The Power of Reading by Grace

The Power of Reading by Grace - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

The value of literacy is often ignored and underappreciated. Too frequently students choose the path of least resistance and, since reading a book requires a tangible thought process, literature is seen as neither a luxury nor necessity, but as a tedious punishment or chore. I’m not one of those students. I believe books give us insight into the lifestyles of others, resulting in a new perspective on our problems and how they relate to the words of others- even if they are just fictional characters. We have become satisfied with being oblivious to the world around us, when, in fact, we need to open our eyes and see what books can teach us. We can learn things about the power of words to heal the mind, spirit, and body, the powers of friendship and courage, but, most importantly, the power of innocence to keep providing light in a time when light is conspicuously rare.

High school students often undervalue the power of words, and, as a result, often lack confidence in our own power and ability to do something of our own significance. Through books like “Mein Kampf” by Adolf Hitler, “The Grave Digger’s Handbook”, or “The Dream Carrier” the true power of words is illustrated in different ways. Aside from Mein Kampf, all of the aforementioned works are not published, but instead are ideas and titles that were created to convey a more elaborate theme in the real book that I want to talk about, “The Book Thief”, which is the book I truly believe that all high school students should read. In “The Book Thief” we see the power of an innocent girl and her courage to face the degradation and corruption of her society and government with the power of words by her side. Each of the aforementioned books played a crucial role in assisting Leisel in maintaining her intrinsic light within the darkness of Hitler’s reign. The values that she learned from each stolen each book came at pivotal moments in her life; likewise, these values are made apparent to readers in multiple ways as the power of words are truly demonstrated.

Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf” exhibited the true potency of the power of words, even if those words were used to orchestrate a genocide. While Hitler was a cruel totalitarian, he is a perfect example of how words can be used to persuade the mind. Although now we understand his words to be the crazy ravings of a mad man, there is a reason he had thousands of ardent supporters. His empty promises were persuasive in a time when the population was pliable and desperate for someone to lead them; consequently, the majority of the population eagerly followed his commands without hesitating to question the morality of them until after they had already dug their own graves. His words infected their minds exhibiting just how strong their power can be when used in the right medium, a lesson students seem to forget when they employ words to hurt rather than lift others.

This brings me to “The Grave Digger’s Handbook”, which evokes the influence of words in a different, more positive light. The protagonist of “The Book Thief”, Leisel, found this book after the death of her brother. Although a manual on how to dig a grave is not something that is usually associated with comfort reading, this young girl’s voracious appetite for literature found solace in its straightforwardness and neutrality over the issue of death while coping with the death of her own beloved brother. Typically children cannot comprehend the concept of death; however, with the acquisition of this handbook, Leisel was able to picture her brother’s death more objectively, which allowed her to realize it is only a natural part of life. The power of those words brought solace to her saddened spirit, which demonstrate their healing powers; powers that could also be beneficial to high school students as they face their day to day problems.
Another fictitious work in “The Book Thief” is “The Dream Carrier”, which was created to show Leisel the healing power of written text. During the reign of Nazi Germany, no Jew was safe from persecution. Aware of the risk, Leisel and her family still chose to open their home to a Jewish refugee named Max. After growing close to Leisel and her family, Max became very ill, affecting Leisel in a very personal way. In the end, his saving grace was not medicine but words, the very words Leisel had salvaged from Hitler’s attempt to destroy literature with the Burning of the Books. The words she read aloud imbued him with health and vigor which allowed him to defeat his raging illness. In this instance, we are shown the physical healing properties of words and how they can directly affect the human body; relevant both in literature and the lives of students.

Leisel’s courageous spirit and optimistic outlook in a dark time can offer high school students a broadened perspective of the global community, with books being the effective medium in this expansion. Students underestimate the potential that words can possess, which often results in a reluctant approach to reading books. I believe that these books helped her to develop into a well-adjusted person capable of a quality of humanity that was incredibly sparse in her environment, a lesson I know high school students also desperately need.