Is rejection truly nurse of wisdom?

Acceptance never comes the easy way. Rebuking and rejecting something new has been an age old practice in this world, which feels safe sticking to the conventional things rather than embracing anything new. Great works are given consideration only after countless struggles or sometimes even after the death of the authors or founders. In a way we can say that the world we live in is still not ready for a change.

Look around and you will find that the success stories of today were all billed as failures in the past. The authors, who are considered asgods' of literature today, were once mocked at and criticized. Renowned writers of the past have faced criticisms all their lives and their works have been recognized only after constant struggle or in certain unfortunate cases, after death.

Sylvia Plath, for example, was rejected by several publishers on the grounds that her ability as a poet was nothing special. Rudyard Kipling, one of the most prominent writers, was rejected umpteentimes by several publishers on the grounds that he did not know how to use English language. D.H. Lawrence was once told by a publisher: “For your own sake, do not publish this book!”

The list does not end here, but goes on.The main reason, given by the editors for rejection, is that they are not what the society wants.

It would not be wrong to suggest that “the way of this world, is to praise old/dead writers and persecute the living ones.”

The moment one comes up with a new idea, he has the whole world before him, to criticize him. It takes luck and a huge fortune for a new writer today to get his work known.

There may be some who are lucky to get their work known by the world, but there are hundreds and thousands of those who are still struggling for recognition.

As Sir Boyle Roche says, “disappointment is the nurse of wisdom.”

But can this be recognized as 100% true? Can each rejection be taken as a nurse of wisdom?

In my opinion, each work is equally valuable. An editor must carefully read each work and then judge it by its quality and not by the author. It is necessary to retrieve our old valuable documents but it is even more necessary to preserve the ones that we have now. One day these preserved writings of ours' might prove to be gold for our new generations, just as our ancestors did to us.

The author is a student of English literature at St Aloysius College, Mangalore. She has a passion for language and literature and a keen interest in writing. She hails from Udupi.