Literary Approaches to Peace Promotion: A Close Reading of Selected Literary Theories

Abstract

This paper aims to highlight the role the literary theory has played for the global peace
promotion. Three literary approaches will be discussed here to bring to the light as to
how different approaches have remained successful to unfold the sources of crises in
the recent era. This paper elucidates that economic inequality and the class struggle
between the haves and haves not, the global identity conflicts, such as ethnic, religious
and political divides, ensuing the upsurge of violence, bloodshed and mass murder and
issues related to the gender disparity have been highlighted in the literary theory by
Karl Marx, Edward Said, and Gayatri Spivak as Marxist, Postcolonial and Feminist
critics, respectively. By highlighting the injustice around the globe, these critics, with
the help of their literary theories sought to understand today’s chaotic world. The
critics also suggest the strategies to cope with this chaos and to bring harmony and
peace in the world. The data on literary theory have been collected by closely studying
the primary texts of the authors. Close Reading method has been employed to analyse
the texts further. By analyzing the texts, it has been concluded that these theories
converge on one point; they all reflect on peace promotion.