In a lot of cases, reading about a dilemma or a problem in a literary work can make it much easier to understand the problem in itself than, for instance, studying about it in school. In my view the main reason is that if there is a whole book that deals with a specific issue than, obviously, it includes more details. This way you can get a glimpse into its background in every aspect thus making it easier to insert yourself into that situation, and, that way, understand it better. Or, maybe, if it is a problem that is not brought up by teachers and by people in general but you want to know more about it, you can find a book that focuses on that given topic and help you understand it. For me a great example of a book like that, would be one of my all-time favorites, the Hate U Give.
This novel focuses on a very sensitive topic, which I don’t think we talk about enough; racism. The story is about a black teenage girl, Starr, who witnesses her black best friend, Khalil being murdered by a white police officer. After the tragedy she becomes entangled in a national news story and, finally, she decides to speak up to get justice. But when a grand jury decides not to prosecute the police officer for the shooting, the social tensions culminate in a riot, and she becomes the leader activist.
The narrator of the book is the main character, Starr, who is almost the same age as me, and so it was really easy to insert myself into her place. I could feel the fright, and sadness that she felt when his best friend was shot, and the anger and indignation after the jury’s decision. But, at the same time, I felt ashamed because of the actions of white people. This book helped me imagine how it feels like to be treated unfairly just because of the color of one’s skin. Also, I learned a lot from it, for example, that rapper Tupac’s phrase “Thug life”, stands for The Hate You Give Little Infants F**** everybody, and as Starr’s father said, it describes a system designed against black communities, and the only way to break the cycle is to speak up. And so that’s what Starr tries to do.
The main reason why I chose to read this book is that I’ve always been interested in the Black Lives Matter movement, and, even though I looked it up, I still felt like I wanted to know more. So, when I first heard about this book, I immediately knew that I’d read it. Also, I think it’s unfortunate that we don’t really talk about topics like this at school, but at least if someone is interested in them like me, there are some books that help us understand that issue a little more.
All in all, my opinion is that reading about dilemmas in literary works is a really good way to understand them, or even learn more about them. Maybe everyone would not agree with me on this, but I find it easier to understand problems if I can imagine myself dealing with them. Obviously, when you read a book, you can do that; you can insert yourself into the story, and feel what they feel.
Noémi Márki