My earliest memories of literature start with Kindergarten. The class would have story time every morning. We would sit in a circle, listening intently to the teacher read a story. I do not really remember the stories specifically, but I do remember anticipating story time every day. I would be excited to hear about things I only dreamed of experiencing. That is why I love literature so much. I enjoy reading. It gives me an escape from reality. It began with reading about princes and princesses as a young child, getting ready to drift off to sleep, to being a young adult reading about passionate romance wishing that a prince charming, of dreams so long ago, would appear.
That is why I believe literature matters so much. It is often times unrealistic and fascinating, full of passion and hate, love and war, politics and government, relationships and break ups, comedy and woe. Literature can teach us so much if we open up to it.
My favorite pieces of literature are the works of Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book with Sense and Sensibility ranking second. I love them because of the hope they inspire in common people. Jane Austen was a fascinating woman and author.
If I connect with the piece it make it so much easier to understand. Some literature isn't the easiest to understand. For example, medieval literature is not exactly my cup of tea. But, I have no problem digging into a piece and attempting to solve it. That is another beautiful thing about literature, interpretations vary between person to person, and that is okay. :)
Pride and Prejudice is an amazing book. I read it just after high school.
ReplyDeleteI don't think of literature so much as an escape from reality--though there is certainly the "unreal" about it, the suspension of disbelief, and so forth--but I like to think of it rather as a drive deeper into reality than we could otherwise get.
To some people, authors like Jane Austen seem to simply be writing "romance" (which is all that you get if you only read or watch a summary version). But Austen really is pretty complex, drawing out the complexities of emotional love and social class and family relationships and a host of other things.
I really like this childhood memory of yours: "I remember anticipating story time every day."
PS You should turn off "comment verification" so it will be easier for people to comment on your posts.