The Tradition of Literary Competence: a Source of Nourishment to the Mind - Research Paper Example

Although many claim that the reading culture is quickly becoming extinct, the situation was not much different centuries ago. Many researches and surveys have been done and they all point to the fact most people do not read much nowadays. However, a few centuries ago people did not read much as media wants us to believe. In fact reading was for the few who were either elite or clergy men; the rest of the population was illiterate. Due to their inability to read, most held little regard for books. This was not their fault either, Romans kept literacy secret in order to control and manipulate the people. Furthermore, these people used to work for longer hours and could not find amicable time to read. An analysis of arguments brought forth by researchers shows that there is no much evidence to prove that reading culture is actually dying. I, therefore concur with Ursula’s notion that books are here to stay and that the reading culture will always be there. Initially, literacy was reserved for the ruling elite class, but as time went by, more people who were socially considered inferior, were allowed to learn how to read and write. Women and slaves were given a mandate to read. This led to a boom in the literary world with people yearning for knowledge that was safely hidden from them from many generations. Many people change their traditional roles to suit their new profound status. As Ursula K. Le Guin puts it in Staying Awake, “…slaves are reading, and revolutions are made with pieces of paper called Declarations of this and that, and schoolmarms replace gunslingers all across the Wild West….” During 1850 to 1950, as Ursula calls it the century of the book, there was maddening rush for books. Most researchers compare our readership with this time. This rush was escalated by the fact that the democracy involved public opinion and therefore it was only plausible to educate the people and not keep them in the dark. People read as they saw it as their right and obligation. However, it should not be mistaken that people actually read to be knowledgeable; they actually read because of the social status that came with it. It is speculated that during this time, people would rather say that fell asleep reading a book rather than admitting they did not read it. Literacy was not only a way of gaining status; it was also a social activity. People would gather and discuss books as a recreational activity. However, this does not mean that we do not read as much as the media claims. If there were surveys during that time, then it would have shown that not all people fancied books. The society has and will always be divided among different groups; we have book lovers, sports lovers, money lovers, sports lovers, just to name a few. It is not possible that every person read books at that time. This is mainly because, they worked longer hours than us and the number of books was so limited to cater for them. The existence of best sellers among different books today is an indication that people read books. A good example is the Harry Potter series which is a massive hit among book lovers. Another factor that the researchers bring forth in their argument is that we spend so much in internet, watching television/ movies, listening to radio and reading celebrity magazines which they consider lacking in intellectual value. Even though they may be right to some extent, I differ with them partially. First of all, we have internet resources that have intellectual value. There are online books and websites that offer very useful information to us. There are also television programs and movies that are based mostly on history and other themes that are beneficial to us, apart from just entertaining us. We have people who would find it hard reading a Shakespearian book, but would easily follow a movie based on the same book. We also have people who would rather download a book from the internet and read it via the PC rather than going to a book store and purchasing one. This is mainly for convenience and time saving. Time is a scarce resource nowadays, the fact that you can spend a lot of time reading a book is not economically viable. The best option would be to watch a movie of the same book for two hours and then look for other things to do. Books are considered ‘not cool’ as the popular culture calls it. This discourages young men and women from reading. They read in schools alone to attain good grades and then abandon all other books once they are out of school. Another factor leading to diminishing literacy is that books are controlled by publishers. They have become moneymaking entities obsessed by riches. They prefer writers who have been successful to unknown writers who believe they would not rake in money like the former. They will spend millions of dollars on a writer whose previous work was a hit and neglect other writers who could be better in terms of literary skills. They prefer books that bring in more money rather than those that will offer intellectual insight to the reader. They cheat consumers that a book is a best seller by using PR reviewed best seller tags on their covers. Since majority of literary lovers rush for these best sellers, they seldom are impressed by them. Books are here to stay. Despite books getting stiff competition from the popular culture, mostly in movies where book lovers are referred to as geeks, this curious artifact will remain to be the best source of information. It does not change, what changes is your outlook each time you read. All our civilization has relied solely on the bound book and if the Library of Alexandria had not been burned, we would have been far much ahead. Books keep our memories intact. Even though books are only read in schools to pass examinations and look for good jobs, there will always be a group of book lovers who will carry on the tradition of literary competence. Books will always be a source of nourishment to the mind, just like food nourishes the body. Reference Le Guin, Ursula. Staying Awake. Read More