Read the following introduction for a research paper on novels and answer the question. 1The word novel is borrowed from the Italian word novella (Henry 235). 2Defining exactly what a novel is can be hard work. 3The standard dictionary definition is "a fictional prose narrative of considerable length, typically having a plot that is unfolded by the actions, speech, and thoughts of the characters" ("Novel"). 4Novels in some way represent life. 5The representations, however, occur in a narrative about life and experience. 6Since the novel can represent life, such fiction can be serious. 7The seriousness begins when the novel deals with humankind in a way that shows its importance and significance within the fictional world of the novel. 8The world of a novel varies greatly from author to author because each writer creates a new fictional world for a new work. 9That world may be all the relationships of a whole nation or of a very small town. 10That world may be as confined as the captain's cabin on a ship or as open as a little island. 11That world may also be as withdrawn as the farthest recesses of the human mind. 12Novels are important as they entertain and instruct the readers through a variety of life experiences.

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