IMPACT OF READING LITERATURE IN OUR LIFE

Xavier Menezes
All of us love to read literature. What is literature? Its the collective term for all the
stories and accounts, fictional or non-fictional that we read. Granted, it may
occasionally be boring to the point that we fling the book that we are reading
(Shakespeare!) at the adjacent wall but everyones tastes are different. Some might love
horror, while others may gag at the mere thought of it, and some might love romance
while others may prefer to keep anything containing the dreaded word at a miles
distance. Literature as a whole is captivating, interesting and most importantly diverse.
It can cater to the needs of some while having a bad influence on others. The elixir of
creativity, the masterpiece of the mind, the fusion of a whirlwind of emotions and
experiences into one dose of perfection, literature is both a blessing and a curse.
In a way, reading literature is like stepping into a time machine. A book or story is like
a photograph; it is a snapshot that perfectly captures a moment in time. Over the years
everything fades. Rich people try to protect their wealth, but after their death, it is just
so much paper. The beautiful attempt to preserve their looks, but in time they will be
consigned to flames or decompose to be an undistinguished part of the earth that they
came from. The body is immaterial it is the soul that matters. What sets the homo
sapien apart from all the other animals is his ability to acutely feel and express his
feelings. And through literature, these feelings are preserved, free from the ravages of
time, lasting forever. Literature boosts our knowledge, helps us to think, betters our
vocabulary. So we ourselves can express what we feel and recount our experiences.
Immortality isnt achieved through drugs or machines. It is attained through literature.
A million years later, no one will remember what the gods look like, or even believe in
them. But in literature they will forever be preserved, truly immortalized. Literature
isnt like Maths or Science. Two plus two will always be four; every action will always
have an equal and opposite reaction. But literature will change through time, and will
evolve and be never be outdated.
But the power of writing is not always advantageous. It has its flaws. People are
impressionable - they always form conclusions. No man has ever existed who lived
without bias. Humans are like sheep they flock together. One person forms an evil or
incorrect view through literature and this view will spread like a virus. Hitler himself
used this fact. He infused hate for Jews into the literature of Germany and this lead to a
mass movement against them. Even today, children can be corrupted by books.
Extreme violence in books can affect the psyches of young people who read them. A
cult following of a corrupt book is easily possible. Hate, corruption, fear, violence and
propaganda in books can lead to catastrophic consequences for the next generation. If
controlled, literature can be a great help in developing our personality and increasing
our knowledge. If not, even something like a book can be a weapon of mass destruction,
acting like a cancer that eats up society form the inside.

But todays youth are smarter too. And todays world is also better monitored. Biased
works of literature and the spread of such evil matter is controlled and regulated.
Virtue can be propagated as easily as vice. And so I conclude by saying that the
advantages of literature far outweigh the disadvantages. And so we should keep
reading and applying the lessons of literature (hopefully the good ones) in our day to
day life.