Learning From Literature

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While I was in the process of choosing a novel to read, I had much difficulty. When asked what genres of books I enjoy, I could not give an answer. As a child, I was an avid reader, however, the only times I pick up a book now are when I am required to for school. Reflecting back on my experiences in those mandatory readings, I realized the only instance where I truly enjoyed the reading, was when I read The Poisonwood Bible in the previous year. I had discovered many philosophical answers to questions I had not known I even had before reading it, especially regarding human nature. It opened up a new lens for me to see the world with, without forcing the author’s views on me. I was able to interpret the words however I chose, and take whatever amount of meaning from it that I wished. Following a classmate’s recommendation, and after doing a brief reading of its synopsis, the novel Blindness seemed to fit under this preference that I have for philosophical literature. José Saramago does not spare any details in his speculative fiction novel, which explores a deeper and harsher truth of humanity that we often choose to ignore and conceal because of its undesirable qualities. It is a fascinating, frightening, and satisfying experience that wakes us up from our illusion of superiority as humans, bringing us back to the reality of our existence as animals, and exposes all the flaws and beauty of human nature, by means of a dystopia.

In works of speculative fiction, the subject of human psychology, an intriguing topic for me and one that I have recently come to greatly enjoy analyzing in literature, is often found. The way speculative fiction “tells a story that is pleasing and opens disturbing questions that the reader may or may n...

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...dness, it has become apparent to me that my preferences in reading lie in speculative fiction. By reading books of this genre, many different perspectives of human nature are exposed to me, and I am left to analyze them as I wish, taking in meaning about the reality that I exist in. Though Saramago is as devoted to his belief as society is to their fabricated reality, his “myopia has nevertheless helped others to see more clearly” (Langer). A text’s ability to convey insightful messages and allow the reader to determine their own understanding of it, though not forcing these messages upon the reader, is something I find to be highly appealing. Having profound answers to my existing wonderings of the reasoning behind human behaviour, and having new questions created, I enthusiastically digest literature of this style, wanting to be able to see more clearly as well.

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