Function of Fiction

Fiction is the classification for any setting or plot that is derived from fantasy, rather than fact. True Fiction may take many forms, including writings, performances, videos, television programs, cartoons, computer games, and role-playing games. Fiction literature has long been neglected by psychologists because its sole purpose seems to be amusement, with no compatible connection validity. We contend that literary narratives have a more critical purpose. By abstraction, compression, and simplification, literary narratives include simulations of the social universe. This simulation facilitates the communication and understanding of social information and makes it more compelling to achieve a form of learning through experience. Participating in the simulative experiences of fiction literature can facilitate the understanding of others who are different from ourselves and can argue our capacity for social inference and empathy. The stereotype is a fixed but widely held and oversimplified idea or image of a given person or thing. A good example of the cultural stereotype is that of an assumption that all Americans are lazy, obese and silly is portrayed by Homer Simpson in the show. In a given community stereotype can bring about bullying of people and living lives driven by hate and vengeance. In the show Bark is bullied by other kids because they see him different from them at times defending himself from the bullies and in school while being bullied his sister. Lisa helps Bark from bullies after he had failed to answer all the questions the teacher was asking in class. Another stereotype is that of sibling rivalry, as Lisa and Bark compete to outdo each other to get their parents attention. Bark tried answering all the questions in class to see whether he had become smart after his sister became good in hockey. People have a stereotype those students who are good in class performance and wear classes are nerds and that they cannot perform in other activities outside the classroom and that students who are good in sports are not that good in class. This is seen in the show when Lisa fails her gym class she is so upset being that she was a bright student. Bark gets the same academic alert as Lisa but since he is good in sports he is always excused from academic work, he even gets a gift for not forging his father's signature in his academic alert cards. We see the post guard before Lisa joined the team was seen as nerd since he had glasses and was bad in sports. Principal Skinner should be the one leading the school by being a good example but the stereotype of all principals being seen as leaders who make the right decision for the school but for the case of principal skinner he is not good in decisions making, he regrets not letting the students name the dining hall. If a list is being mentioned most people expect their names to be read as per the alphabetical order but that's not the case in reality a list can start in any order in the show Bark expects the teacher to pass him since his name is not the first in the alphabetical order but the question lands on him unaware. Violence in the show is seen when Bark is being bullied at school by other students, when Lisa and Bark fight in Lisa's room, Homer jokes to Bark that he will kill him if he loses the match and at the stadium after the final game, Homer encourages both Bark and Lisa to fight for his attention as siblings Peace is always assumed in real life that people forget there are conflicts in given communities, the stereotype of peace always being assumed in societies. The police officer in the show releases prisoners from prison on the day of the match not caring for the well-being of the people in the community, in school students are not performing as required meaning the schools authorities are not performing as they should, the Simpson family is in chaos as Bark and Lisa are constantly in competition for attention, the people in charge of any given setup should be responsible enough to guide and help the people who look up to them. At the end, the authorities responsible failed to establish order as required of them finally leading to Lisa and Bark reconciling their differences and making peace by themselves. In any given community women are seen to be weak and that they cannot do heavy work for that is deemed as work meant for men. In the show, gender profiling is seen when Homer introduces Lisa to her teammates and refers to her as special since other team members were boys. Lisa at the end of the show proves everyone in the community wrong by rising up and being one of the best players. It shows that women have the same potential as men in any given activity or sports. Normally when two or more parties collide and have a conflict of interest they all work hard to outdo the other to become the best of them all. In the show the audience expects Bark and Lisa to fight and compete with each other to the end to determine the best but at the end instead of the two siblings succumbing to the rivalry they find a common ground that of being a family and they settle their differences without determining the winner as the audience expect one. In a competition usually, there is a winner and a loser but in this case, the game ends with a draw between the teams leaving the audience in chaos, fighting each other. Fiction has other functions apart from entertainment and the functions include expanding of territories where the reader gets to experience other forms of life they would otherwise not, building of hope in the communities as through fiction one can create their own safe ideas to keep their hope going and finally building of empathy in the community without which the community is doomed. Participating in the simulative experiences of fiction literature can facilitate the understanding of others who are different from ourselves and can argue our capacity for social inference and empathy through facilitating the communication and understanding of social information and makes it more compelling, achieving a form of learning through experience in the communities.Work CitedMcMahon, Jennifer L. "The Function of Fiction: The Heuristic Value of Homer." TheSimpsons and Philosophy: The D'oh! of Homer, edited by W. Irwin, Conrad, Skoble,Open Court, 2001, pp. 215-232. Brienen, Rebecca P. "Types and stereotypes: Zwarte Piet and his early modern sources." Thamyris/Intersecting: Place, Sex and Race 27.1 (2014): 179-200.Grant, Colin B. "Vagueness, porous communication, fictions of society." Critical Studies 16.1 (2001): 43-58.