“The pen is mightier than the sword” This quote may be cliche, however it is undeniably true. A single book or quote can change one’s perspective on the world, making it one of the greatest weapons. One quote, acting as a sword, can effectively slash through views of ignorance. A book, as an armory full of swords, can deliver final blows to close minded perspectives, and finally reform them. These weapons can ultimately open new eyes, while crushing the old.
Before I began to read heavier books, and had my old perspectives of books sliced, I was a relatively close minded reader. I rarely connected to books, and thought many books were foolish. I didn’t realize the deeper meaning behind books, and was not very insightful towards them.
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As I said earlier, I rarely connected to books. However, I truly connected to I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou. How could I not? I felt aspects of my own life connecting to those of Maya Angelou’s (The book is a memoir). I felt her struggles, her struggle of being a woman, her struggles with being colored. Even aspects that I had not lived, I felt like I was living through Angelou’s shoes, something I usually couldn’t do. I could become personal with the book, and allowed myself to. The strongest armory, though, was The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. This was one book that forced me out of my comfort zone, and was more personal than any book I had read. I’d never cried when I read a book, but I did cry when I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower. I didn’t just put myself into the shoes of Charlie, the main character. I became him. I experienced his turmoil, happiness, sadness, confusion, anger, and euphoria. I was able to learn from this book, lessons which I could apply to my life, lessons which increased my personal connection to the book. These armories gave chilling final blows in taking down the walls of my previous reading
Thomas Carlyle expresses culture as: “the process by which a person becomes all that they were capable of being.” By unifying people, culture empowers us to be everything we can be. World-renowned author and activist, and possibly the most inspirational woman of all time, Maya Angelou, both explains and proves this idea in “Champion of the World,” an excerpt from her collection of memoirs: “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” Through the use of many types of rhetoric, she illustrates how cultural identities can unite us and bring out many emotions in us, bad and good. She demonstrates her purpose: how culture gives us an identity, and brings us together to grow in places we could not alone. She uses syntax, diction, tone, and other rhetorical
When someone is pushed to the breaking point, how does one successfully move forward? First off, the definition of a “breaking point” in someone's life is an event that occurs to someone and causes them to give in to the pressures bringing them down. In the story “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings” we are presented with a very sad reality of racism which is constantly pounding on the main character Marguerites life. But then she is raped by her mother boyfriend Mr.Freeman, Mr.Freeman dies and because of Marguerites young mind, she thought that it was her fault which led to her breaking point. But in the story she is able to slowly move forward with her life. One
In “The Lonely, Good Company of Books,” by Richard Rodriguez, you learn that Rodriguez had read hundreds of books before he was a teenager, but never truly understood what he was reading. His parents never encouraged him to read and thought the only time you needed to read, was for work. Since his parents never encouraged Rodriguez to read it effected how he perceived books.
The main reason why the novel spoke to me is the characters, which is odd since it’s normally the biggest problem I face; I find it difficult to relate to the main character, as their choices and actions differ so much from what I would do. Moreover, since they aren’t afraid of anything and consequently always speak their mind, they seem implausible. Luckily, the protagonist of this book is
I began to read not out of entertainment but out of curiosity, for in each new book I discovered an element of real life. It is possible that I will learn more about society through literature than I ever will through personal experience. Having lived a safe, relatively sheltered life for only seventeen years, I don’t have much to offer in regards to worldly wisdom. Reading has opened doors to situations I will never encounter myself, giving me a better understanding of others and their situations. Through books, I’ve escaped from slavery, been tried for murder, and lived through the Cambodian genocide. I’ve been an immigrant, permanently disabled, and faced World War II death camps. Without books, I would be a significantly more close-minded person. My perception of the world has been more significantly impacted by the experiences I've gained through literature than those I've gained
Prior to reading Thirteen Reasons Why, I felt that no one understood me. I often find myself engulfed in books, but only if I can connect them to my life. Often books can tug your emotions and hook onto you. Books have impacted my life by helping me realize that I am not alone in my situations. Books used to be my decampment from the world when I felt that I was the only one enduring my dilemmas. When reading Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, it was effortless for me to attach myself to the book, greatly impacting my life by changing my previous viewpoint about no one grasping what I went through.
# Quote Reaction 1 pg. 8 Chap. 1: "The sounds of the new morning had been replaced with grumbles about cheating houses, weighted scales, snakes, skimpy cotton and dusty rows. In later years I was to confront the stereotyped picture of gay song-singing cotton pickers with such an inordinate rage that I was told even by fellow blacks that my paranoia was embarrassing.
The climax for “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, is Marguerite ends up getting pregnant. While she's going through body changed, Marguerite starts to think she is lesbian. She tries to fix it by having sex with a man. She doesn't tell anybody for six months. She tells her mother and Daddy Clidell (her mother's new boyfriend), they tell comfort her and buy her maternity clothes. Marguerite has a baby boy, but doesn't want to see him in fear that she will hurt him. Her mother finally convinced her sleep with the baby in her bed.
My dad taught me that books could be my teachers, my mom taught me that our backyard could be my classroom, and my sister showed me that you could bring books into the swimming pool. I did not know it when I would spend hours in the pool reading a book that my parents weren’t encouraging it in vain, but my family life, for good reason, was centered on books. We were the planets orbiting around one sun that was the bookshelf. Little did I know that books would be the catalyst to academic success in my early life, and I owe it all to my family. Although a life with a book in your nose might seem boring, I was never bored. Living through the characters vicariously, I explored Narnia with Lucy, attended Hogwarts with Harry, and rode dragons with Eragon. Of course
In conclusion, I have learned many things from reading these three novels. I have also found that I could really connect to the characters and some more than others. Whether it’s through love, friendship, trust, or family, I believe everybody could somehow relate to the novel they are reading. In this case, there three novels connected rather well with my personal life.
The story “Nerd Alert: Reading is Good for Your Health” (Source: Jen Christiensen) is based on how reading can help you with your problems. They use the term “bibliotherapy” which means “book therapy “to explain their method. The ‘book whisperer’ Alison Kerr Courtney’s method is to give 5 to 7 different books based on her client’s moods, and the outcomes are positive! My view on this is that reading books that are based on how you feel are good because you can feel better and maybe even resolve the issue in a better way. According to Keith Oatley he claims “People who read more fiction may understand people better than others.” My response to this is that personally that fiction books help me relate to other people and their problems. ‘Reading
The poem “Know why the caged bird sings” is about a bird that is trapped in a cage and a free bird. It is a metaphoric poem that represents African Americans and how their lives are so different to “white” peoples lives. The author Maya Angelou is a well known civil rights activist and an award winning author. She wrote this poem trying to make people come to the realisation on how this society affects African Americans. She became a noble friend of Malcolm X who was an activist for African Americans, this friendship unfolded her career of becoming an activist for human rights.
My relationship with books and reading has not been the greatest adventure for me thus far. I will not say that all my experience has been terrible but for the most part not that great. I know for me it started when I was little and unfortunately it has carried to my adulthood.
Ever since I was a child, I've never liked reading. Every time I was told to read, I would just sleep or do something else instead. In "A Love Affair with Books" by Bernadete Piassa tells a story about her passion for reading books. Piassa demonstrates how reading books has influenced her life. Reading her story has given me a different perspective on books. It has showed me that not only are they words written on paper, they are also feelings and expressions.
When reading a book, I try to be able to relate myself to the narrator by putting myself in their shoes. I often find myself engulfed in books that I can relate to my life. Often books can work with your emotions and hook onto your. Books have impacted my life by helping me realize that I am not alone in my situations. Books used to be my escape from the world when I felt that I was the only one with my problems.