindless ‘proles’ if they possess no imagination, “If our experience is limited, we can be roused to enthusiasm or carried away by something that we later can see to have been second-rate or even phoney.”(63). All of these parts have a ‘domino effect’ on each other, if the language fails, the imagination fails, which leads to inaction which then, in turn leads to the downfall of man.
The human imagination is present everywhere in society. "In practically everything we do it's the combination of emotion and intellect we call imagination that goes to work." (82) Every idea, thought, emotion, and the expression of it pertains the use of the imagination, therefore it is what defines human existence. Poets, writers, and artists express themselves through what they produce. The imagination is also relevant for practical use such as social interactions. Using the mind, and the knowledge within it to create conversations, or to pass on this knowledge. Conveying an opinion requires the use of an imaginative edge in order to render the desired impact among others that are being taught or spoken to. It is also used as a means to produce a world that is desired, “imaginative world is more important” (95), and the world in which you would want to live in.
Imagination influences action because it is corrupted by the thoughts formulated from the debased language. The debasing of language minimizes the capability of people to express an opinion because there are no words to describe it. Retaliation and negative actions are then thoroughly avoidable because of the inability to articulate it. The imagination has a significant role in the workings of humanity; it is what sets one apart from the other, and aid society to move towards a world of ingenuity.
Throughout the novel, The Educated Imagination, the reader learns about the importance of literature in their life. We learned the importance of knowing literature before your time to understand the literature in your time. Also, the reader learns how literature affects your actions through reading and understanding the language one was brought up in.
As the reader learns in the novel the imagination is created through reading and understanding literature. If the language in which the literature is debased to the point where it is an automatic yes or no or ‘jump, how high?’ society then one’s imagination would be stunted causing his or her actions will be different than if he or she had an imagination. This is so because if one has an imagination then he or she can imagine a better way of life or come to the morally correct answer by themselves. “The area of ordinary speech, as I see it, is a battleground between two forms of social speech, the speech of a mob and the speech of a free society.” (92) If a language is debased to the point where there is no imagination then one can think for themselves the actions they succumb to are the actions they have been told to do or ones that have been programmed into their minds. This creates a mob-like society and actions go unnoticed and uncorrected creating an imperfect society; where everyone lives in fear.
Human imagination is present in all of society, since humans are present in all of society they influence all that is created in it. We influence the world because, “the world you want to live in is a human world, not an objective one,” (5), since we want to live in a human world we put all out imagination into everything we build and create in society so we can obtain this goal of the human world we want to live in. Our imaginations control us and all we do and want to do like build, experiment and create literature. If some one controls our imaginations, they control all we do and they can play us like puppets. This is why it is so important to educate your imagination so it does not slip away from you and you are able to control your own actions and not be enslaved. Depending on how well your imagination is educated, you will react differently to different things and you may understand things much better than an uneducated imagination, which may be manipulated and used like a puppet to influence all of a persons actions.
The human imagination is complex and indefinable by even the most educated scholars, however evidence of use of the imagination is prevalent throughout society. The imagination and the development of the imagination is very important is understanding the role of imagination in society and how the imagination could influence action. Frye says in his talk entitled The Singing School, that " if you were developing an imagination in your new world that belonged to that world, you'd start off something like this: I feel separated and cut off from the world around me, but occasionally I've felt that it was rally part of me, and I hope I'll have that feeling again,"(29) which clearly defines how the imagination is used by each person. In addition the imagination is also seen in the society by means of the arts, math, science, our physical world and especially in literature. In literature especially the imagination can be seen because literature, which is constructed by language illustrates the world in which I want to live in, therefore literature is a direct product of our experience and imagination. Frye says that even, "no human society is to primitive to have some kind of literature. The only thing is that the primitive literature hasn't yet become distinguished from other aspects of life,"(19) is can show evidence that the human imagination has been recognized since the dawn of man in every aspect of society. Our imagination is expanded when we read and experience other literature, which leaves man to choose between " a badly trained imagination and a well trained one,"(82) which can contribute to the richness of one's life. The human imagination is found in all aspects of life and is found primarily in literature. And with the assumption that the imagination and an integrate aspect of life it can also be assumed that the imagination has an influence on our actions. These actions fueled by our imagination are simple trying to concert the "world we live in, to a world we want to live in,"(7) which is the most primary goal the human imagination.
The imagination is present in every aspect of society and provides a blueprint for action. In order to create, one needs to put the imagination into action, this is required just as much in math or science as it is in literature, “Without a constructive power in the mind to make models of experience, get hunches and follow them out, play freely around with hypotheses, and so forth, no scientist could get anywhere.”(56). Advertisers are well aware of the power of imagination and will attempt to appeal to it. They create a world of illusion that lures people in, through their sense of desire. However, our imagination is what keeps us from being deceived by the illusions society surrounds us with. These illusions are obvious in “the ordinary use of rhetoric, which attempts to make society presentable, is becoming hypocritical and disguising the reality it presents is beyond the level of social safety”(89) the language used by advertisers and politicians for example, is very vague and appeals to a persons emotions. The imagination however, rescues people by presenting them with its own variations of social vision, they can compare how things are and accordingly construct a model of how things should be. The imagination creates a mental prototype in the mind of an idea that you desire to manifest, “The fundamental job of the imagination in ordinary life, then, is to produce out of the society we have to live in, a vision of the society we want to live in”(86) this image is what drives people into action. The second level of the mind—the level of practical sense cannot begin to construct without the blueprint that the imagination (level three) provides for it. It then follows that if you “…moved from thoughts to words, and now from words to actions” (Orwell 166) by narrowing thought, though debasing a language, the corresponding coarse of action would be eliminated. The imagination offers the plan of action, that is necessary to create; should the prototype fail when is tested, imagination can than make adjustments or develop a new approach; but if the imagination is restricted, then the creative process reclines. Literature is the language of the imagination and since literature is made up of words “…all our mental processes connected with words then to follow the structure of the language we’re thinking in. We can’t use our minds in full capacity unless we have some idea of much of what we think we’re think is really thought and how much is just familiar words funning along their own familiar tracks” (72) therefore by taking control of language an institution, can influence the imagination and possibly inhibit its creations. The imagination is required in order for any kind of action to be taken because it provides the idea fundamental to coerce anyone into liveliness.
The human imagination is present in many places of society. It is within humanity’s desire to create what the want and have freedom that leads them to action. The ability to articulate our desires enables us to move forward and express ourselves. By debasing any language you take away the freedom of expression and ability to gain more knowledge. As stated by Northrop Frye a lack of knowledge leads to a lack of opinion, this lack of opinion leads to no action on the part of those with no educated imagination.
If the desired and needs of a human being are met then there is not much to take action to. Yet it is certain that the fall of a civilization can come at any moment and if a person is well educated enough they will realize this. The simple threat that the necessities and freedom of a person could be in danger is enough to call an educated mind to action. The imagination is quite evident within the media and without a well educated imagination people believe everything that the media tells them and draws them into a false sense of security and into thinking that everything is fine. The media tries to conventionalize everything and “all this convention is pressing towards uniformity or likeness” (50) which creates control over people and leads to no action being taken. The well educated imagination knows the difference between what is being falsified and what is real and it is the job of the imagination to create aloofness to such obscure fallacies. But a person must remember that, “the end of the process is not to reject all advertising, but to develop our own vision of society to the point at which we can choose what we want out of what’s offered to us and let the rest go” (85). Imagination influences people to act because it is the imagination that sorts out what a person wants and envisions his society to be. A well educated imagination will make a person act in accordance to what they feel would create the society that they want and preserve their necessities and freedom, “what a responsible citizen really uses is his imagination, not believing anybody literally, but voting … to his vision of the society he wants to live in” (86). The imagination produces the society that a person wants to live in from the society that we already live in and combined the two.
By debasing the human language people would no longer have words to express themselves and no longer have the mentality to take action. The lack of action allows for control of society, but if the imagination has been well educated then a person will not be controlled and still have the ability to take action.
Human imagination is the words of conscience verse un-conscience world; the human imagination is present everywhere in society because it makes up the society around it. With the creation of the simplest thing came about a human thought, a thought triggered by the imagination. As a human being you have the independence to imagine up a storm of thoughts and determine whether those thoughts are obtainable or just a madder of “want”. The word “want” has now become something impersonal and unselfish in us.
With the demolition of any human language, language will be able to control those individuals who occupy that language. It is noted that in George Orwell’s novel 1984, the government is able to restrain the society by an unknown fear in the people’s lives. An image is used a device to scare the population and to keep them as a functional society that is under complete and udder control. This population doesn’t have a un-conscience thought because they will be punished for thought crime and therefore it is a controlled society. With out the imagination this society can not be influenced into action. They only know one thing they want and they already have it so there is not need for wanting in something they cannot have if they are programmed to think only about what they have. The imagination influences action by the thought of what we want verse what we already have.
The human imagination is evidently seen in society for it is a component of man’s judgment, the ground for his actions and the basis for the decisions he makes in life. Our imagination opens a door of limitless possibilities that we strive to achieve depending on our own partiality. This desire to grasp and experience what our imagination holds enables man to create and live in a world that would favor his personal needs, based on what appeals to him.
All that is tangible is a product of the human imagination and all that is produced by the human psyche is an outcome of the substantial world. Both the imagination and the veracity of life works jointly to form the society we live in. “your imagination couldn’t operate on such a world except in terms of the world you know” (18). As humans, we try to generate a world that favors us and enhance it from what our imagination has already formed. The media being a concrete example of the how man employs his imaginative aspect proves that our society is both an outcome of what we perceive and what we want to see. Literature, being major tool for educating the imagination, transforms our thoughts to a well-trained imagination, honing our ideologies as we learn from the works of other people and our experiences as well. “Literature speaks the language of imagination, and the study of literature is supposed to train and improve the imagination” (82). Through literature, we are familiarized with our imagination, as we learn to visualize a clearer image of our ideal world, and therefore motivating us to better the society and ourselves altogether.
The power that the human imagination holds is enough to control humanity, for our actions are fully influenced by our desires. Man will continue to establish a society that appeals more to him and persist on honing it depending on what he has experienced.
Imagination is essential for all humans, exercising and educating that given imagination is even more important. According to Northorp Frye “you can’t understand anything or take any part in your society without it.” (2) It is a very important statement to consider. Throughout all his talks he enlightens us upon what could happen to the society in which we live in if we do not educate ourselves and our imagination.
The world we live into would not function without human imagination. It is present in the literature that surrounds us today, and without it we would not be able to advance ourselves, we would live in a stagnant state. Northorp Frye discusses with us the three different levels of the mind and allows us to interpret each state and be able to educate ourselves in a way where we will be able to think for ourselves. Dr. Frye shows us the potential and power the human mind can facilitate. “This power is the imagination, and these studies are its products.” (97)
The imagination influences action and an example of lack of imagination which led to lack of action is drawn out for us in Nineteen Eighty-Four. Using Dr. Frye’s dissection of our mind and George Orwell’s “fictitious” society it is clear that our imagination or lack of will influence our action.
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