Reading Literature Makes Us Smarter And Nicer By Annie Murphy Paul

The article The Death of Reading is Threatening the Soul by Philip Yancey focuses on how many people are no longer “deep reading” and instead are reading “fewer of the [types] of books that require hard work” (Yancey 1). This is because the brain experiences a dopamine rush that occurs “when we learn something quick and new” (Yancey 2). Yancey agrees with many other intelligent, well-known people who stress the need to read many books or book pages daily. He adds that they acknowledge that it’s “beyond reach for [everyone] but [a] few people” so there’s no reason not to partake in the goal, especially since it is extremely beneficial (Yancey 3). Yancey describes reading lots of books has helped unleash his creativity and diminish his writer’s

In the passage “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia, Gioia states that the decline of interest in reading in America is decreasing. She then claims that this lack of interest will hold negative effects on the future of our society. Gioia uses facts and evidence to support her claim.

Literature is known to have a profound impact on people. It can influence their attitudes, behaviours, beliefs and ultimately, their decision-making process. Reading about the thoughts and stories of other people helps one make moral decisions because it develops one's sense of empathy and it makes one learn more about the world, making them a better person in the end.

Younger generations aren’t feeling as empathetic as older generations and this will lead to a dangerous society. Empathy is the ability to understand and share feelings. Teaching empathy at a young age will allow one another to accept and communicate with each other. It is also a necessity skill in life that helps each other to recognize one’s emotions. According to the article, This is How Literary Fiction Teaches us to Be Human by Tom Blunt, he emphasizes empathy can be taught through literary fiction and it is vital that young children feel empathy toward each other.

In the article, “Nerd Alert: Reading is Good For Your Health” by Jen Christensen, I learned that reading literature can actually build empathy. This is important because, well, what good are we really without empathy? Without ever understanding where a person is coming from, how can we help them? You know that stereotypical, snooty, popular teenager who’s whining all the time and is just generally REALLY annoying on movies and TV shows? That’s what we’d be like without empathy.

In Dana Gioia’s article titled “Why Literature Matters”, he explains about the decline of reading literature for young Americans. Although “income rose to unforeseen levels, college attendance ballooned, and access of information increased enormously” he states, “the interest young Americans showed in the arts… diminished”. In his article, Gioia uses surveys, articles, studies, and statistics to persuade his audience that the decline of reading in America can have a negative effect on society.

Sherman Alexie the author of the essay "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" was born and raised on a Spokane Indian Reservation. Growing up his family did not have a lot of money, yet today Alexie is known as one of the most prominent Native American writers. Alexie reminisces on his childhood when he first taught himself how to read. In the essay "The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me" Sherman Alexie suggests, that for Native Americans reading is the key to education and education is the key to prosperity in life.

“Empathy is about standing in someone else’s shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place.” Daniel H. Pink’s quote relates to Richard Connell’s fictional short story, “The Most Dangerous Game,” where the main character, Rainsford, learns to grow empathy to others situation and feelings. Connell uses this short story for readers to grasp a deeper concept besides just a fun read while connecting with Thomas C. Foster informative literature How to Read Literature Like a Professor; For Kids.

Thomas C. Foster’s book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor, tackles the process of uncovering the underlying complexities and symbols that authors incorporate into their literary works. In its most lucid form, Foster’s message is that, when reading a work of literary merit, anything you may postulate has a deeper meaning most likely does, since skilled authors do not include items and occurrences just to include them. The dystopian literature novels 1984, Animal Farm, and Brave New World follow this trend as they interpolate different motifs with deeper political and symbolic context; however, Foster’s statements do not only apply to written literature. The movie V For Vendetta, released in 2005, connects to How to Read Literature Like

What is it about literature that makes people more empathetic? Empathy defined is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Similarly, the word compassion expresses the idea of expressing sympathy or concern for those who are suffering. Literature forms an empathetic compassion in the reader to comprehend others’ life challenges, and it sparks a drive in the reader to conquer their own trials.

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. Books can teach a person a simple task such as baking cookies or an extremely complex one such as solving for the derivative of a trigonometric path and its parabolic motion. Whatever the subject, whomever the reader, books can teach people many lessons. One of the most important lessons that a book can teach a reader is a lesson about himself, about the difficulties of life, and about living a good life. As time has passed, so has literature itself. Older books focused on historical events, fictional poetry, and important figures; however, books now have evolved to

Dana Gioia, an author of “Why Literature Matters,” addresses an issue in society of the decrease in reading during the past quarter century. This issue may seem little now, but will eventually have a negative effect on America as a whole and the business industry of America. Although reading may not be the activity for all, it is crucial to continue reading and learning to benefit the future people of American and the people after instead of the growing decline which affects society.

Empathy is extraordinarily important for children to understand and eventually put into practice, as it exercises their ability to feel and respect the emotions of other people. Empathy also plays a big role in trust and support- both of which are very important aspects of any relationship, and is necessary for living a healthy, functional life in today’s society. In her article, Dovey describes “A 2011 study published in the Annual Review of Psychology […] showed that, when people read about an experience, they display stimulation within the same neurological regions as when they go through that experience themselves.” (Dovey par. 11). This means that when people, or in this case, children, read stories, their brains react as if they were going through the same situations and emotions that they read about. This is a great way for kids to learn about empathy, why it’s important, and how to apply it to their own lives. One may argue that, while reading may trigger empathetic feelings in the majority of people, those who enjoy reading have greater empathetic tendencies than others, making reading to teach empathy only applicable to those who like to read and have these higher-than-average tendencies. Dovey also addresses this, stating that “other studies published in 2006 and 2009 showed […] that people who read a lot of fiction [tended] to be better at empathizing with others (even after the researchers had accounted for the potential bias that people with greater empathetic

In the article “Reading Literature makes us Smarter and Nicer” written by Annie Murphy Paul discusses many different opinions about the effects that reading has on you as a person. For example some psychologist are saying that reading does improve your mind and ability to comprehend things, and it also will improve your behavior, moods.

Reading has at all times and in all ages been a source of knowledge, of happiness, of pleasure and even moral courage. In today's world with so much more to know and to learn and also the need for a conscious effort to conquer the divisive forces, the importance of reading has increased. In the olden days if reading was not cultivated or encouraged, there was a substitute for it in the religious sermon and in the oral tradition. The practice of telling stories at bed time compensated to some extent for the lack of reading. In the nineteenth century Victorian households used to get together for an hour or so in the evenings and listen to books being read aloud. But today we not only read, we also want to read more and more and catch up