Why Literature?

Page 39.  The general point made by Mario Vargas Llosa in his work Why Literature? is that society is becoming less and less free and more “soulless” because of how little people are reading in the world today.  More specifically, Llosa argues that through literature, people feel more connected to one another and to the earth through their experiences and connection with the reading.  He writes, “we share as human beings, what remains common in all of us under the broad range of differences that separate us.  Nothing better protects human being against the stupidity of prejudice, racism, religious or political sectarianism…that men and women of all nations and places are essentially equal, and that only injustice sows among them discrimination, fear, and exploitation” (page 40).  In this passage, Llosa is suggesting that people are all connected and equal through literature; that is how we understand one another and our feelings.  In conclusion, it is Llosa’s belief that if we do not continue to read and promote literature in our everyday lives and the lives of others, we as a society, will become desensitized to everything around us.

            In my view, Llosa is right because if literature did not exist, America wouldn’t be here today.  No one would have any type of a connection with other people and try and understand what someone else is going through without actually going through it themselves.  For example, our government wouldn’t be as it is now, and women and minority races would still be considered “unequal” to white men.  Although Llosa might object that technology has helped society, I maintain that it really has helped society but we must be careful with the way in which we use it.  Therefore, I conclude that we need to be more aware of the way in which we view literature within the world and how it influences us.