To write or not to write
As usual, looking at Maclean’s list of Top 25 best jobs makes me nervous. Regardless of what year I check, the list always seems to say the same thing: Engineering is up and coming, and my Dad was probably right in suggesting I go to nursing school if I want any sort of stability in my future. And yet, me and hundreds of other Mustangs decided to apply for Arts and Humanities instead of any of the more promising medical science or engineering fields.
More specifically, it seems to me, as an intensely nerdy English and Writing student, that there seems to be no credibility in English as its own discipline. Several other fine arts programs are respected because the prospective students go through a rigorous application process and often are incredibly talented. Social Science students are often credited with being worldly and skeptical, and develop skills applicable to the modern political environment. Where then does English lie on this spectrum? There are several talented writers in the creative writing program, but there are also many students just dedicated to studying literature from a purely analytical perspective. We learn about historical events, but more so to learn the context of the art form we study. Could it then be seen as a sort of art theory or art history discipline? Any way you look at it, English Literature seems to be in its own realm far off from any other discipline out there.
What’s more is English doesn’t seem to have any credibility in and of itself to people of other disciplines. Frequently, I find myself being asked almost instinctively by anyone whom I tell my major to, if I plan on going into law school or teacher’s college after my undergrad. What’s even more upsetting is the look on their faces after I tell them I won’t, and that I’m just pursuing the degree because that’s what I like to do. It seems shocking to a lot of people that I would consider pursuing English just because I enjoy it, as it doesn’t appear to have skills that can be directly applied to a modern job other than teaching and writing. However, the worst part of all is that I find when I’m told that enough, I start to agree with them.
My decision to pursue an English degree wasn’t exactly what you’d call a practical one. When applying to the program, I had no idea what job I wanted at the end of my graduate degree or even what sort of internship I could get out of it. What many would call poor planning, I called following my heart. At the end of Grade 12 when the wide world of university seemed to be a lifetime a way, this seemed justification enough.
When I arrived at Western, while I was entirely intimidated (as I’m sure many whom I told my major to suspected I would be) by the prospect of being the only one on my floor at the end of my undergrad with an Arts major and a continued job as a waitress at Jack Astor’s, I was also pleasantly surprised by the number of students who were just like me: pursuing a degree just because they love it. What’s even more satisfying, is the passion of the professors who teach it. Here are people who dedicated their whole careers to the study of literature, purely out of a love for it (at least I assume that considering the number of years it takes to get to the professional status they’ve obtained). They are people who have dedicated themselves so completely to the art form they’re passionate about, who see the pursuit of beauty and truth and morality in literature as something bigger than themselves, and as something more than a mere job. I suppose that’s the reasoning behind the decision of a lot of Arts majors. Deciding to become an Arts major isn’t a decision of the mind necessarily, but always, when pursued with passion, is, very predictably, a decision of the heart. However, I find, to my great dissatisfaction, that we don’t live in a very romantic time where this is justification in and of itself to pursue something as a career. What you do with your life must provide you with stability, as that is its purpose, and provide an obvious societal purpose.
First let me begin by stating that anyone who can’t see the direct societal influence of literature is, and I’m only partially sorry to say this, wrong. Any English major you know will tell you this: books are and have always been the foundation of civilization. From the time of belief in Greek gods and deities, people have seen the written language as something that creates civilization, and distinguishes humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. It’s what allows us to overcome the limits of our own memories, to defy our own limits by recording human knowledge for future generations to continue to build off and eventually progress to what we know as modern society. It’s what allows us to communicate knowledge, cultural traditions, and create sympathy of human emotions across generations. We study ancient texts and Medieval literature not just because it’s fun, but because these texts are the foundation of civilization, modern education, and consequently your ability to learn anything and develop any sort of base of knowledge in any other modern discipline of study. While books may not be the dominant source of information, they’re where it all began, and any historian or scientist knows the importance of learning where your knowledge comes from to continue developing further knowledge today.
But literature is significant to more things than just historical understanding. Literature is how we communicate ideas we can’t and often aren’t allowed to say out loud. It’s through metaphors we defy the limits of our societies and pose moral and intellectual questions that let us develop and progress in our societies. It is through a study of literature we learn to argue and defend our opinions, but also to accept and be open minded towards the different viewpoints of others that are equally as valid if proven correctly. Literature is what captures memory: while our memories are constantly fading and changing, if we can write down a truth a moment or a feeling as it happens, we’re preserving that singular thing as it existed at the time forever. Most importantly, it’s through literature we connect with our fellow man, and learn to understand one another’s emotions. Sure not everything can be put into words, but words are how we connect with one another, and learn to understand one another’s problems to create a unified world. Sure not everything can be put into words, but it’s not always about that in literature: often, it’s just about creating an image in your head, to capture a feeling that can only be represented by imagined images. It’s through stories and metaphors we’re allowed to fully step into the minds and souls of another, and it is in this way we’re provided with the rare opportunity to feel what it’s like to be someone else. It’s through literature we unify ourselves as a whole humanity instead of divided entities, and learn to love one another as we should to truly create a more peaceful world.
But it’s not only this! Think about everything your mind is doing when you pick up a book: the complex processes your mind has to go through to translate little markings on a page into an image in your head! Books are what ignite the imagination: no one will interpret the same story the same way. Sure movies and plays show us stories, but books give us little hints as to what the story is like, and lets us formulate the story in our own minds! Imagination is the basis of every discipline. No scientist could develop a new theory if they couldn’t imagine it first; no engineer could design and build something new without seeing it in their own mind in the beginning. As we grow up, from the moment we can see we’re taught that reading develops children’s minds so much, by teaching them to imagine, think creatively and innovatively. While this is true of the mind of a developing child brimming with imagination inspired by these books, it’s also true of us.
But most importantly is what books mean to each and every one of us personally. We grow up with books. As a kid, books teach us how to think for ourselves, and decide what is right and wrong. They’re more than simply stories: they’re how we learn to discern truth from fiction, and appreciate what is beautiful in the world through passionate stories. Our lives are stories; a book is just a segment of a life from which we can learn something. When we read, we do something more than just learn a practical skill: we learn how to decide what is right. We learn how to be empathetic and love one another. We learn how to decide for ourselves what is right. In books we seek truth and beauty, but most importantly we seek morality. We seek a life lesson the author has learned and wants to not only tell to us, but get us to feel with him by learning it through experience as the characters of the author’s book do. We learn something more than just facts and knowledge about the world: we learn how to be wise, and how to become the best most loving people we want to be. Really, at the end of our lives, what is more important: the grade we got on an exam or the amount of money we earned, or the love we share with those around us, as books teach us to appreciate? It sounds so cliché, but it’s amazing how many people don’t remember that and think books are only for those looking to go to teacher’s college.
Finally, there’s something about books and stories that’s so simple people often overlook: they’re fun. Stories are exciting, inspiring, and reach to our inner child. Authors spend years of their lives picking exactly the right words to not just tell us something that happened, but get us to feel that event as if it happened to us. They don’t just construct sentences: they place the words on the page, write poems lyrically so even the sound of the words makes us feel what the characters feel. A writer—an artist—does not just pursue a job to be stable. They do it for passion, love and joy. For what is stability worth in and of itself, if not to provide us the chance to later enjoy life with these art forms? Books are a beautiful, passionate, loving art form. They teach us to love, and bring joy to our lives—the things that make life worth living. While science and engineering are necessary to sustain life, and we wouldn’t be alive without them, I think it’s equally important to ask ourselves at the end of the day: what are we staying alive for?