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Since the beginning of time books have been considered the infinite holders of knowledge, only the rich and powerful could afford. At birth young minds are fresh and ready to be molded by creativity and knowledge; books are one of the many ways to fill this infinite space. By showing and reading books to children beginning at young age scientists’ have seen superior brain development, increased curiosity to learn to read and write. Inspiring children to create characters, see scenes played out, and imagining these words coming to life on the pages.
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Books were one of the driving forces in creating the person I am today, both in personality and morals. Kindness and the accepting of others are instilled in children from the early developing year into the teenage years. Not only the compassion towards another human being but that towards animals or “man’s friends”. Upon opening and reading the first few pages of Water for Elephants the reader should become enthralled by the details and attention paid to every individual character.
Each character teaches the reader a different lesson, kindness, love, tolerance, compassion, and many more.
From Rosie the star of the show I was taught loyalty and love with her protection over Jacob. Marlena teaches bravery by going against her abusive husband and love towards Jacob. Each and every characters mistakes and successes demonstrate to the reader how the mechanics of life works. I feel that with every page I read I was absorbing the different lessons that the characters were offering.
With me as the reader I have learned to be taught by the actions of the characters in all books I read, whether they are Harry Potter or Chronicles of Narnia or even Water for Elephants. History shall teach those who come after us, and hopefully they will learn from our mistakes before they make them themselves. ” These words were once spoken by Napoleon to his dear wife Josephine, in his new vision for the nation of France. Can people learn from the mistakes of others? If so, then why not that of made up people in books. The book Mudbound shed much light for me on the subject of racism in the south. Our high school history classes have taught us the facts of these subjects.
However the emotions and words that comes from reading the novels of such amazing writers, can move and educate any person. You truly feel the pain of Vera, as she confronts the awful things her husband has done. Henry must confront his racist father and choose between his wife and father. The language, terms, and behaviors shown by both Caucasians and African Americans are interesting. Understanding every emotion Ronsel felt as he was tortured by the KKK. As every chapter was told by a different character, the reader was able to see the story line from all the character’s perspectives.
I felt particularly drawn to Jamie and Laura’s chapters, to read of their romance and each one’s history was especially entertaining. Mudbound was a specifically fascinating book not only for my interest in history but that in sociology and learning of other people and their cultures. Stories have been paced down since the beginning of time by word of mouth and by written hand. One certain story in particular is Oedipus, an ancient Greek tale. When the Greek’s created these tales they intended to teach their children morals and good beliefs.
Oedipus is one of those tales, meant to demonstrate dishonesty, lying, and much more. Having read the children’s version of this when I was little it was quite interesting to finally read the entire story was amazing. Having already known a part of the plot finally getting a greater understanding and seeing the book from an adult perspective changed the story itself. One of the many lessons is to listen to others and not just one’s self, as Oedipus disregards the priest’s statement and listens only to his own beliefs.
Now I was old enough to understand the true meanings of Oedipus’s relationship with his father and his mother, from murder to incest. The incestuous relationship between Oedipus and his mother seemed to be innocent, until the point that the truth was told. From a child’s perspective this story couldn’t possibly happen, who would kill their father and marry their mother? To a child that makes no sense but to me now at seventeen years old and understanding the time period it took place in and entire plot line. Greek and Roman myths have taught me many morals, lessons, and instilled in me much more.
Books opened many doors for me, as a child I could escape into the pages into a completely different world. Particularly the Harry Potter series, every character taught me a different thing I now poses. Harry taught me to be brave, Hermione taught me that knowledge is truly power, Ron taught me how friendship is the most important thing; Luna taught me how to dream, Neville taught me how to be kind to all, and so much more. This truly demonstrates how certain books have affected my life, creating me into the person I am. Even heading into early adult years, I don’t believe I’ll ever stop picking up the books.
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Written words have power. True, it’s possible that being a writer has made me a tad bias on the matter, however I would argue that the written word is the most powerful tool that we as a species have created. Of course, there is the historical significance of it. Writing makes it possible to document the past with a sense of permanence that wasn’t conceivable before its creation. It endures. Think of how unsuccessful the telephone game generally goes and imagine a time when this was the only means to record events. And while I understand the enormity of these implications on human development – and trust me, the written word has been vital – it’s not really what I am referring to when I give weight to the subject at hand.
I’m talking about the intimacy of words. How they connect us closely with our readers. How, through our writings, we are able to invite someone into our most private thoughts. I’m referring to the written word’s ability to share a person’s ideas from decades ago, centuries ago, millenniums ago. Because that’s the magic of written words; they are exactly the same as the moment the author penned them. Through them, the reader can understand the feelings and ideas intended. Written words can transport us to another place without physically moving an inch because they don’t follow the laws of physics. They are a time machine. A space shuttle. An ocean. They can make us fall in love with someone without ever meeting them in person – just one example of why long-distance online dating is so successful. Written words can also harm. For most, they are massively more offensive than their spoken equivalent. Speaking ill of someone is never good, but writing nasty words about them? Well, that can ruin lives. The words can be printed, emailed, passed around for all to see. They can be reread again and again and again. Written words can kill. I read piece about German author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe who wrote a story so sad in the 1700s that there was a string of suicides following its release. His book, The Sufferings of Young Werther, connected so strongly with young men in situations similar to those of the protagonist that they submitted themselves to the same end fate as the character.
Written words have power and in the end, they are the only form of immortality we know.
Use them wisely.
(Photo credits: Wikimedia.org)
For as long as I can remember, I’ve never really thought that reading was that appealing, but I’ve always been told it should be. When I was a kid, my mom stressed education and reading to me on what seemed like a daily basis. My mom was Japanese, so it was a pretty typical thing to do, but as a child I never truly understood the importance of books, newspapers, magazines or really any written document whether the content was intellectual or not. This was despite the fact that I was reading two or three grade levels ahead of my peers, at least in elementary and middle school. To be completely honest, I was consumed by video games and friends.
It wasn’t until recently, or my second year in college that I truly began to realize what my mom had meant so many years ago.
As a Baylor student, I currently belong to a program called The Baylor Interdisciplinary Core. The program is designed to be a bit accelerated due to its rigorous nature, and because of that, the reading lists have always been heavy. As a freshman I was absolutely stunned by how much reading we would be assigned on a daily basis. After class I would go back to my dorm and think of my readings as unnecessary busy work, but that’s where I was wrong.
In my sophomore year, I began to read every single thing we were assigned with diligence. My honest initial motivation was my low GPA. But soon afterwards, that changed. Reading, like anything else is a skill that needs to be developed. Though some people have a long attention span that allows them to read consistently without issue, I had to develop that attention span. And others may have to develop the ability to analyze the texts, but that too comes with time. For me, reading turned into a sort of habit. Once you finally get into the swing of things, it’s not nearly as difficult. After a few weeks of forcing myself to read my assignments, I began to see the joy in reading. I would genuinely look forward to my assigned readings
Throughout the year, I read on a variety of issues within the BIC (Baylor Interdisciplinary Core). I read on philosophy, sociology, religion, culture, fiction, psychology, history, politics, science, ancient texts, speeches, everything you could imagine, and never in my life have I felt more enlightened. It is for that reason that I want to stress the importance of reading to others.
In life, you will deal with a variety of people, and you will communicate with these people, and you will learn things through this communication. But, books can teach you more than people ever will. Books are the main medium of the world of academia because it is the best way to convey information to students. A professor or teacher can only teach you so much on a certain subject in a limited time span. But you as an individual can read as many books as you want for as long as you would like. You have a brain for a reason, and like your stomach, it needs to be sated. If there was a food pyramid for your brain, books would likely be the base of the pyramid. The more enlightened you are, the better you’ll feel. The best diets are not always easy to approach.
I used to think that books were unnecessary. I was one of those kids, but I’m here to say that I know that that’s not the case. Books, and more importantly, the written word, may still be the most important thing ever invented in human history. If you try to read, and open yourself up to its significance, you’ll realize why it’s important to always be expanding your knowledge base. The written word helps us communicate thoughts and ideas.
So, go grab a book. It doesn’t matter if it’s fiction, non-fiction, short or long. Read it diligently with an open mind, and you too will see why every (well at least most) books have something to offer.
And before I finish, I want everyone to look into reading Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. It’s an easy read, and it might just be what you need.
Jonathan Gillespie
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For centuries, back to a time which probably cannot be traced, the power of the written word has proved to be something incontrovertibly sublime. The written word has saved lives, circulated powerful ideas, preserved traditions and memories, and so much more.
Great moments in history have evoked and set a basis for some of the most important values by which we live today. In 1215, the barons of King John created the Magna Carta, a document which history teachers seem to love mentioning. This written document, in my opinion, was arguably the most significant early influence on the historical process that led to the rule of constitutional law today. Before that moment, of course, the written word was still showing prominent potential to influence; however, I believe the Magna Carta was one of the earliest examples of the written word that is extremely relevant to the present day.
For hundreds of years, law codes and systems of law have guided citizens through life, and without the written word, laws would not be enforced efficiently and would get lost in translation.
In around 1440, Johannes Gutenberg, a German craftsman, developed movable type. This method served as a means of speeding up the written word. Soon, movable type became more and more widespread and allowed people all throughout Europe to have access to knowledge more easily. This prompted an increase in the desire for knowledge and an increase in literacy throughout Europe.
With this, Gutenberg presented a cost-effective way of having one’s ideas heard. This created a platform for thought innovators and leaders. For example, Martin Luther spread his ideas criticizing the sale of indulgences with the 95 Theses in 1517 using movable type. This led to an array of mixed opinions and his thoughts for reform began the Protestant Reformation.
Galileo Galilei, an Italian scientist, used the power of the written word to spread controversial observations about space that shattered previous religious theories. This was not taken lightly, consequently leading to Galileo being put under house arrest until his death. In spite of his bad fate, his ideas spread all over, and in 1992 the Vatican finally apologized to Galileo and admitted that he was right.
In 1848, the first widespread use of the telegraph, along with printing presses, led to the reading of public newspapers and broadsheets that could be updated multiple times daily. Eventually, starting in January with uprisings in Sicily, revolution covered nearly every state in Europe.
Now, in the 21st century, the written word is extremely more accessible through the Internet, typing, and other platforms like social media.
The recent Egyptian revolution, beginning in January 2011, spread words through means of social media to galvanize their revolution. As is evident, the power of the written word has given many nations the methods, motivations, and accessibility to fight for the freedom they desire.
In September 2011, the power of the written word was taken to new heights when it was used for survival — via Twitter. Just outside of Veracruz, Mexico, gunmen dumped 35 bodies in an underpass during rush hour. Before any reporters were even notified of this event, Twitter was buzzing with fear from surrounding areas. People tweeted to others to give warnings to be on the lookout for these gunmen.
This being said, I believe that people now generally take this inevitable power of the written word for granted. Yes, you can use the written word to write an essay or send a text. Maybe the need for utilizing this tool isn’t as great in my life, but I still think people should be aware of its significance. One important thing anyone anywhere can do with the power of the written word, regardless of his or her situation, is spread awareness. We can spread awareness of anything happening in the world, large or small. With that, we may be able to prevent a negative outcome that could have arisen from help coming too late. And that can make all the difference.