I got back from my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints last august and honestly one of things I looked forward to when I got back the most was reading books again. During our missions we are only allowed to read church materials and don't get me wrong I love reading the scriptures and I still do as much as I can, but I missed the escape found only in the world of fiction. I missed being transported to another land in travel writing. I missed reading and commenting on movie reviews. It was a part of me before my mission and it has really come back with my literary interpretation class this spring semester. We have had the time to read our own literature for analysis in the class which I have thoroughly enjoyed. Reading has been a big influence in my life. It has helped me understand life's hardest challenges through stories of triumph and determination like Walt Disney's biography or coming of age stories like A Separate Peace. It has helped me find excitement and intrigue in the James Bond novels or in science fiction like Ender's Game and Dune. These are the things that make us read. Reading can give us as the readers something called Catharsis which is a dramatic term for purging, purification, or intellectual clarification. It is a cleansing process giving us a sound mind and opportunity for introspection. It is something that all of us should do more often. In today's world of messages that are force fed through television, movies, and music we would do well to take some quiet time and curl up with a good book. Sure messages are definitely strong in literature as well, but I believe that literature offers the advantage of being able to really meditate and ponder on the words. It helps us analyze more thoughtfully because we have the power to go back over the words on the page and in our minds. We gain a connection to the characters and even the author of the piece because we are allowed deeper access into what they are thinking. Literature literally comes alive in the stage of our mind. I found this music video from one the beloved films of my childhood called The Pagemaster. Its the story of a young boy who is literally transported into the worlds of different books. It sums up literature perfectly for me, its "whatever you imagine":
Try to break up your posts more so that they are not simply a long block of text. One way to do that is to insert images of works you are referring to.
I feel very much the same as you about literature, Phil. It is definitely a way to connect with others and understand them better by looking into what makes you similar and what differentiates you, whether this be with the author, the characters, or other readers.
Try to break up your posts more so that they are not simply a long block of text. One way to do that is to insert images of works you are referring to.
ReplyDeleteI feel very much the same as you about literature, Phil. It is definitely a way to connect with others and understand them better by looking into what makes you similar and what differentiates you, whether this be with the author, the characters, or other readers.
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