GRE Analytical Writing Issue 14
Monday, May 7th, 2007TOPIC: ISSUE14 – “It is necessary for everyone to read poetry, novels, mythology and other types of imaginative literature.”
WORDS: 486 TIME: 0:45:00 DATE: 2008-5-7
I strong support the notion that imaginative literatures such as poetry, novels and mythology should be read by people, regardless of their age, gender and occupation. Creativity and innovation originates not only from practical experiences, but also from imagination and aethesis.
Imagination without boundaries helps exploiting young human brains. Fables, heroic stories etc. are the literatures first perceived by most human babies. The pure and unmatured minds are first exposed to various ideas, such as righteousness, evil, beauty and ugly, from fictious stories. Though most of the events in children books are fabricated to fit the psychological characteristics of kids, they do, to some extend, teach them basic knowledge and values of our society. Furthermore, youthhood was the period where our minds are least constrained by doctrines and instilled values, the curiosity and outreach for the unknown cultivated at an early age may have profound impact on the person’s future creativity.
Some may argue that grown-ups are so preoccupied with their living, jobs and pressure that they can hardly spend any more time on fictions, not to mention that these genres of literature cannot help to address their immediate problems. Nevertheless, it is not uncommon to see adults like scientists gaining inspirations from earlier sci-fi works, and turning imagination into reality. In the Bible, God created Adam’s wife through his rib. When we compare the process with modern biotechnologies such as cloning, we may be shocked by the fundamental similarities between the two – give birth to a new life from part of the old. Great science fictions can also “predict” the future, because people who are inspired will seek to materialize them to serve our society.
There’s still another significant contribution of imaginative literatures – to bring pure joy to tedious life and to alleviate psychological distress. Grown-ups in our competitive society continuously face such high pressure that most of them have forgotten the joy of life. As in a movie, a princess from fabulous world was brought to reality by a wicked witch. With her optimism, alacrity and expressive songs, she transformed a divorced divorce lawyer from cynical, arrogant and disappointed in love to a optimistic, humble person who regained belief in true love. Such works, especially the poems, have aesthestic and magic powers to consolate human minds. Even with the most simple vocabulary, poems may teach people ideas unconveyed by long passages. One example came to mind is a brief Latin poem – amicus cognoscitur amore, more, ore, re, which translates “a friend is known for what he love, what he consider to be moral, what he says and what he does”. Reading poems is not surpasses learning adages because the aethestic elements will better let people memorize the ideas they carry.
As a conclusion, imaginative works are good for not only young minds but also adults in our society with fierce pressure, thanking to the magical healing power and inspirations in them.