Power of Literature
How the Power of Literature Has Affected My Life - Value of Literature
Alex Sidorov
English 101
Alex Sidorov
Thompson
English 101
May 27, 2009
How the Power of Literature Has Affected My Life - Value of Literature
If you asked me how much I valued literature a few months ago, I would have probably laughed it off and proclaimed it has no value because it does not affect me. What kind of value could literature possibly have? It is just books. Random characters dealing with their random problems. What could that possibly offer me except giving me something to kill time? It was not until I began researching about the value of literature that I realized its vital contributions to my life and the lives of everyone around me. I found out no matter how often (or not so often) that you read, literature can and will still affect you in a way nothing else can. The value of literature to me can not only be found in what I have learned from reading, but how it has influenced my life. In this essay, I am going to talk about how literature has affected me, and in a small way determined who I am today, and how it has affected my views on certain subjects. Various types of literature have taught me many interesting things about the world, cultures, and most importantly, myself. In addition, I will describe my history as a reader and my plan for reading in the future. Literature has somewhat sculpted me into the person I am today. I believe that children are very easily influenced, and as a child, I was exposed to literature almost every night. I began to read Goosebumps books when I was only five years old. I think that habit has affected my personality because literature is about connecting with the characters on a more-than-personal level, and I feel like I can do that now to my friends better than most people can. I have a great sense of empathy that keeps me from doing anything to anyone that I would not like do to myself. An English teacher named Tim Gillespie, who has
Alex Sidorov
English 101
Alex Sidorov
Thompson
English 101
May 27, 2009
How the Power of Literature Has Affected My Life - Value of Literature
If you asked me how much I valued literature a few months ago, I would have probably laughed it off and proclaimed it has no value because it does not affect me. What kind of value could literature possibly have? It is just books. Random characters dealing with their random problems. What could that possibly offer me except giving me something to kill time? It was not until I began researching about the value of literature that I realized its vital contributions to my life and the lives of everyone around me. I found out no matter how often (or not so often) that you read, literature can and will still affect you in a way nothing else can. The value of literature to me can not only be found in what I have learned from reading, but how it has influenced my life. In this essay, I am going to talk about how literature has affected me, and in a small way determined who I am today, and how it has affected my views on certain subjects. Various types of literature have taught me many interesting things about the world, cultures, and most importantly, myself. In addition, I will describe my history as a reader and my plan for reading in the future. Literature has somewhat sculpted me into the person I am today. I believe that children are very easily influenced, and as a child, I was exposed to literature almost every night. I began to read Goosebumps books when I was only five years old. I think that habit has affected my personality because literature is about connecting with the characters on a more-than-personal level, and I feel like I can do that now to my friends better than most people can. I have a great sense of empathy that keeps me from doing anything to anyone that I would not like do to myself. An English teacher named Tim Gillespie, who has
Cited: Byrne, Rhonda. The Secret. New York: Atria Books/Beyond Words, 2006. Crawford, Patricia A., and Vicky Zygouris-Coe. "Those were the days: learning about history through literature." Childhood Education 84.4 (Summer 2008): 197(7). Academic OneFile. Gale. Guelph Public Library. 8 Nov. 2008 "The Enduring Value of Literature." World & I 11.5 (May 1996): 282 Gillespie, Tim. "Why literature matters." Education Digest 61.1 (Sep. 1995): 61. Meyer, Bruce. The Golden Thread: A Reader 's Through the Great Books. Toronto: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, 2000. Ozick, Cynthia. Art & Arder. New York: Random House, 1983.