Is Reading Fiction Really Worth it?

“Why are you annotating a novel?”

When people ask me this question, it always shocks me at first. Why aren’t you? I often want to reply, but after a moment of thought I realize that I’m in the minority.

For most people, fiction is a vehicle for escape; it’s used by many as an opportunity to relax and to enjoy a well crafted story. People are enamored by these settings and characters, but never stop to think about what they may learn from them.

But is that right? Shouldn’t these entertaining, believable characters be able to teach us something?

The Great Gatsby

One of my favorite novels is The Great Gatsby. It is the story of a man, Jay Gatsby, who is driven by a love for the idea of someone. The woman he was in love with, Daisy, moved on long ago and become a completely different person in the 5 years since they had known each other. But when they finally met again, Gatsby was convinced that he got the same girl back and was determined to get her back.

In other words, Gatsby was compelled by something he could never have, because the Daisy he knew did not exist anymore!

The insanity of his actions not lost on me, I still found myself sympathizing with the sad, desperate man.

Why am I relating so much to Gatsby?

Why does this yearning feel so familiar?

It’s because I was doing the same exact thing. I have a tendency to naively see the good in people. If I allow it to, my mind justifies an individual’s entirely crooked personality based on a single attractive trait or feature. I didn’t see the harm in this tendency until I watched where Gatsby’s desperation led him. Watching Gatsby’s ruin allowed me to see where such a mindset could lead me: pushed over with nothing to show for it.

On the other hand, in Nick (the story’s narrator), I realized a positive quality of mine that I have since leaned into. At the story’s opening, Nick states that as a result of his father’s advice, he is “inclined to reserve all judgements” whenever he meets someone. In other words, he realizes that life is not fair and that not everyone is as fortunate as he has been.

As he continues, he gets cynical about how strange people reveal their deepest secrets to a person with this quality. While I have come to that very realization myself, I instead enjoy people’s openness with me. I am a story-teller after all. Everyone has a unique story, and the more stories I can draw from, the better and more believable I can make my stories.

Thoughts

The beautiful thing about fiction is that we as readers are privy to the thoughts and motivations of the characters. Since most stories are told in hindsight, we can pay attention to what traits and actions cause the characters to triumph or fail.

This is all contingent, however, on the quality of the story.

When trying to find good stories, ere on the side of classics. Shakespeare’s stories have survived for so long because he understood human nature extremely well.

Edith Hamilton, the 20th century mythologist and author, said the following when referring to classic stories that endure the tests of time: “Great literature, past or present, is the expression of great knowledge of the human heart.”

With that in mind, doesn’t it make sense that these fictional characters have a lot to teach us about ourselves?