Fiction does reveal the truth that reality obscures. This quote influenced by Henry David Thoreau has the “literal meaning of reading a book.” Reading a book can take you into depth of the untold world. Reading enhances vocabulary and allows room for the power of imagination. Fiction allows one to see the world through the eyes of the character, redefining their opinions.
Fiction is written in the form in which writers can combine their life experiences with their thoughts on the world to view it differently. Therefore, fiction holds the power of allowing the reader to see the world from a perspective that has been removed. It is another way to express the truth without really giving it away. Whether we actually believe in it being real or not wanting to admit the truth. Reading fiction allows us to individually improve our theory of mind as we put ourselves in the shoes of different characters.
In Lord of the Flies, William Golding begins the novel with an unnamed time of war when a group of British schoolboys are deserted on an uninhabited island without adult supervision (civilization and social order to the boys). In the novel, cruelty functions as a whole in demonstrating the loss of innocence in the boys on the island.
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Golding conveys the conflict between two competing impulses that exists in all human beings; the instinct to live by rules and following against moral commands against acting violently to obtain supremacy over others and enforcing one’s will. As readers, we realize that the adults come to symbolize the world war that is uprising outside the island. And that the civilization that the boys establish on the island is no different than the adult civilization.
Researchers have found that reading fiction can increase emotional intelligence. The Washington Post published a review by Keith Oatley, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Toronto. Oatley does reviews on the psychological effects of fiction and was a part of a study that looked at the relation between reading fiction, and the performance of empathy tests in 2006. ‘People who read more fiction were better at empathy and understanding others,’ Oatley said.
As readers, our perspectives evolve overtime. We become more open-minded and have the ability to better understand others. Fiction allows us to become a part of the story that we lived through. It becomes an escape from reality that one can enjoy. We can forget about our day-to-day troubles for a moment and live in the fictional world that becomes a reality in the eyes of our mind. In conclusion, fiction indeed does reveal the truth that reality obscures. Stories take you on a journey and have the potential to change lives. They allow us to see ourselves in the shoes of somebody else and sometimes becomes the most real thing that we will experience in our lifetime.
