Why Is It Important To Read Literature

1) What perceptions of literature did you have before reading this chapter?

Before reading the introduction, I perceived literature as being either a story, poem, or play that was written by an author held in high esteem or something that was considered an acclaimed literary work. I figured that works of literature were mostly used in a classroom setting for teaching purposes.

2) What did you learn from this chapter?

The introduction taught me that literature is way broader than I ever could have imagined. Literature can come in other forms such as an essay, a song lyric, or a graphic novel because each can be read and interpreted in a way that provides insight or enjoyment to its audience. Literature is anything that gets you to really think in depth for yourself, as well as communicate with others. Literature allows us to discover and experience new things through words and the way they look, sound, and make us feel by how they are presented.

3)

It is important to read and study literature because not only is it delightful to read, it liberates us from the confines of our own time, place, socials environments. It breaks us of our habitual ways of thinking, feeling, and looking at the world. Literature satisfies our desires for broader experiences that we might never endure in real life. We can come to understand ourselves and our perspectives through literature by reading and experiencing things that separate us from other people and worlds. Literature written by different people or depicting people from different backgrounds, places, times, experiences, and feelings will give provide some understanding of how others’ lives and worldviews may be different or similar to your own. Our ever changing world and economy require intellectual