There is a requirement to learn how to read and write at a very young age. Ranging from learning the alphabets to learning how to read words. Some people believe that literature is important, while others might think it’s the opposite. Some are also, just in the middle, who feel that it is beneficial, but also unimportant. People all around the world have different views on this concept. Where do you stand? Miller, the author of “the dark night of the soul,” was concerned about whether literature matters in our world filled with violence. Some people have said that if you read and write, then violence wouldn’t happen. Miller believes this is a false and untrue statement. It is very ironic that an english teacher is wondering about this …show more content…
According to what he wrote, you can make an inference about how important literature is to him. Percy wants us to view things without preformed ideas; this means it’s only you making judgements. In this situation, literature can be beneficial, but it can also be a disadvantage. Literature helps people express themselves. During or after an experience, writing down how the experience was is allowing yourself to express yourself. On the other hand, your writing of your experience can also be a disadvantage because these are preformed ideas for somebody …show more content…
Literature keeps us educated and it allows us to express ourselves. Reading and writing is needed in all aspects of our lives. For almost every job you have to either know how to read or write. Can you think of a job that doesn’t require literature? Even a waiter at a restaurant has to write down the customer orders. Without literature, we wouldn’t be able to live our life, because there would be too many problems. No literature means no communication. No communication means we’re all lonely because we can’t interact with other people. No literature also means no education. Without education how could we know anything. Think of all the technology we have and all the science we know. Reading and writing is the foundation of learning and without this there would be no technology. Yes, that means there wouldn’t be any computers or smart phones. I also believe that schools should continue to keep reading and writing courses. During these courses, it allows us to connect with other people and it also gives people a chance to express themselves. Another key factor is that these courses will allow us to get a better understanding of the
“The Dark Night of the Soul” is a chapter in the book, Writing at the End of the World by Richard Miller. In this chapter, Miller gives many examples of how reading and writing help the world, and he asks questions to find out if literature, and his teachings cause a change in the present day. Miller states, “Why bother with reading and writing when the world is so obviously going to hell?”(Dark Night of the Soul 433). I believe that this is the best statement to summarize what Miller is trying to get across. Why read? Why write? Is it going to matter in the end? Does it truly help anyone? These are all questions that arise from the author while reading this chapter.
Jones, Gerard. “Violent Media is Good for Kids.” Analytical Writing: A Guide to College Composition 1. M. Clay Hooper.,D. Marzette., Beth Wade. Cengage Learning, 2011. 285-88. Print.
It can be quite a shock to confront the possibility that reading, writing, and talking exercise almost none of the powers we regularly attribute to them in our favorite stories. The dark night of the soul for literacy workers comes with the realization that training students to read, write, and talk in more critical and self- reflective ways cannot protect them from the violent changes our culture is undergoing.
...ad and Write" teaches us the importance of learning how to communicate effectively. If we do not know how to read and write, we can not ensure the expansion of knowledge that makes our civilization grow and prosper. All levels of the education system should teach the importance of reading and writing because they enable us to create new ideas that can change the world. If we do not teach it now, who would know about us in the future?
Literature has long been an important part of human life. We express our feelings with ink and paper; we spill out our souls on dried wood pulp. Writing has been a form of release and enjoyment since the beginning of written language. You can tell a story, make yourself a hero. You can live out all your fantasies!
Percy's life was full of hardships and adventure. He showed promise intelligently as a writer and philosopher from a very young age, although his views were not popular. Even so, his stories and poems were well liked in his time, and even now. His family affairs, however, were always quite awkward and only evened out a few years before his mysterious death.
Miller wants to transmit to us that reading and writing have very powerful influences in people and their imagination, but he believes the power of reading and writing is not being utilized as much in the modern world. Through the examples he presents in the Dark Night of the Soul he tries to show different perspectives of reading and writing so that the reader realizes that both are really powerful realities which can have a big influence in someone’s
Can you imagine a world where literature did not exist? It’s very hard, nearly impossible. Literature plays a major role in shaping society. Literature is a word used to describe written or spoken material. Literature educates, informs, entertains and influences the reader or listener in a myriad of profound ways. Broadly speaking, “literature” is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination. Writers can change one’s beliefs, thoughts, actions, indeed their entire lives. In Northrop Frye’s The Educated Imagination, Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird and Plato’s The Republic, the writers use literature to utter the importance literature bestows on society. The three writers state their opinions using different methods to prove to the readers that their opinions are valid. Since each author has a unique writing style, most envision their writing with a relatable figure. Some would argue that Frye’s writing style is much like that of a textbook, very instructional and factual, Lamott reminded them of a conversation with a friend and that Plato’s writing style is very informative, akin to a professor carrying on a dialogue with an inquisitive student.
As a culture, again with religious fundamentalist and perhaps politically-correct feminist exceptions, we pretty much take these literary forms for granted in terms of their violent and seemingly antisocial content. Parents lovingly read their children to sleep with images of forced drudgery, painful mutilations, and vengeful retribution. Teachers and preachers alike use these quasi-historical and metaphorical tales of aggression and hostility to inspire and enlighten. Little thought, if any, is given to the possibility that we are putting dangerous ideas into the heads of our youth that will result in violent displays of antisocial mayhem. And, in fact, there seems to be little evidence that this true. For the most part, our children seem to have a healthy relationship to these stories in which the violence and sexuality does tend to help th...
Authors tend to use violence to make their works of literature more appealing to the readers. It has been examined for many years and by several philosophers, but its exact character and the reasoning behind it is still questioned. It is proven that children learn from what they are exposed to and that if they read or watch violent material, they may eventually develop a negative persona. Violence today is very widespread and needs to be acknowledged as a major issue for everyone. There are many incidents where violence in literature has affected individuals in a negative way. It has affected their thought process and made horrific acts seem intriguing to the point where they want and do, in some cases, participant in carrying out ferocious acts. The violence in literature should be minimized and replaced with more influential topics that reflect on a more positive impact on
“Libraries are filled with masterpieces that great authors toiled over to complete, but the pages in the books go untouched by many of us” (Barnett-Bey 333). You may either perceive reading as a privilege or take it for granted. Reading is one of the most fundamental parts of our daily lives, that’s why some people may take it for granted and not even realize it because of how we use it every single day. It is important because it improves concentration, vocabulary, and imagination. People often read for their own entertainment and it improves the mind’s ability to understand ideas, follow arguments and detect implications. The amount of people who are illiterate is astonishing. “The challenge is taking the time to read respectable literature, but it is vital to us as individuals and as a country” (Barnett-Bey 336). I couldn 't imagine how hard illiterate people 's lives must be, living every day and not being able to read simple sentences, read a cookbook and try to learn how to cook or even a sign in a resturant. General wonderings occur to me of how and what people will be reading in a generation, and if it will actually make a difference in their lives. "If we, as a society, do not connect to literature by reading we are missing the very essence of our being" (Barnett-Bey 334).
Literature allows reflection. It helps us to shape our own thoughts. It builds on rich histories of thought and expression. Literature represents and explores the ways in which the world is viewed and experienced by people in that society.
The importance of literacy is how it opens up the world to the reader, or writer. Through literacy, we can shape our thinking on certain topics or create original thought. The vivid detail inside of writing can allow the reader to picture the writing through their own mind without pictures, or any outside help. Malcolm X, who wrote “Literacy Behind Bars”, a literacy narrative about his time in prison, described how the world opened up to him through his readings, and how incredible his life was thereafter through his learning to read and write. Literacy enables you to formulate thought, thus allowing you to formulate opinions about certain social, political, or any other range of topics from an education in literacy.
“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become,” said C.S. Lewis, noted author. This quote, to me, is the most appropriate description of the importance of literature in our lives. Literature reminds us of stories, epics, sacred scriptures and classical works of the ancient and modern times, in which the book To Kill a Mockingbird clearly does. Literature is defined as the body of written works of a language, period or culture, produced by scholars and researchers, specialized in a given field. Why is literature important? Well, let’s see as stated in the quotation by C.S. Lewis, literature not only describes reality but also adds to it. Yes, literature is not merely a depiction of reality; it is rather a value-addition. Literary works are portrayals of the thinking patterns and social norms prevalent in society. They are an illustration of the different facets of common man's life. Literary works serve as a food for thought and a tonic for imagination and creativity. Exposing an individual to good literary works, is equivalent to providing him/her with the finest of educational opportunities. On the other hand, the lack of exposure to literary works is equal to depriving an individual from an opportunity to grow as an individual. To Kill a Mockingbird provides its readers with the ‘finest of educational opportunities’ and that is why it is an important literary work. Harper Lee’s book is a powerful literary work because of the following literary devices employed: Setting, Allegory, and point of view. However before one can dissect the devices used, one must h...
I might as well say, the minute I was born, I was being read to by my parents. They were the type of parents that wanted their kids to be the best they could be, so reading to my sister and me was a way to promote an abundance of early skills that can help children succeed in school, work, and everyday life as they grow up. "Many studies have demonstrated that reading to children has many positive effects. For example, a study was made in Rhode Island Hospital to compare two groups of eight months old – one group was read to as often as babies, while the other was not. It was shown that those who were read to have their “receptive” vocabularies (number of words they understand) increased 40 percent since babyhood, while the non-reading group increased by only 16 percent" (Raisesmartkid.com). This explains that my parents were on the right track as they continued to read to us every night and even as the played audio books as we fell asleep.