Literature as the Foundation of Life and its Values

All of us know the importance and value of good literature in our lives. Right from the stories told by our grandmothers to the great education we receive later in life, literature plays a significant part all throughout. It influences us and makes us understand the ways of life. Narratives, in particular, inspire empathy and lend a whole new perspectives to us and that of others too. This also works with the morals induced within us – either directly or by implied means. When one reads literature, one gains insight, knowledge and wisdom, refining our emotions in the process too. In fact, literature is life manifested in myriad forms. Snippets of life are recorded in a script or audio or video – whatever the manner of preserving. We read, hear or see it accordingly to connect with the slice of humanity in it and this in turn, again strengthens our mind, providing immeasurable growth, leading to abilities of thinking beyond the traditional gamut, what one could term as “outside the box”. In this manner, literature is a reflection of reality, becoming a product of art when distanced and seen objectively and a window to an ideology . This paper seeks to throw light on the importance of literature and how it imparts human values, thus making it very necessary to be incorporated in each and every syllabus of almost every major stream, whether humanities, social sciences , engineering, management or sciences. The study involves a mixed-methods research design involving student and teacher interviews, avid recipients, questionnaires and lesson observations. The results were quite heartening, suggesting a positive response. The paper concludes by discussing the potential and outreach of literature to every study as well as the minds of its avid recipients, of any age-group, class or creed.