Literature Affects Literature

It is a well known and well documented fact that literature is able to influence our beliefs. Several studies and anecdotes have shown that people form a worldview from their experiences, and reading is indeed an experience. The fact that reading text forces you to focus and use your imagination means that you will be subtly pressured into thinking about what you’re reading. In the case of first person stories, this also means that you will find yourself entering the mindset of the character, provided the writing isn’t shoddily done. For those reasons, literature is a fantastic way for us to learn about different places and perspectives, for some the only way.

Escaping from the severe reality of life helps a person get through their difficulties within life. Whether they have emotional or physical problems, or a person just needs a good story, reading can help a person explore new worlds through their imagination. I loved reading from a young age, and treasured the moments when my mother read to me. She helped me explore the unique worlds that authors try to portray through their writing.

Throughout all of time, literature has played an important role in people’s lives. Books are more than just stories to laugh at, cry with, or fall asleep to, but books can teach. Literature

Reading allows me to explore and go on a journey, and take part of myself on that journey. I can relate with characters in books whether they are fictional or real. We all read for pleasure, to explore, even to share all the same feelings we all share reading the book, and feeling the same feelings the authors of the books went through themselves. This is what makes a book fun to read. That is what I think C.S. Lewis meant when he said “We read to know we’re not alone” because books let us feel the experiences others felt, and share the same thoughts and feelings as others around us.

The fire cracking dies down and the smell of cookie dims until you hear the swords clashing and curse words flying through the misty air. Your sight fills with blood and mangled corpses. The sole warrior stood before a crowd of soldiers, panting with frustration and exhaustion. He held his sword, outward and ready for battle. He let his bloodied jaw pronounced the words no one had hope to hear,” Time to eat!” You shut the book with despair in your heart. A book can give you a new background, a new time and place to experience however many disagree. I believe that reading fiction lets you see through a stranger’s eyes and voice the ideas of characters.

This research consistently proves that fiction is in fact able to mold and influence the reader. Fiction even proved to be more effective at altering beliefs and mind sets than non-fiction, which differs by aiming to persuade and inform through arguments and evidence. Research shows that when reading non-fiction, we read with our guard up. We are disparaging and dubious. When we become engrossed in a good novel however, we drop all forms of intellectual and emotional guards. We become moved and emotionally involved. Whilst reading nonfiction works that we are told, hold truth, we are especially cautious not to believe dishonest ‘truths.’ Fiction has no boundaries and we are free to believe anything and everything we want. “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.” –Mark Twain

“The brain’s emotional responses to good literature do more than forge a connection with a nonexistent personality – they can even alter a reader’s sense of self” (Oatley). “The properties of fictional narratives invite identification with characters in ways that nonfiction usually does not. Great art, it seems, may prompt perturbations in the usually stable structure of personality.” In other words, whatever book it may be, reading can and will change your life. It doesn’t have to be some big epic that completely spins your view. A small section, maybe just a word or two, can suddenly impacts one aspect of your life. “People who scored high on the personality of openness to experience did read slightly more fiction… it looked as if reading fiction improved social skills and not the other way around” an article by Keith Oatley, In the Minds of Others, says. The article goes on to say that the fiction readers were not lonely, less socially isolated, and even had more social support than nonfiction readers or others who don’t

Books and writers impact readers by the power of words. Social inequality was incorporated in the novels The Outsiders by S.E Hinton, and The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau. While reading these books, the text within the book impacts the reader’s perspective on society by the powerful words and examples shown throughout the novels.

In the reading passage “Reading Literature Makes Us smarter and Nicer, ” Annie Mulphy Paul(2013) encouraged the readers to read literature. The author discussed what literature changes people and how people change through reading literature. According to the author, people reading literature could understand more about others. Unlike reading websites, deep reading with printed books bring elevating and enlightening experiences that will enlarge people.

The power and freedom that lies between the pages of novels has the ability to transport the readers to a new world, impart a wealth of knowledge to them, offer a new perspective, and so much more. The only limit on novel are the covers that bind them, the ideas within them can be cherished and shared forever. Although written in 1837, Emerson’s quote, “Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst” still holds true today. An avid reader or skilled author wields unparalleled power, power that can be used for a myriad of good, or infinite evil.

“Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you!” (Suess 13)I can remember sitting in my bed, repeating that saying to myself, constantly mouthing the words until I dozed off into a deep slumber. The influence of literature affected my daily thoughts, perspective, and memories from even early childhood. From giddily reading the clever rhymes of Dr.Seuss to sitting in the carpool lines relating to the tales of Junie B. Jones, my early exposure to reading and its importance set the tone of its impact throughout my adolescence and transition into adulthood. With my chronological growth, came an array of literature that separated themselves into distinct phases of my life, intertwining the development

Raymond Mar, a psychologist at York University of Canada, supports the fact that people who read fiction are able to understand others and empathize with them. Mr.Mar has also published a article in 2010, which says: The more stories that are read to young children, the keener their 'theory of mind'. Keith Oatley, a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Toronto, also strongly supports

My achievement is becoming literate in English after overcoming a myriad of obstacles represents my literacy history. Throughout the years my relation to writing has been erratic. There have been some instances where I would completely apprehend the subject material and write a well worded essay, other times I would completely crash and burn. I have always been proficient in math and science, but history would always be my bane. No matter what my effort was, I could not demonstrate enough skill in my history essays to separate me from the rest of my field. It was my one weakness in my otherwise invincible armor.

Literature has been around since 1066. Early monks were the first to develop written language/literature and, its been evolving ever since. We see literature not only in books and texts, but in others forms as well. Literature now can be viewed or expressed in body language, motion pictures, art, music, expressions, and much more. As culture travels and experience new way of lifes an other cultures, our literature is formed by the exposure and developed more with structure. Literature is and has been a very important part of the the upbringing of early civilizations, and current lives of many. The root of Literature holds strong values and is/has been studied for years and years. As how humans grow and learn over generations, new inventions affect our past way of life for the better or worse depending on who you ask. When cars were made, it totally changed

As a young child and teenager, I’ve always been an avid reader. Reading, unlike many other past-times, is a highly beneficial hobby that is universally unlimited. When my love for literature began, I was in the third grade. In my classroom, there was a poster with a famous quote displayed on colorful paper. It read, “The more you read, the more things that you know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go.” This well-known quote was said by one of the most reputable authors- Dr. Seuss! Although this is a very elementary (literally) quote, it holds much truth. Literature gives you a great deal of knowledge, as well as a great appreciation for the world around you. This is the beauty of reading literature.