Literature Has Withstood the Test of Time by Samanth

Literature Has Withstood the Test of Time by Samanth - October 2016 Scholarship Essay

Our society is constantly changing. We've all seen it. It wasn't so long ago that the only way to call someone was with a landline and computer took up an entire room. Now, I can call almost anyone from practically anywhere using a computer that fits in my pocket. Pay phones, VCRs, tape recorders and typewriters have all come and gone. But books haven't gone anywhere. Sure there are other ways to read that may limit the amount of paperbacks sold each year but the stories are still being created and people are still reading them. This is why I would want to teach literature, because people are always going to read.

The literature courses I have taken over the past few years of my schooling have been some of the most influential in my life. This is because they cover topics that spark discussion and deep thinking. In one semester you can consider how race has played an impact in America's history by reading "To Kill a Mockingbird", "When the "Emperor Was Divine" or Richard Wright's "Native Son". You can consider the struggles of the everyday man while reading "Death of a Salesman". One could get an entore class of undergraduates to question reality with a short story like "The Yellow Wallpaper". These are stories that affect us all deeply because they are based on things we fear, love or wonder about. Plays written by Shakespeare in the seventeenth century are known and loved by college students today just like they were when their parents or grandparents went to school. This is because while the time periods may age their messages are still universal and inspiring. Whether it's about true love, achieving your dreams or fighting for your country.

In literature courses, the books are read together and discussed but two people can interpret a passage very differently. The conversation that a controversial book creates helps students grow more than a math class ever could. Today, our society disagrees on many topics but we struggle more than ever to create constructional conversation. Literature helps us to get into the head of someone totally different from ourselves and see how he or she experiences the world or a specific situation. This can create empathy for our peers more than any Facebook post or political speech.

I would also choose literature because of the encouragement I have received from my own literature teachers. Throughout high school and college I have had literature teachers who have pushed me to see past the surface. They have taught me how to walk in another person's shoes even if that person was a man during the French Revolution or a child during the civil rights movement. This created a lasting impact on me that has helped me think differently for years and that is why I am grateful to my literature teachers.

Literature has fueled our world for centuries. Whether its purpose is to teach, inspire or purely to entertain it has been loved by all kinds of people across the world. I would teach literature because I am passionate about it and I would want to help others find a passion for a subject that has withstood the test of time.