The power of literature

My husband recently shared with me an idea that had been shared with him: namely, that books allow you to live multiple lives.  I was immediately stuck by this way of expressing the value of literature.  It is very true; books, and literature in particular, place you into a context that you might not have otherwise experienced.  Stories capture not only facts, but also sights, sounds, and emotions—all of the components that provide interest and meaning to our lives and shape our thoughts and perspectives.  And it is these elements of stories that help us to not only know, but to better understand, perspectives and experiences other than our own.

I had the incredible opportunity to learn Civil War history from Dr. James “Bud” Robertson in one of his final years of teaching.  During the year in which I took his two-semester course, he chose to emphasize the emotions that influenced the antebellum and war years.  He discussed the relatively young age of many of our legislators and national leaders at the time and the impact this had on how they responded to the developing conflict.  Whether you agreed with their reactions or not, he helped you to understand why they reacted in those ways and why situations progressed as they did.  He truly brought the Civil War period alive for us, and in so doing, helped us to gain a much deeper appreciation for and understanding of the complex circumstances that led to the conflict and how its resolution was achieved.

Not everyone has the opportunity to learn from a great teacher like this, but we all have access to stories and literature that capture these same emotions and present them in a way that fosters an appreciation for and understanding of the contexts in which events occur.  In so doing, these stories transport us to a time or place that is often very different from the one in which we live and open our eyes to another way of seeing the world.  Whether we agree or not with the decisions made by characters in the book, we learn to appreciate their perspectives, learn from their mistakes, and understand the context in which they lived.  When applied to our own lives, this can help us to better understand and interact with others who might have different opinions from our own, it can make us more compassionate to their circumstances and to the decisions they make, and it can help us to respect their perspectives, without compromising our own beliefs and convictions in the process.  That is the hidden power of literature.