I've been thinking a lot about the reasons I (and people in general) read fiction.
A quick list:
It's fun.
To 'escape.'
To learn something about the world.
To get better at writing.
To fall asleep.
I started reading in elementary school. Our teacher enrolled us in this program that earned us a free pizza from Pizza Hut if we read 5 books in a month. Then she encouraged us to read 20 books in a school year and write a mini-report about each of them, earning us an award at the end-of-the-year Awards Night. The mini-reports were a chore, but the reading and the awards and the pizza were fun. But mostly the reading was fun.
I remember one series that same teacher introduced me to, about a street full of homes with kids the same age who all went to the same school. Each kid had their own book, and each had a slightly differing view of the life they all lived. One was a jock. One a quirky nerd girl. One had a parrot. I can't remember a lot about the series, or even what it was called, but I remember feeling as if I 'knew' the kids, having seen them from the other kids' points of view, and I remember wishing I went to their school, daydreaming about being their friend, about kicking a soccer ball around the schoolyard with them.
I read the Narnia series, too. And became desperate to find another world. Even though I knew it was impossible and was mostly just kidding every time I'd feel the back wall of a closet, or I'd jump into the middle of the huge hedge separating the golf course behind our house from our backyards, trying to catch a talking beast before it slid into it's burrow, I still did those things. It might be possible, I must have thought. The first time I felt my life was missing something was the day I finished the 7th book of the Narnia series, the day I realized I would never enter their world anew.
I read Life of Pi when I was a bit older, my senior year of college (the first time through). It still ranks as one of my all-time favourites, and I often claim that it changed my life. It did so in two ways, the first being that it was a book that showed me a world I was entirely ignorant of, that being the world of a character who did not live with my western worldview, at least not in a way I had seen before. I am a religious person, and before reading about Pi would have scoffed at the idea of 'blending' religions, probably would have called it heretical. The details about sloths, the practical tips for surviving at sea, taming a tiger. The book just opened my eyes to the possibility of literature, showed me that it's not simply an escape from this life, but a tool for learning about it. A fun tool. A useful tool.
The second change it initiated was my interest in the writer of a story. I had been writing since high school, in the way high-school kids often write—self-centered and worrisome about how my life is turning out, short rhyming poems that are hardly coherent even to myself—but here was the first time I was enthralled in a story and found myself thinking about what the author was actually doing. That is to say: The first time I started thinking critically about a text was when I realized Yann Martel was telling two stories at once. It sort of removed the '4th wall,' I guess, and I started to think maybe I should start taking this writing stuff seriously; I wanted to write like Martel. And so I started actually writing, but I started reading in a new way, in a diligent way, trying to take tid-bits of strategy, or whatever, from other established writers. And of course when I started reading about writing, this is the tip every writer gives to beginning writers: Read.
So I read for these reasons. These and the fact it helps me to wind down at the end of the day, to forget, for a moment, the stresses of the day, so I can slip into sleep.
But I think the real reason I read, and the actual reason anyone reads is more than these things.
I think the reason we read is to convince ourselves we are not alone. And I think reading is thoroughly convincing in doing so in a number of ways.
Stephen King says reading is the only true form of telepathy, which sounds weird and quirky and exactly what he would say, but I think I agree with him. Right now, for instance, I'm writing my thoughts, you're reading them, and they are in your brain. I have placed my thoughts in your brain without talking to you or even seeing you or possibly even meeting you or knowing who you are. There you go. In this way, we can see that we are not alone, for we are aware of someone else's words and thoughts in our minds.
Many apologists for the study of the Humanities and specifically literature, advocate that reading teaches empathy. And in my mind, reading is the single most important tool we have for learning and practicing empathy. When we read, we are forced to experience the world through the mindset and worldview of someone other than ourselves. When a child is immersed in the world of Harry Potter, say, s/he is also immersed in the mind of Harry Potter. They are viewing the world through his perspective and are thinking as he would think. In other words, they are thinking from another person's perspective, feeling anger when Harry is angry, feeling fear, joy, nervousness, whatever. They are not only thinking from another's perspective, but feeling from another's perspective, which is a pretty good definition of empathy if you ask me. So not only does it make you aware of another's thoughts mixed in with our own—as in my first point—but it also teaches one how to think like another person.
If you're lucky you have a best friend. This friend is usually considered 'the best' because you
feel as if you can share anything with them, all of your thoughts and desires, and they will care about these things. Still, you have to open up and share them. If you are even more lucky, you have been in love, and have had someone love you. In this case, you might feel as if your loved one knows you so well, they know what you are thinking in any given situation. This is often the case, as it is with my wife and me. And yet, it is never completely the case. No matter how well my wife knows me and is abel to guess what I am thinking, she is never completely aware of my thoughts, nor I of hers. When I'm at work or school and she's at home or work or with the kids or wherever, we are each thinking all the time, without ceasing. It is impossible to literally share these thoughts telepathically or otherwise all the time. Which is to say: At an existential level, we are all alone. This may sound melodramatic, but it must be true. It is the reason, I believe, we, as humans, seek out meaningful relationships and are not fulfilled without them. We recognize our aloneness and wish to remedy it through relationships.
But I think we also remedy it through reading fiction. The reason people feel like they know Harry Potter, or any other fictional character, is because they've spent time thinking along with them. While it is hardly true that we think every thought Harry does throughout his time at Hogwarts, or throughout the whole long story, we are exposed to some of his thoughts as he thinks them, and therefore are thinking them together with him. We are not alone as we read.
So all this to say: I believe reading fiction is more important than simply being a means of entertainment, an escape from stress, or a way to put yourself to sleep. It teaches you about the world you live in in a way that other forms of entertainment, or even other art forms, cannot.
But more than that, it is perhaps one of the only tangible things that is able to convince you that you are not alone, and teaches you how to think like other people. It first shows you the need for empathy, then shows you how to empathize.
In other words, reading fiction is important. We should all read more of it.
A quick list:
It's fun.
To 'escape.'
To learn something about the world.
To get better at writing.
To fall asleep.
I started reading in elementary school. Our teacher enrolled us in this program that earned us a free pizza from Pizza Hut if we read 5 books in a month. Then she encouraged us to read 20 books in a school year and write a mini-report about each of them, earning us an award at the end-of-the-year Awards Night. The mini-reports were a chore, but the reading and the awards and the pizza were fun. But mostly the reading was fun.
I remember one series that same teacher introduced me to, about a street full of homes with kids the same age who all went to the same school. Each kid had their own book, and each had a slightly differing view of the life they all lived. One was a jock. One a quirky nerd girl. One had a parrot. I can't remember a lot about the series, or even what it was called, but I remember feeling as if I 'knew' the kids, having seen them from the other kids' points of view, and I remember wishing I went to their school, daydreaming about being their friend, about kicking a soccer ball around the schoolyard with them.
I read the Narnia series, too. And became desperate to find another world. Even though I knew it was impossible and was mostly just kidding every time I'd feel the back wall of a closet, or I'd jump into the middle of the huge hedge separating the golf course behind our house from our backyards, trying to catch a talking beast before it slid into it's burrow, I still did those things. It might be possible, I must have thought. The first time I felt my life was missing something was the day I finished the 7th book of the Narnia series, the day I realized I would never enter their world anew.
I read Life of Pi when I was a bit older, my senior year of college (the first time through). It still ranks as one of my all-time favourites, and I often claim that it changed my life. It did so in two ways, the first being that it was a book that showed me a world I was entirely ignorant of, that being the world of a character who did not live with my western worldview, at least not in a way I had seen before. I am a religious person, and before reading about Pi would have scoffed at the idea of 'blending' religions, probably would have called it heretical. The details about sloths, the practical tips for surviving at sea, taming a tiger. The book just opened my eyes to the possibility of literature, showed me that it's not simply an escape from this life, but a tool for learning about it. A fun tool. A useful tool.
The second change it initiated was my interest in the writer of a story. I had been writing since high school, in the way high-school kids often write—self-centered and worrisome about how my life is turning out, short rhyming poems that are hardly coherent even to myself—but here was the first time I was enthralled in a story and found myself thinking about what the author was actually doing. That is to say: The first time I started thinking critically about a text was when I realized Yann Martel was telling two stories at once. It sort of removed the '4th wall,' I guess, and I started to think maybe I should start taking this writing stuff seriously; I wanted to write like Martel. And so I started actually writing, but I started reading in a new way, in a diligent way, trying to take tid-bits of strategy, or whatever, from other established writers. And of course when I started reading about writing, this is the tip every writer gives to beginning writers: Read.
So I read for these reasons. These and the fact it helps me to wind down at the end of the day, to forget, for a moment, the stresses of the day, so I can slip into sleep.
But I think the real reason I read, and the actual reason anyone reads is more than these things.
I think the reason we read is to convince ourselves we are not alone. And I think reading is thoroughly convincing in doing so in a number of ways.
Stephen King says reading is the only true form of telepathy, which sounds weird and quirky and exactly what he would say, but I think I agree with him. Right now, for instance, I'm writing my thoughts, you're reading them, and they are in your brain. I have placed my thoughts in your brain without talking to you or even seeing you or possibly even meeting you or knowing who you are. There you go. In this way, we can see that we are not alone, for we are aware of someone else's words and thoughts in our minds.
Many apologists for the study of the Humanities and specifically literature, advocate that reading teaches empathy. And in my mind, reading is the single most important tool we have for learning and practicing empathy. When we read, we are forced to experience the world through the mindset and worldview of someone other than ourselves. When a child is immersed in the world of Harry Potter, say, s/he is also immersed in the mind of Harry Potter. They are viewing the world through his perspective and are thinking as he would think. In other words, they are thinking from another person's perspective, feeling anger when Harry is angry, feeling fear, joy, nervousness, whatever. They are not only thinking from another's perspective, but feeling from another's perspective, which is a pretty good definition of empathy if you ask me. So not only does it make you aware of another's thoughts mixed in with our own—as in my first point—but it also teaches one how to think like another person.
If you're lucky you have a best friend. This friend is usually considered 'the best' because you
feel as if you can share anything with them, all of your thoughts and desires, and they will care about these things. Still, you have to open up and share them. If you are even more lucky, you have been in love, and have had someone love you. In this case, you might feel as if your loved one knows you so well, they know what you are thinking in any given situation. This is often the case, as it is with my wife and me. And yet, it is never completely the case. No matter how well my wife knows me and is abel to guess what I am thinking, she is never completely aware of my thoughts, nor I of hers. When I'm at work or school and she's at home or work or with the kids or wherever, we are each thinking all the time, without ceasing. It is impossible to literally share these thoughts telepathically or otherwise all the time. Which is to say: At an existential level, we are all alone. This may sound melodramatic, but it must be true. It is the reason, I believe, we, as humans, seek out meaningful relationships and are not fulfilled without them. We recognize our aloneness and wish to remedy it through relationships.
But I think we also remedy it through reading fiction. The reason people feel like they know Harry Potter, or any other fictional character, is because they've spent time thinking along with them. While it is hardly true that we think every thought Harry does throughout his time at Hogwarts, or throughout the whole long story, we are exposed to some of his thoughts as he thinks them, and therefore are thinking them together with him. We are not alone as we read.
So all this to say: I believe reading fiction is more important than simply being a means of entertainment, an escape from stress, or a way to put yourself to sleep. It teaches you about the world you live in in a way that other forms of entertainment, or even other art forms, cannot.
But more than that, it is perhaps one of the only tangible things that is able to convince you that you are not alone, and teaches you how to think like other people. It first shows you the need for empathy, then shows you how to empathize.
In other words, reading fiction is important. We should all read more of it.
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