Changing the World

What book of fiction sold more copies than any other in 1998? Who won the Newberry Award or any of the Hugo Awards in 1978? I doubt many of us could answer these without really trying to think it through or by researching it online. Books that make headlines today, especially fiction, more often not eventually fade from memory (except for those working in libraries and the publishing industry).

A few authors create characters that outlive them for decades and centuries. You could probably find a fair share of people who could recognize Long John Silver, Sherlock Holmes or Pollyanna even though they never actually read Treasure Island ( 1883) by Robert Louis Stevens, any of the 4 novels or 56 short stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, or Eleanor H. Porter’s Pollyanna (1913). (It is conceivable I have too much faith in people, now that I think about it and consider some of the participants on The Tonight Show’s Jay Walking segments.)

Some books become regional, national or international forces – which in our day equates to spawning movies, games, and toys, becoming targets for parodies and copy-cat efforts. They may have the positive effect of reinvigorating genres, increasing interest in reading and possibly even helping to foster careers in writing, acting and other story-telling related industries.

Regardless of the media hoopla, or lack there of, around any given book you have probably read a book or two that affected you, changing your life to some degree. There is the motivational poster that says something like “A mind once stretched can no longer return to its original shape.” Fiction can definitely stretch our minds, but not always in ways that are quantifiable. It would be interesting to find out how many people do selected their course of study or their chosen profession because of characters or concepts they encountered in books of fiction.

Novels can change our opinions about issues or cause us to reexamine, shift, or define our perceptions about an issue or principle, but typically these are on small and personal levels. Perhaps while enjoying a book for its story or characters, you learn something new or understand something better. As a trivial example, even though I had never covered mitochondria in any of my classes previously, I was able to correctly answer questions about it a standardized test in high school because I read Madeleine L’Engles’ A Wind in the Door (1973).

Occasionally a work of fiction moves beyond affecting individuals in individual ways, and affects communities and cultures. Their books not only work on a level with plots, settings and characters, but the ideas or concepts worked intentionally or unintentionally into the story, or discussion about those ideas, take on a larger life.

If done well, the story continues to be read even after society has changed because it tells a universal story. More often than not, if an author writes with the sole intention to change people, they don’t. And typically if they do, their book is quickly forgotten after their issue passes from focus and new problems capture the attention of the public.

While you could argue that whenever there is change, other social, political, and economic forces were at work at the same time and that something might have happened without these books, the popularity of the stories themselves can be a catalyst.

I can think of four examples of fictional books that had long-lasting or far-reaching effects.

In the midst of the Industrial Revolution in England, Christmas was becoming less and less a recognized holiday. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol (1843) reinvigorated the practices and purposes of Christmas as it is recognized today.

It is said that when Harriet Beecher Stowe met with Abraham Lincoln near the beginning of the Civil War it is said he said something along the lines of “So this is the little lady who made this big war”, referring to her book Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852).

Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty (1877) is told from the horse’s point of view. One of Black Beauty’s complaints is being subjected to the checkrain – a common practice of the time which forced horses pulling carriages to keep their heads up. Shortly after its publication, the practice was banned and the popularity of this book is attributed to the change.

Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) resulted in drastically decreased meat sales and consequently the meat packing industry welcomed government regulation to instill confidence in the packaging process – even though Sinclair wanted more, including better conditions and wages for the employees.

We are still faced with many issues, but I can not think of any other books that have these types of effects, although maybe Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang (1975) could qualify. Perhaps it is too soon to know the actual, long-term consequences for any published more recently, or maybe books have simply lost this force in our culture and movies or TV have the reach and power that books once had.

I realize my horizons are limited and would love to hear of any others that you are familiar with, or what your thoughts are on this subject.