Our reflection on literature becomes a part of the learning process.
Since I was young, I was always enjoyed reading, but studying literature has been always a struggle. Because though as much as I enjoyed it, to many people, literature is studied only by those who weren’t smart enough to study mathematics, sciences, or something tangible or profitable.
After all those years, more than just being able to read and write well, getting into literature has opened a gateway to explore a deeper level of thought, to open the horizon of knowledge from the past to present, from far-reaching places to even beyond this world.
Literature mirrors humanity
Every piece of writing tries to tell us something. Literature captivates and interprets what happened and what is going on, either under personal stories or through records of communal experience. The dawn of civilization begins more than 5000 years ago when the first written evidence was found. Our entire human culture exists in the written word, documenting the collective thoughts of consecutive generations. My younger self learned about America from To kill a mockingbird, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Little Women…, and knew the severe brutality of WW2 through Anna Frank’s diary, For Whom the Bell Tolls…far more than from history class.
Literature offers us chances to be enlightened by boundless subjects which can be both very broad and particular. Oftentimes, we may find ourselves laughing, crying, awe, or deeply moved by the characters. More than a window to another world, dwelling in a book can feel like riding on a magical carpet, drifting along with characters’ thoughts, experiencing what they are experiencing on pages, thinking for them, reacting like them, and learning from them. If such situations happen in real life, we might not always be able to put into exact words, but living the life of characters provides us a medium to speak the deepest speculations. Literature thus functions as a humane lens, enables us to appreciate the inner self, and illuminates the individual’s inmost journey.
Literature is not science, it is art. Science can sometimes be wrong and constantly be replaced, but literature as a form of art, at its essence, always brings out the truth. The emotion, the feeling, the intensity in such a specific scenario is telling us what is really happening. And by the use of language, it transcribes in multiple perspectives, both outside and inside, implicitly betokening what to remember and what to forget. Even sometimes, the interpretation is left for the readers to decide. What is certain in literature, which cannot be attained through any other instrument, is that to learn about a particular subject, we have to embrace the ambiguity and let our minds conclude. Sometimes the unwritten speaks louder than words. All pertain to the beauty of literature.
Literature mirrors our inner world
Literature skills, such as comprehension, analysis, and interpretation, help to educate ourselves. Every form of literature: poems, essays, diaries, or narratives… bridge the gap of time to explore preceders’ messages and life lessons. Learning through full of human’s inside-out reactions could make us more aware of our own values. As the characters respond to the lessons from the past, we could train our conscience to answer today’s problems.
Many of us enjoy fairy tales at a young age, we love Harry Potter as teenagers, we obsess with Steinbecks, Hemingway, Fitzgerald as suffering from adulthood crises, in order to get lost in Proust’s mind as a later stage of life. We actually grow as our souls evolve. We realize that we take more insights from any piece of writing than we could ever before, even from Aesop’s fables... It is because our minds have expanded to a point that we fully get the idea of what authors want to convey. It is common to feel like “we see ourselves in the book”, or “the author speaks our mind”, but no no it’s not! Just that we’ve matured enough to read between the lines.
For one who truly wants to be a part of human society, it is essential to take part in the evolution and self-realization that is literature. A timeless piece of literature is what we can always discover something new as a child or as a grown-up. Literature cultivates our minds and improves this world not only through the beauty of its presence but also through the ideas and tangible possibilities it possesses.
Literature mirrors the minds of great thinkers
Our thoughts reflect our feeling and perceptions. Language serves as a deliberate and rhetorical way to represent the writer’s personality. It is the character in the novel that brings his pondering to the readers. All the characters and plots come from the authors’ imagination, contemplation, and occasionally, real-life experiences.
One of the most precious, inspiring yet underestimated experiences we encounter from literature, is the sense of connection with great minds. Each writer has his own style and technique which is basically the external expression of his inner view. His beliefs, or judgments upon life, history, or an event; the subtle and intricate expressions of his wit; of his humour; of his depth; of his sagacity; are the very blossom and intellect of the author’s talent, which is nothing but an impression of his nobility and sincere personality. Indeed, there is nothing more intimacy than reading someone’s piece of work.
Literature mirrors life
Some reading experiences can teach us more about life and what it means to live in this world than any university and college. Reading Greek thousand years ago and we could easily be moved by the wisdom some old man said. The way they critiqued and elaborate on the fundamental grounds of morals, society, God, and so on is called philosophy. Naturally, once someone has become more experienced, they begin to light the way for future explorers. Many decide to act as teachers, helping prospective followers learn to traverse the dense and sometimes bewildering forest. No matter how much we are benefited from the pioneers, the task itself opens a pathway to knowledge, enlighten us through the wilderness so that we could pass on the torch to those who come after us. Literature enables humans to not only find the humanity within our own hearts but also connect us from generation to generation — who have been doing so since the beginning of time.
There must be a reason why literature can appear in a multitude of forms: be it poetry or prose, the sonnet or the novel, the sestina, or the short story… All literature shares the common theme of an idea: idea to encourage exploring, probing, inquiring, and inspiring. Our reactions to such ideas become a part of the learning process.
Literature as a form of art that distinguishes us as a human from any other kind. If you are lucky enough, you might find a piece of literature that can change your life, but it does not matter if you might not. Getting in literature is a journey of self-exploration to the depths of your own mind, to spring on self-reflection and sophisticated reverie and that you wouldn’t have otherwise known you had before you sat down to read.
