Reading literature. ... why?

Reading .... For what?

In these days, when I ask  students what they like to read, they look at me as if I’m mad. “Do you mean books?” they often ask, in their low voices.

It’s true that in today’s world, the average teenager reads less when we compare with the past. Reading is now has become a task which has been set and prescribed, by a parent, or a teacher.

When I was a child, entertainments options were limited. Thats why, may be, I spent some hours of my childhood absorbed in books.  But then also, I feel sorry for today’s young people, who have the vast area of entertainment options competing for their time, and they thinks that reading is relegated to a homework task.

The interesting thing is that, if a young person tries to read means, they select the books, which have been commercially successful, or which have high profile or which received a lot of publicity. Book like Harry Potter might have done much to sell the joys of reading to the younger generation but once those books are finished, it is often the case that the reader is finished with books.

So what is the current view and trend on the idea of reading and studying the Literature? I think that those classic stories deal with themes and issues which are universal and therefore, the reading and studying of them provides an excellent opportunity to understand the value of humanity. Which was now simply used in "words". 

So, for instance, read such books those are rare with a fulfilling , at the same time thought provoking ending. Recently one such book to read is Lloyd Jones' Mister Pip was a book about reading Dickens’s Great Expectations to a group of Pacific Island children in the 1990s. The novel suggests that Dickens’s theme of wanting to escape and better oneself  was a universal one.

Then, such as Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet is a book of 26 prose poetry  fables, which says  about the life and human condition. Another expamles to read is Lord of the flies, which tells about the true nature of the human condition. The work also shows the present condition in the world ,where there are child soliders and children facing the realities of war each day.

These types of book make us to think that where we are ? and what to do for a bright future? And what should not be done ! I think that there is much to be gained from recommending these type of books to children. Studying and reading some of the great works of literature, which have stood the test of time and which have messages for the modern reader, should be encouraged.

There are people all over the world who have gained many hours of pleasure from the simple act of reading.  A reader is always able to fill in a spare hour or entertain themselves.  This is a very important skill and one which I would hope to install in as many of my students as possible.