Readings Reflection (in class Reading Quiz 2)

As the sociology of the world is explored, many different cultures are discovered. Many of them are hard to understand or connect with. Laura Bohannon in her work Shakespeare in the Bush explained that she had once thought “that human nature is pretty much the same the whole world over” (page 50). She theorized that all cultures would understand a piece of literature the same, but then discovers that that is untrue. I have come to the conclusion that reading literature helps us to connect with other cultures.

It is important that we are educated in the way other cultures act. By reading literature written by places around the world, and learn how they interpret it, we can understand them more fully. It would be interesting to read a speech given by the leader of the Indian people, or dive into an Egyptian children’s book. On the other hand, some people think that reading literature is a leisure activity, and in this world today we don’t find leisure time. But it is important to make reading a priority because of the way it expands our knowledge and critical thinking. In the article Why Literature? by Mario Vargas Llosa, she suggests that society would fail us if we do not incorporate literature in what we do. “No other discipline or branch of the arts can substitute for literature in crafting the language that people need to communicate” (page 41). Literature connects the people of the world to each other.

Sometimes you get yourself in trouble if you use symbols or certain words in other countries because they might have a different meaning than you are used to. Many times we do not understand what they really mean and end up offending others. For example, a thumbs up in America means “good job”, but in other countries it has different meanings that may be inappropriate and crude. Experts advise travelers to learn more about the country and their mannerisms through literature before making the trip to avoid such embarrassment.

I would imagine that interpreting another culture’s writings would be like interpreting poetry. It’s almost like a puzzle that needs to be put together until you come to an understanding. In order to completely understand a poem, for example, you need to know background to the life of the author or the reason he wrote the poem. There is so much behind the scenes when it comes to poetry. The same goes with writings by other cultures. The importance of learning about poetry applies to knowing how to interpret cultural writings as well. And sometimes, like poetry, you need another person’s help to understand because of their extended knowledge.

I have found that by reading written explanations regarding, or written by, other cultures I gain a new appreciation for these people. I also found it easier to connect with them one on one to get more insight and become friends. My family hosted a girl from the Ukraine for about a month. She was my age and spoke little English. I found that we could connect in other ways, like children’s books that she recognized in our closet even though they were in English and she couldn’t read it. We looked at an Encyclopedia together that talked about her country. We connected through literature. I tried to learn a little bit of her language and I taught her how to ask for certain things that she wanted by showing her what it looked like in writing. I came to understand more about her people and where she came from though writing and reading.

Not everyone has the opportunity to look at literature with someone from another culture. But it is important that people should do it on their own or maybe even encourage teachers to explain literature that is significant to people across the world. As we learn about other countries and what they believe, we can connect with them more fully and applaud them for being so faithful in the things they do. Because cultures interpret differently, we can use literature to relate and associate with each other. It’s fascinating what you come to appreciate about others.