Reading
...heard about in the past. I learned about her behaviour and attitude towards others and her own personality. This, and many other stories that exist give us an in-depth analysis of many different characters that exist in the world Another reason we read is that we need to know ourselves better. When we read we sometimes find reflections of our own self and personality in either the character or the story. We can find ourselves relating to the character's problems or the situation. This sometimes opens doors for us, and gives us hope and maybe a way out of our own problems. For example, in the book "Dahling, If You Luv Me Would You Please Please Smile" by Rukhsana Khan, it' was about a young girl in high school who was struggling to fit in. When I read the book, it reflected some of me when I was in grade nine. The same thoughts ran through my head, would my peers respect me? Will I fit in? Am I going to be the odd one out? etc. Me and many high school students can, in fact, relate to the story and it does give a way out. Reading helps us to know ourselves better, we learn more about ourselves when we read stories that we can relate to. Another important reason we read is that we require knowledge, not just of self and others, but of the way things are. We need to know about the society we're living in, how the society runs and how it may be in the future. If we don't know this, we're basically living as followers and just following the orders given to us. You have to know what's going on in order to have a say and to avoid any bad things affecting you in the present and future. For example, in the book, "Brave New World", we find that the future is quite complex and technical. All humans are basically like robots, you live freely and have all the pleasures in life. But, there is no humanity left. Love, marriage, true happiness really doesn't exist. Nothing humane is left. Everything has become heartless and technical, a person is basically like wires. This story is sending us a message. We can see the way present society is, technology is advancing at the speed of light. Humanity is being thrown out. Could this story be telling us our future? Reading gives us an idea as to how society can be very different from today, and gives us hints into what's wrong in society. Another example are the stories, "Those who walk away from Omelas," by Ursula Le Guin and "T...