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1.Which, according to you is the most important aspect of a creative work? Discuss in the

context of views of some great writers.

The web definition of creative work is a manifestation of creative effort such as artwork,

literature, music, painting and software. Creative works have in common a degree of

arbitrariness, such that it is improbable that two people would independently create the samework. Creative works are thus, part of property rights. But, I have always believed that this

definition deludes many into seeing creative form of arts as nothing but possessions.

Possessing something would make it as good as inanimate. But truth be said, these works of

art are not only breathing images of the expressers mind but are also animate beings in their

own right, thereby having various aspects to it. The nuances of creative works are many. It

would be difficult to accumulate them all, as day after day a newer aspect is born in the

recesses of a creative writers mind. To engage in this exploration, we can broadly consider

three aspects that make a written work great: theme, content and form. Theme concerns

what work is about. What is its surface and subliminal meaning? What concerns or view is the

writer attempting to share with us? Content on the other hand is the substance within. The

tale between the covers with a life of its own. A form on the other hand, concerns the

shape that a work takes and the manner in which the writer crafts such a shape. The style

of creative writing focuses on writing from emotions and thoughts rather than just giving

information. Any writing that expresses emotions or expresses free thinking falls into the

category of creative writing. I personally vouch for theme and content as a name, outline

and the substance it is made of speaks volumes about the work. None of us pick up a random

book without reading the outline of the work or without flipping through the pages to get

acquainted with the work. These are the building blocks on which the rest is built.

Thesethemes are the wrappers with telltales of gifts inside They are the fundamental and

often universal ideas explored in a literary work. It gives a gist of what the writer wishes to

speak to us about. For instance, the theme of the French writer Albert Camuss path -breaking

novel The Outsider deals with the presence of the absurd experience in human existence.

Camus asserts that individual lives and human existence in general have no rational meaning

or order. Camus was not the only one, another great author JD Salingers obsessive theme was

the immorality of contemporary American materialism and its corrosive effect upon

precocious, highly sensitive children and adolescents whose religious yearnings were both

esoteric and sentimental. In fact, one of his most famous works The Cather in the Rye

revolves around Holden who seems to be excluded from and victimized by the world around

him. As he says to Mr. Spencer, he feels trapped on the other side of life, and he continually

attempts to find his way in a world in which he feel he doesnt belong. In another instance,

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William Goldings novel Lord of The Flies deals with civilization versus savagery. It is

about the violent beast within us all: the instinct to live by the rules, act peacefully, follow

moral commands, act violently to obtain supremacy over others, and enforce ones will.

Furthermore, an authors tryst with theme is not only limited to yarn spinning but also reaches

out to poetry. The Chilean poet Pablo Nerudas volume, Residencia en la tierra, published in

English as, Residence on Earth is widely celebrated as containing some of Nerudas most

extraordinary and powerful poetry. Born of the poets feelings of alienation, the work reflects

a world which is largely chaotic and senseless, and which- in the first two volumes- offers no

hope of understanding. With its emphasis on despair and the lack of adequate answers to

mankinds problems. A sense to belong somewhere plays a predominant role in this volume .

Likewise, in the case of the theme of movement as way of life in British writer Bruce

Chatwins essay, The Nomadic Alternative.

The second most important aspect of a creative work is its content. Content concerns what

is happening in the work. What is happening is made up of tangibles-settings, action,

emotion, perspective etc. It is what one reads. These tangibles carry the visible and subliminal

theme along. For example: the hypothesis of absurdism has been initiated throughout Camuss

The Outsider with the character of Meursault. In this context, Albert Camus considers the

philosophy of the novel as lonely and sensual by highlighting Meursaults characteristics in

light of absurdism and existentialism. As an innermost theme of the story, Meursault has been

focused as a murderer of an innocent Arab without having any reasonable ground. On an

effective trial, the court sentenced him death penalty. The focal point of the story is to commit

crime and its punishment which is justifiable in the eye of law. As an outsider, the author has

pointed out some social defects with which social absurdism have been revitalized. The

Outsider is a novel written by Albert Camus, an Algerian-born author and truth-seeker. The

account is centred on Meursault, who at the outset was victimized to societal shame owing to

his incapacity to patent symbols of grief-stricken attitudes for his mothers death. The author,

in this novel, has led his utmost efforts in order to signify the attitude and feelings of those

who are enterprising, selfish and exciting. He minutely criticized some defects of social life

that are absorbed in prejudice and unmatched criticism of life. Sometimes, the author has

found out some truth of very crucial aspects of life. In this actions and reactions of the book,

Meursault has critically identified as a man of peculiar beliefs where he has explored his own

world of absurdism. In Salingers The Catcher in the Rye the character named Holden gives

a perception of alienation to protect himself. Just as he wears his hunting hat to advertise his

uniqueness, he uses his isolation as proof that he is better than everyone else around him and

therefore above interacting with them. The truth is that interactions with other people usually

confuse and overwhelm him, and his cynical sense of superiority serves as a type of self-

protection. Thus, Holdens alienation is the source of what little stability he has in his life.As

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readers, we can see that Holdens alienation is the cause of most of his pain. He never

addresses his own emotions directly, nor does he attempt to discover the source of his

troubles. He desperately needs human contact and love, but his protective wall of bitterness

prevents him from looking for such interaction. Alienation is both the source of Holdens

strength and the source of his problems. For example, his loneliness propels him into his date

with Sally Hayes, but his need for isolation causes him to insult her and drive her away.

Similarly, he longs for the meaningful connection he once had with Jane Gallagher, but he is

too frightened to make any real effort to contact her. He depends upon his alienation, but it

destroys him. In the same manner Lord of the Flies is the experiences of a group of school

boys who are stranded on a desolate island after a plane crash. The flow of events presents a

series of dramatic happenings that gives rise to the force of violence in many of the

characters. This idea of innate human evil is central to Lord of the Flies and finds expression

in several important symbols, most notably the beast and the sows head on the stake.

Similarly, the content in the volume of poems Residence on Earth are the thoughts, fee lings

and experiences of the poet expressed when he found himself in places and cultures other than

his own. Neruda travelled on diplomatic postings to various parts of the world. The poems are

his way of responding to the otherness of his life-heightening his own feelings of belonging

(to Chile).

Due to thematic expansion things can be chalked out more easily. Thereupon, content can be

filled in using a form. It doesnt necessarily need to be in that order. But these aspects are

indispensable . While in modern literature theme or genre based on their contents can be more

easily filed in fiction, non-fiction, romance, drama etc. But a creative form of work cannot be

distinguished based on its theme or by knowing. It does play a major role from the start till the

end. But there are lot many expressions, feelings and scenarios involved covering every

aspect of human race. Therefore, while themes are tell tales about the creative work. But at

the same time a theme is incomplete without its counterparts that is content and form.

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