Why Reading Matters Analysis

Have you ever asked yourself “what is the need for reading if it is displeasing to me?” People may think that reading is a hobby and that it is not for everyone except for those that love reading. However, literature has similar effects to the brain as lifting weights or going on a run does for muscles in the body; it strengthens the brain and enhances thinking skills. Most would not argue that exercise is degrading to the body. Unlike with reading, many argue literature does not improve the brain’s function and do not see the reasoning for it to be taught in the education community. The argument that literature is unimportant to our education and development of the brain has come up in society, but research and readers experience shows that …show more content…
Children have the largest imagination compared to adults or teenagers and coincidently, children tend to read more books because of storytime or bedtime stories. When I was a kid I loved to read, as most kids do, and I had an adverse imagination by playing restaurant, teacher, and being a famous singer. As I have gotten older (and read less) my imagination fades away. In the video “Why Reading Matters” Rita Carters research shows that reading about when someone else is doing an action, it triggers the motor cortex part of the brain and the same action is “mirrored” in our brain as if we were doing the action (Carter 7:30). For example, if one reads about a character running, then their brain will send signals throughout the body that takes part in running. Therefore the “mirroring” idea exercises the readers imagination aspect of the brain, which then makes it stronger and the reader to become more creative. Literature also helps with imagination because when reading a book, the actions are not happening before the readers eyes, they have to paint a picture in their brain of the setting and characters. Tim Gillespie quotes Walter Anderson in his article ‘Why Literature Matters’ “I could open a book, and I could be anything. I could be anywhere. I could be anyone….”(Gillespie). Reading takes the brain and reader into a new body and setting, which then helps the reader to think deeper than …show more content…
Christina Sullivan started her article with a disturbed view about young adult fiction, but after hearing her students reactions to disturbing young adult fiction, her perspective changed. This shows how after seeing books impact her kid positively, she is able to see their perspective on situations. Literature takes readers into a whole new world, a world one would never have experienced if it was not for books. After reading different books the reader is able to understand more about what one is going through even though they have never experienced a similar situation. For example, a teenager that is wealthy and in a loving family reading a story of another teenager living in a home with drug abuse and extreme poverty are taken into this life of everyday brokenness. The teenager is then able to understand diverse lives and are able to empathize with others in different situations in life. As in “Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood” Sherman Alexie states at the end “I write to give them weapons-in the forms of words and ideas - that will help them fight their monsters. I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed”(Alexie). Not only do the teens or kids in Alexie’s article relate to dark novels, but many that have not experienced similar circumstances can think outside of their life around them and think of how others feel. In a study by the University College London found “that brain areas