Literature, after all, is not life. Even a small child can distinguish between a story on television and a news broadcast. Literature, and the form that infuses it, is as natural and as recognizable to the landscape of the mind as are the flora and fauna that grace our earthly surroundings. To teach literature is to infuse soul into human existence. Literature is the living link to minds of the past.
Anthropology fondles dead objects.
Religion worries about God. Science deals with the laws of nature. But literature has as its goal the understanding of humankind. To teach literature, therefore, is a worthy vocation. The author is a member of the Department of German at Saint Olaf College.