A study in empathy
Have you ever wondered what you loved about your favourite book? Was it the characters, the setting, the writing style? No matter why you love it, its components will have had an effect on you in a positive way. It will have taught you a lesson, like all good pieces of fiction should. Robert fulford wrote a piece titled “Gotcha!” Explaining what people learn from literature, and why it is so important. He analyzes what his title means and how it relates to the world's situation in a way that everyone could learn from and understand. He also justifies his main issue with today's society and how people receive information through online and televised sources, and how that desensitizes people. Isis attacks are a prime example …show more content…
People make cruel jokes and remarks about these situations in non satirical ways that they don't believe to be offensive. The author speaks about how literature and media impact us on different levels and in different ways.
In this piece, Robert Fulford talks about how in his words “contemporary society desperately needs literature”. To back up his feelings, he shows how “Gotcha!” Being placed in Henry V is a wonderful example of how harsh the modern world is, and why it needs literature. But what did “Gotcha!” stand for? On May 3rd, 1982, a British submarine torpedoed the general Balgrano, an Argentine ship. The London Sun's headline the next morning was the single word “Gotcha!”. How did these people, educated to report on serious topics, made such blatant fun of the death and suffering of so many? It was “childish glee”, but how did they not see what they were doing would affect so much? I wonder how someone could expect a ship hit by a torpedo to be without casualties. What had they missed when they first heard the news of this strike? They hadn't missed anything, in …show more content…
I can see why he feels the way he does about what we are shown and how we react to it, and I agree. When people see a mile, they take away an inch, maybe simply because they cannot find a way to connect to the information at first glance. How can people improve how they empathize? Well, “when it works as it should, literature takes us beyond our parochialism into other minds and other cultures”. It is as simple as reading important pieces of literature, and learning another's plight. I remember many times when watching the news I would stop and have a conversation about what I had seen with my parents or sibling, and I wonder if others do that. If not, should they? On one hand, thinking through a situation helps me to understand where my opinion comes from. But if it takes a conversation to find empathy for something, am I just the same as someone endlessly consuming media filtered information? If literature is such desperately needed by all, and is proven to be, why hasn't anyone found a way to solve one of our worlds biggest mental challenges? I think, it is because we are over loaded for a reason. Why else would media be flashing signs online, or catchy headers that are childish and inappropriate? Media would be nothing without its consumers, the people who blindly follow the
Have you ever wondered what you loved about your favourite book? Was it the characters, the setting, the writing style? No matter why you love it, its components will have had an effect on you in a positive way. It will have taught you a lesson, like all good pieces of fiction should. Robert fulford wrote a piece titled “Gotcha!” Explaining what people learn from literature, and why it is so important. He analyzes what his title means and how it relates to the world's situation in a way that everyone could learn from and understand. He also justifies his main issue with today's society and how people receive information through online and televised sources, and how that desensitizes people. Isis attacks are a prime example …show more content…
People make cruel jokes and remarks about these situations in non satirical ways that they don't believe to be offensive. The author speaks about how literature and media impact us on different levels and in different ways.
In this piece, Robert Fulford talks about how in his words “contemporary society desperately needs literature”. To back up his feelings, he shows how “Gotcha!” Being placed in Henry V is a wonderful example of how harsh the modern world is, and why it needs literature. But what did “Gotcha!” stand for? On May 3rd, 1982, a British submarine torpedoed the general Balgrano, an Argentine ship. The London Sun's headline the next morning was the single word “Gotcha!”. How did these people, educated to report on serious topics, made such blatant fun of the death and suffering of so many? It was “childish glee”, but how did they not see what they were doing would affect so much? I wonder how someone could expect a ship hit by a torpedo to be without casualties. What had they missed when they first heard the news of this strike? They hadn't missed anything, in …show more content…
I can see why he feels the way he does about what we are shown and how we react to it, and I agree. When people see a mile, they take away an inch, maybe simply because they cannot find a way to connect to the information at first glance. How can people improve how they empathize? Well, “when it works as it should, literature takes us beyond our parochialism into other minds and other cultures”. It is as simple as reading important pieces of literature, and learning another's plight. I remember many times when watching the news I would stop and have a conversation about what I had seen with my parents or sibling, and I wonder if others do that. If not, should they? On one hand, thinking through a situation helps me to understand where my opinion comes from. But if it takes a conversation to find empathy for something, am I just the same as someone endlessly consuming media filtered information? If literature is such desperately needed by all, and is proven to be, why hasn't anyone found a way to solve one of our worlds biggest mental challenges? I think, it is because we are over loaded for a reason. Why else would media be flashing signs online, or catchy headers that are childish and inappropriate? Media would be nothing without its consumers, the people who blindly follow the