Benang Analysis

2 DEFINING AND REDEFINING HISTORY

2.1 History over the years
In Order to enable an extensive and fertile analysis of Benang it is crucial to provide some definitions. The term history is used in several different ways within the plot. Investigating the usage of the term and the differentiation between the distinctive ways is part of what makes this analysis worthwhile. While the use of the different terms in the novel is examined and evaluated in the analysis chapters, the introduction contains a general definition of some of the key terms.
First of all the term history itself must be addressed. What is it that makes history so important for human beings? When the speed of life increased, through industrialization and globalization, people

Yet at the same time he calls Historians’ quest an impossible one thus hinting at the difficult task to revive the past. There are, however, scholars who would disagree with Hoffer. His statement and the logic behind it is merely true for some cultural societies in the world namely the ‘Western societies’. As Ashcroft stated several years earlier, the essence of the historical can only be found in a few societies. (Cf. Ashcroft 82) He emphasizes that the purpose of history is crucial for answering the question why history is essential. The pivotal point is, so Ashcroft, that quite a number of cultures will not distinguish between the past, the present and the future. They have thus no need for history in terms of the Western perception. (Cf. Ashcroft

(Cf. 1996 175) However, he admits that even Aboriginal Australians might need history – although based on their own historical accounts. Even though that is the case he questions the general ideas behind history and dismantles history until the intricacy of the term becomes obvious. (Cf. 1996 176-9) Johnson has already addressed the close relationship between history and fiction, a topic that has been discussed by several scholars. They predominantly come from literary studies and share a critical perspective on the historians’ claim for factuality and verisimilitude. Historians often tend to see themselves as scientists, as Beverley Southgate points out, while dramatists, novelists, etc. sometimes see themselves as historians; for Southgate history appears to be a literary genre (Cf. Southgate 44) Already in 1975 Peter Gay observed the similarity between literature and history. He states that, at the time, no one has disputed the historian’s principle loyalty to the truth. (Cf. Gay 190) This has changed in the last decades, yet, his observation about the similar techniques used for historical accounts and for writing prose and poetry is still valid today. By using the word to convey in relation to truth Gay points to the altered understanding of history’s purpose and benefit. (Cf. Gay 190) It is obsolete to expect historical accounts to be objective and accurate. Instead the aim of history, namely consolidating the present