Literature begins at baby steps, gradually turning in to a run, then a climb. It is an adventure around the world, under the ocean and bursting out of a volcano. It is as complicated as the Egyptian hieroglyphics and as simple as “I love you”. Literature transforms your world, broadens your horizon and lets you be whom ever you can imagine your self as. It is a door to the past and a window to the future.
Literature takes you to new worlds, letting you experience things from a different point of view. For you see “I can't explain myself, … because I'm not myself you see.” (Carroll ch. 4) When I read I become someone new, literature has opened my eyes to a vast world waiting to be explored. It has taught me life lessons with out actually going through them. I am able to connect with characters that in reality I have no connection with. I am an explorer or a mistress, or the orphan praying for a family. Literature has given me eyes to see and experience things I would never be able to normally.
Literature transforms your thinking. It gives you a different out look on life. It expands your capacity to understand. “I cannot rest from travel” (Ulysses) it is a part of my when I read. I travel learning, experiencing, participating in things I would never do in reality. Literature enhances your perception of life. For me literature has been a big influence in my life, it got me through stages in life where I felt alone, secluded, and abandon. Works of literature helped numb the pain by letting me drift off into a world that was not my own, a world where the bullies in my life couldn’t reach me. Being able to leave the world you’re in and venture into a new world is what literature is all about.
Literature is a work of art made to tease the senses. It will whisk you off on a journey, or give you a new out look on life. In Karen Kingsbury’s Shades of Blue I was able to discover a new character in society today. My heart broke as I read about the guilt and Brad Cutler went through after he made mistakes many teenagers my age make. A mistake I could have made, I learned through the consequences of others that my actions do not define who I am but they do shape my future. It showed me that my life is worth something and changed my perception of teen pregnancy and those who have struggled with the decision to keep a baby or abortion.
Literature is the foundation of imagination. It allows our mind to be open to things other than our surroundings. It forces us to grow. As a teenager we are “reformed, reclaimed, still carr[ing] the marks of [our] time as a [child].” Literature is a way to express thoughts about life and morals. It builds as we grow intensifying as we age. It is a mountain we climb in school and in our own personal lives. It is an adventure for the daring and a rose for the romantic. It takes many forms, in the end a word is a word and it was written for a purpose. The meaning behind it comes from the audience and the imagination of the author.
In life we learn a lot of things, grow into the person we want to be, and set off on our own adventure but it all starts with books, poems, and tales. They spark our imagination and give us the wings to soar.
Work Cited
“How to Change a Frog Into a Prince." Library of Congress Home. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. <http://www.loc.gov/poetry/180/176.html>.
"Alfred, Lord Tennyson : Ulysses." The Portable Poetry Home Page - Customised, Portable Collections of Poetry. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. <http://www.portablepoetry.com/poems/alfredlord_tennyson/ulysses.html>.
Carroll, Lewis. "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCIENCE, Carnegie Mellon. Web. 05 Oct. 2010. <http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/alice-table.html>.
Kingsbury, Karen. Shades of Blue. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009. Print.
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