Robert Penn Warren's Essay 'Why Do We Read Fiction?'

A Peace of Flies In Robert Penn Warren’s essay, “Why Do We Read Fiction?” he concludes that people read fiction because “it [satisfies] our deepest need - the need of feeling our life to be, in itself, significant” (Warren 174-175). Lord of the Flies, “Why Do We Read Fiction”, and A Separate Peace make their readers feel significant because in all three texts, the reader can feel either morally superior of the characters, or share empathy with the characters. In Lord of the Flies, the hunters, including Ralph, who along with Piggy and Simon, seems to be one the most responsible and sensible boy on the island, reenact a boar’s hunt using Robert in place of the boar, nearly killing Robert in all the excitement. This act shows that even in the boys most influenced by civilization and order, there is still savagery in every human’s heart. The reader may feel significant in a way of thinking they would never do such a thing. The reader believes that even being in such a situation, they would never do something so morally wrong. …show more content…
Gene believes he is “not the same quality as [Finny]” (Knowles 59) . This realization pushes Gene over the edge and he causes Finny’s fall. Gene shows us that sometimes our emotions get the best of us, and not always in a positive way. Gene feels remorse and regret over Finny’s death because if it weren’t for Gene’s emotion driven actions, Finny would still be alive and charming everyone he meets. Sometimes people do things that they think are necessary at the time, but later on they regret their actions. Readers can form a bond with Gene through