I’ve found that history is made of events, actions, and people who are already either: dead, or their actions and cultures in/during a certain time have already occurred. It is an unchangeable series of facts – we can change the lasting causes and effects of those facts, but not history itself. Fiction is able to reflect, stem from, and interpret history while not being necessarily restricted by fact, though it may take people or events from the past for a figurative and/or entertaining purpose. Fiction is made up of stories that haven’t occurred, but have the potential to happen. It can affect the way people think, and that, while it may be influenced by history, so too can it affect history itself – an example being Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
History, in the academic world, can be studied further mainly to find the motivation of the participants and/or to be aware of the people and events that took place. Literature, however, has the capability of transcending reality in order to create a discussion about a bigger picture which prompts reflection. That’s why novels that take place during the segregation era, for example, use history to talk about isolation and cruelty, whereas the historical event itself does not provide an opinion.
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