do you believe that literature actually changes the outlook of the reader on the world?
do you?
do you believe that literature actually changes the outlook of the reader on the world?
Yep. Of course, I can only speak for myself. But I'm greatly influenced by the things I read.
“Oh crap”
-- Hellboy
yes it definitely does influence everything around you and how things affect you and your understanding of those things.
I hope death is joyful, and I hope I'll never return -Frida Khalo
If I seem insensitive to what you are going through, understand it's the way I am- Mr. Spock
Personally, I think that the unique and supreme delight lies in the certainty of doing 'evil'–and men and women know from birth that all pleasure lies in evil. - Baudelaire
Yes. I believe that reading does change your outlook on things. Maybe even life itself. Reading puts you in a character's shoes and it may give you a new perspective.
I think this goes close to my "Can Literature Civilize" thread in a way, but to answer your specific question I think it depends upon the reader and what is read. For me certainly, literature, (wisely or unwisely) has been something which has gone from hobby to mild obsession to job/career and beyond. It has also helped to shape my actual philosophy on life and is fundamental to the way I think, feel and spend a lot of my time – but I feel that such investment is more than worth it (though hardly much financially). However, can it do this for all, can everyone who engages with literature feel this way or is it something that lies sort of dormant within certain individuals waiting for the right books or influences to come along? I don't know?
Yes, of course. Well read people have a much broader perspective on life. Literature is about the human condition, and the more literature you read, especially if you read a wide range of literature from various time periods, cultures, genders, and so on, you get a much broader vision of life.Originally Posted by yvelines
The answers you get from literature depend upon the questions you pose.
- Margaret Atwood
I believe that it was Oscar Wilde who said that : "It is not the life, but the spectator himself, that the art mirrors." ... if it can do so, it can also change him for life....
Stop asking where is God and keep asking where the hell is human!
Yes, but it may not be for the better:
"Hitler mainly studied textbooks and philosophical works. Works of fiction interested him less, although he did read classics such as Dante’s Divine Comedy, Goethe’s Faust, and William Tell."
"Hitler mentioned having the works of Homer and Arthur Schopenhauer with him during the First World War."
http://www.younghitler.com/hitler_books.htm
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