Reflection #2: Ted Talk Discussions, and the Essence of Literature in Most Parts of Life
- cleocuizon
- Jul 21, 2022
- 8 min read
After graduating with an English Major, I was oblivious to my naivety regarding the realities of my career path. I knew that I loved what I was doing. I pursued a passion that took years to convince my tiger parents to understand. But when I entered the real world with this hopeful heart of possibilities, I realized I was destined for adversity. Most instances related to my shortcomings, but I slowly felt I was starting to turn against the passion I always held with prestige. I began to resent the path I worked so hard to achieve, all because I was not getting enough money. Knowing the present circumstance makes it reasonable to mock my past choices. But a part of me senses immense sorrow for such a mindset.
I felt like I was betraying myself.
Knowing what was becoming of me, I needed a new perspective. And that was where I thought of these questions: is literature relevant in this society? To what extent did this field I blindly pursue manages to remind humanity of its significance? I found three Ted Talk videos that may have answered these questions, entailing that literature is more than what society perceives as a “dead-end job.”
Creativity is a Natural Right
Literature, for most parts, blends with the core subjects of reading and writing comprehension, where most of its principles were solely utilized to teach students the fundamental notions of deciphering and composing the letters of the alphabet. But once pursued further into a career, such as creative writers or educators, it is often viewed as “cheesy” or “guarantees no affluence.” To follow one’s creativity deems to be a futile and irrational path to financial prosperity, which modern society perceives as the sole key to true happiness.
In most aspects, this argument is partially reasonable given several circumstances for some of us. However, it discourages the advantages of literature as a necessity to seek new perspectives, significantly in moments when we desire to acknowledge humanness. A Ted Talk video of Ethan Hawke explains the essence of creativity to humans and how we, as a society, should permit ourselves to be creative (2020). While watching the clip, I could not help feeling so reassured by the words he passionately articulates regarding fields in the fine arts. Through his words, he embodies how literature encourages the awareness of human emotions and how it becomes something powerful and not a sense of weakness that society usually imposes:
until their father dies, they go to a funeral, you lose a child, somebody breaks your heart, they don’t love you anymore, and all of a sudden, you’re desperate for making sense out of this life, and, “Has anybody ever felt this bad before? How did they come out of this cloud?” Or the inverse -- something great. You meet somebody and your heart explodes. You love them so much, you can’t even see straight. You know, you’re dizzy. “Did anybody feel like this before? What is happening to me?” And that’s when art’s not a luxury, it’s actually sustenance. We need it. (Hawke 2:04-2:38)
Common circumstances in life, as described in this quote, invoke powerful emotions that sometimes human logic could not administer on its own. When we endure such instances, we feel things in our hearts. Emotions are a natural response of the human mind and body. And when faced with a situation entirely pleasant or unpleasant, it is an instinctive tendency to produce such outcomes that Hawke mentions. These emotions remind us that we are alive and capable of experiencing things more significant than getting up in bed, eating, and working. It should not pose as a component that epitomizes weakness; it is entirely the opposite from that. We are moved from stories and resonate with characters not because it feels “warm or something pleasant”; we relate to them because we understand them as fellow beings (Hawke 6:58-7:09). They endure certain situations, new or relatable, and we feel that familiarity in what they evoke. We practice humanness by permitting ourselves to embrace emotions and perceiving them as powerful and equally necessary with rationality. Creativity resembles our humanness; it is something that we ALL are capable of possessing. The only person hindering that ability to flourish is oneself.
Not only do we acknowledge our creativity, but we use that ability to perceive real-life solutions other in another perspective. Besides the essential functions of rational thinking, it’s with complete ignorance to presume that literature has no room for analytical skills. In actuality, it was the primal reason I pursued my English major; literature is not interpreting specific texts and poetically analyzing what we think is the most emotional concept of that passage (i.e., “the is sky blue” meme). Instead, we practice critical thinking skills through what we do and apply such strategies through another outlook. We aspire to help humanity as much as people in other study fields, so why ridicule our approach because it’s too “corny”?
Books as a Best Friend
Another factor that advocates the relevance of literature is companionship developed in its realm of wisdom. Within a printed or digitalized source, its contents offer more than just words designed to be read. A ted from Lisa Bu addresses a similar notion, where she shares her journey in life and the impact that books made along her journey. She had her hopes and dreams, all too were not something as easy to obtain. She encounters tribulations and failures but continues to evolve and learn new experiences with the companionship of books. In Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Bu sought her “role model of an independent woman” (1:47-1:53). Reading other religious texts like The Bible helped her encounter new ideals of life and relationships (2:14-2:50). Bu’s examples made me realize how reading books is more than a standard requirement for academic improvement; it becomes an amiable informant that satiates our instinctive tendencies for curiosity and self-discovery.
We learn from what we decipher and apply our experiences to understand what is being addressed. Sometimes, we absorb this entirely new knowledge and allow it to enlighten us with another outlook or the prospect of life. Like a friend who offers new insights into life, books accompany us similarly and enrich the self to appreciate learning. We become inspired by new information, vigilant from past lessons, and compassionate with the fictional instances to that we can relate. Not only do we enter another world to escape reality, but we also use that domain to understand the life we experience before us. Lisa Bu supports this idea through her experiences:
Books have given me a magic portal to connect with people of the past and the present. I know I shall never feel lonely or powerless again. Having a dream shattered really is nothing compared to what many others have suffered. I have come to believe that coming true is not the only purpose of a dream. Its most important purpose is to get us in touch with where dreams come from, where passion comes from, where happiness comes from. Even a shattered dream can do that for you. (4:53-5:29)
When we allow ourselves to perceive a world entirely different yet strangely relatable, we feel this awakening epiphany about living and seeing others live. This fierce consciousness of reality before us expands once we absorb a new way to evolve inwardly and externally. Like a light bulb illuminating a room to behold its contents, books elucidate one with a broader perspicacity and counsel the curious souls with reassuring wisdom. Thus, when one becomes afflicted with the intricacies of the world and proceeds to the inked companion as a getaway, it acquires a partner that not only fulfills this wish but assures his troubled friend with lessons that may aid his journey in this complex reality.
The Essence of Humanness
Beyond the companionship of books and its open encouragement for creativity, we can delve further into its significant contribution to self-discovery. Another Ted Talk discussion by Jacob Bunchan demonstrates this idea as he explains the relevance of Classic literature in the contemporary age. His insight persuades the essence of an overlooked genre, generating compelling arguments about how a story past its prime remains timeless in its preeminence. One part of that speech that encapsulates this incorporates the Greek philosopher, Epictetus:
Classic’s often present moral clarity as these works examine our fundamental nature and argue how we can or should coexist. Reading them provides two commentaries, both the external markers of a good society and the internal exploration of personal experience. Take this 2000 year old line from the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus. Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle. Some things are within your control and some things are not. Here, Epictetus economically presents an arguable thesis on how to achieve some of our most fundamental human desires. (2:09-2:49)
Reading the classics played a pivotal role in my passion for literature. One specific occurrence goes back to my senior year when I enrolled in an AP English course. In the first week, a notable teacher, Ms. Antenille, brought up The Rime of Ancient Mariner as our first lesson. During the duration of interpreting, analyzing, and debating its contents, I felt a small spark, slowly itching to blaze through. At the end of class, I walked with classmates towards the lunchroom, expressing our excitement about the course. For the first time, I foresaw my future with a translucent purpose; my love for literature grew.
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