Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Power Of Books

Ralph Waldo Emerson’s assertion about the power of the book is true in regards that literature is the fundamental basis of education, however it is the most widely neglected resource in our society today.

Books prove to be a very powerful tool, as they help us to understand the world around us. The world is surrounded by literature everywhere one turns, whether it is a novel in a classroom, a newspaper, or even an advertisement on the side of a bus. The core of our education is based upon books, we are constantly gaining knowledge such as when we learn about history by reading the newspaper or a textbook. Multiple well renowned authors are very influential as they are capable of widening our perception to different aspects of society. Without literature, we would remain ignorant to the world around us.

However, although books are a powerful learning tool, it could also be referred to as the most overlooked utility. The most primary cause of the degrading of books are the emergence of technology. Nowadays, the public is able to get their resources from mainstream media. Hardcopies of books become etext or audio books, and newspapers are shortened down into an online

article. Furthermore, multiple sources have asserted how they no longer read novels, because they would rather dedicate their efforts into social media and online networks. As a result, this causes literature to become pushed into the corner as society no longer feels the need to use them anymore.
One might claim that the use of books are no longer needed, because of the discovery of the media.

However, this could have a more negative impact than one might think, the media is one of the most unreliable source for getting information about the news as they are often biased. The media is controlled by bigger corporations attempting to manipulate society by telling us what we should or should not know about the events occurring around us. We should be open to multiple reliable sources, instead of relying on one main source for information. Books helps for our brains to grow and expand when we are introduced to different perspectives, without literature we would not be able to grow as a human species. When we abuse the potential of books, we allow ourselves to become uninformed about the

world.
One may underestimate the capacity of trees with ink, but that does not mean we should neglect books as they serve as one of the most resourceful tools that have lasted from centuries ago up to today. As a society, we should encourage one another to read more and watch less, as this allows us to become more educated and enables growth as a species.