Harold Shweizer's Perspective In Literature

When we read literature, we attempt to understand another perspective. Just as one understands the words of a book, one “attends to [the] suffering” (Schweizer) of the author, starting “an endless act of comprehension”. We can use literature as a device to understand another life. Literature helps readers gain perspective and understanding. However, Harold Schweizer questions the readers’ intents when he states “suffering can become the occasion of an endless act of comprehension”. Reading literature does not equal comprehension or understanding. Readers must first understand how their life shapes their perspective and then they must let other perceptions dominate their thoughts in order to understand the writer’s perspective. Barbara Tuchman explains that books are the foundation of life’s disciplines because “books are humanity in print”. We read books to understand other people’s culture, struggle, and perspective, but only if we desire to understand. Perspective shapes how we view …show more content…
Lawrence University, raises a contradiction when she states that humans “rely on each other for survival and happiness” yet “humans are humans’ most fearsome enemies” (Rediehs). To cope with this paradox, we divide ourselves by imagining political communities where they do not exist. As a possible solution, Rediehs calls for rehumanization, which she defines as “the reassertion of the priority of humans above the systems originally intended to serve humanity”. Prioritizing humans requires drastic changes in deeply rooted beliefs. To rehumanize another is to gain insight into another’s perspective. To decolonize the mind is to believe that one’s thoughts are valid regardless of race, class, sex, etc. To rehumanize is to believe that another’s dreams are as valid as your own. Reading ethnic and cultural literature is one way to understand another human being, prioritizing them above the systems we have created that devalue their