What is literature? What is Civilization?

I'm a little later on posting this one. I asked three residents in Clark Hall two questions: How they defined literature, and what is civilization. My three subjects were Ramon (my roommate), Justin (my RA), and Tate. The dialogue of our conversation is below:
Ramon: "Literature is anything that uses words to describe something. This can be something as complicated as a book or something as simple as a line from a poem." "Civilization is a group of people governed by a central force"
Ramon's description is probably the closest to how I would describe literature.

Justin: "Literature is books. Books are fun to read. I read good" "Civilization is when people get together and work towards a common goal"
While Justin's first answer wasn't very insightful, I definitely understand the point he's trying to make about civilization.



Tate: "When you use words, letters, sounds to convey a deeper meaning. This would be similar to using words to create art. Literature can be poems, songs, tales, stories, etc. I think that anything with a shallow meaning that is very simple like a sign or a label is not literature" "Civilization started when man gained the ability to communicate to one another. Through this they formed a common mean of language that led to ideas being shared between one another. When men have similar ideas that become a principle of which they base their life and decisions, civilization is formed."
I believe that Tate is looking at the definition of Literature as too much of a type of written work rather than just a broad idea in itself. I don't necessarily believe something has to be art to be literature rather something has to have a message that is conveyed through words, expressions, and ideas. Tate's definition of civilization is very similar to mine. We both agree that it revolves around a common goal that helps define how we carry out our lives and what motivates us to carry out our actions"

I apologize for this blog coming late, I missed the first day and didn't quite know about the assignment. Hope you enjoyed reading.