Arundhati Roy writes in the Guardian that literature is important because it gives us an escape and teaches us not only the mere factual information about a particular event and movements but connects us with the emotions of the victims and the oppressed. Literature in this sense is the most vital means of education. Knowledge for the sake of factual data is useless. Unless, we can form a bridge between the external entity and our inner conscience, facts mean nothing.
Literature has become all the more pertinent in this age of information overload. We are exposed to a high amount of data outsourcing every day, be it through social media, online news portals, et cetera. In these times, when we are knowing things just for the sake of knowing, it is important to redevelop the emotions of the individuals for the cause for which the incident is being informed. It is the duty of everyone who resides in society to take a stand and act for the collective well-being. Literature provokes us towards the cause. Literature, written on different topics, is the best way to understand the complexities of the events. Alex Gilvarry, while talking on the same topic at Northeastern University, says that it was the events that were happening in his surroundings that compelled him to write his first book, “From the Memoirs of a Non-Enemy Combatant”, which depicts the story of a fashion junkie who is locked up in Guantanamo and accused of being a terrorist. Literature like such is an important part of telling the public about the real suffering and loss of the victims. Humanity is fundamentally emotional in nature. Literature by harnessing this power of emotions can mobilise people in ways that can far exceed the limits of reason and rational explanation.
Nafis Haider
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