Notes

Huzaifa Azam
Ms. Tanedo
ENG 4U
1/18/2018

Literature is a very important aspect in everyone’s life. It helps learn, entertain ourselves, communicate with others and express ourselves. From an early age, people are exposed to literature as it helps develop communicative skills which are essential for humans. Literature can also have a negative effect as it may pollute a young innocent child’s mind. Literature on taboo topics such as war, sex, drugs and money are interesting but are not suitable for a child. As humans, we grow older and as we start to mature, we start to understand the real meaning behind literary texts. Personally, literature has played a major part in shaping the person I am today. Starting from hearing stories in Urdu from my mother to reading King Lear in grade 12, each story I have read has taught its own lessons. My mom started telling me stories even before I knew the language; possibly because the sound of a mother calms a crying child. As I got older, I was exposed to fairy tales and picture books; most of which showed the world as an ideal society. During my adolescent years, I was easily influenced by the media but as I mature, I understood that the media is more corrupt then the criminals they talk about. My views on morals, life and the world have changed drastically over the course of my life due to the different types of literature I’ve read during my life.
To begin with, I was first introduced to any sort of language when my mom used to tell me stories in Urdu when I was a baby by reading me nursery rhymes. Although I obviously could not understand the language at first, but eventually started to repeat certain phrases and implement them in my life when I finally understood what they meant. Things such “Always respect your elders” and “Honesty is the best policy” have been embedded in me from a young age and I still follow these principles today. I come from a devout Muslim family which meant I took up reading the Quran from an early age. The Quran taught me many lessons which I act upon such as “Treating everyone equally regardless of their race or religion”. Reading the Quran from an early age helped me define my nature as a human being. Moving forward, in elementary school I was reading a lot of picture books which all promoted the same message; life is good, always has and always will be great. In kindergarten I used to enjoy reading Dr. Suess as it was funny. In a couple years I started reading books written by Shel Silverstein, Robert Munsch, and other generic picture books. Although I agree that children should not read about serious topics from a young age, it is also toxic to give children an unrealistic impression of the world by bombarding them with false positive images of the world. I believe I was not as easily influenced by these ideas as other people tend to be. Once students leave school and enter the real world, reality hits them hard and shows no remorse. When they realize, that strangers do not care about them, they will go through a stress that some may never come out of causing social anxiety.
Furthermore, as I began to mature, I started reading more novels in middle school. Novels such as “Goosebumps” by R.L. Stine showed me that books had the power to entertain as well as educate. In the beginning I was not allowed to read “goosebumps” as my parents though they would scare me. In reality, I was never scared by these books, I simply read them for the plot which I enjoyed in every book. “Goosebumps” was the first series to show me that books are a thing you can love as much as watching movies. On a lighter side, I also used to read “Geronimo Stilton” books which were humorous. The “Geronimo Stilton” series showed me that books can also provide comedic relief. As I reached the end of middle school, I read my favourite book series of all time. I read all the books of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series within 2 months. That series developed my imagination as the book relied on using your imagination a lot. Every time I read those books, there was a movie playing in my head and it transported me to a place I liked to be in. It helped me realize that you can do wonders by imagining about stuff that you can only dream about. This led to me learning about lucid dreaming which I started practicing during high school. To add, by grade 8 I took up an interest on reading about conspiracies against top politicians, celebrities, athletes and criminals. I also read about fictional theories such as aliens and UFOs. Reading about these topics initiated my awakening to the fact that everything that the media portrays is not always true. One song I listened to that revally stood out was “Waving Flag” by K’naan. Although the song is about football, it promotes the message that everything is achievable if you stay determined and act upon your goals. Once I reached highschool, I started reading literature on more serious topics and also listening to a wider variety of songs.
After I learned that not all the information shown by the media and on the internet is not true, I was less prone to being fooled by the subliminal messages shared through books and the media. Grade 9 and grade 10 went by quick with no major works leaving an impression on me. I found “Romeo and Juliet” to be very surprising as the play promoted the idea of “True Love” and “Love at first sight”. In reality, the two cannot go together. It is a known fact that Romeo was experiencing an infatuation towards Juliet since he did not know her personally yet he still loved her to death. This creates a false image of love within the minds of adolescents who are currently experiencing hormonal changes which cause a lot of relationships to start and be broken. One story that left a profound effect on me was called “Writing Blindly” which was read in grade 11 English. The story involves the experiences faced by the crew of a sinking ship before death. Once the submarine was destined to sink, the crew realized there was no way out. The only thing they had was pen and paper. The crew started writing letters and stuck them in the crevices of the ship in hope that they will be recovered and sent to their loved ones. This story shows that at the moment of death, your family is the only thing you truly love and that is why the crew wrote to them. Some sailors wrote to their parents, while some wrote to their spouse and children. After grade 10 was when I started listening to rap. I instantly liked the songs of J. Cole as he would rap about topics that would interest me. Although his songs have swearing, he raps about world issues and societal struggles. To add, the lyrics from the song “Marvins Room” had a profound effect on me. When I first heard the song, I was going through a break up of my own. The song is about bad relationships and I could relate to it at a spiritual level. It helped me get over the stress I was dealing with and it song made me realize that words could have such a deep impact on you.