World Literature

World Literature consists of a balance between different cultures and literary styles. However, this balance has become extremely difficult to maintain as there is an inequality between different regions of the world in terms of contributions to world literature. Moretti refers to this as "a system that is ... one, and unequal: with a core, and a periphery" (56). All the nations of the world must attempt to come together as "one" in order to have world literature, but within this "one", there are some nations that have more of an influence on literature than others. These influential nations, or the core, consists of the United States and Western European countries. The "foreign" countries, or the periphery, always attempt to conform to western literary styles, while simultaneously trying to maintain a style that is unique to their own culture. In order to have a true world literature, there must not be a western core with a foreign periphery, rather countries must put their own style as the core with any other literary contributions they want as the periphery. Thus, every nation has a chance to be the core of it's own literary works, rather than attempting to conform to western literary standards. The intersection between local nations trying maintain their unique characteristics, and all the diverse characteristics of countries trying to mesh with one another would create a true world literature if a perfect balance could be maintained.