Books’ Influence on our Perception of the World
Books. They aren’t just words on a piece of paper, they tell a story of an alternate universe of what would have been. They are someone’s forbidden thoughts that can’t be expressed with words. They broaden up one’s perspective of a situation and enable one to think about it from all possible sentiments. They tell the story of the enslaved and the slaver, the servant and the king, the child and the parent, the student and the teacher, the oppressed and the oppressor. They enlighten you to the other’s misfortunes and problems, their small pleasures and displeasures. Books are an entry to a whole other world, one completely different to our own society. Reading these books alter our viewpoints of the world and allow us to observe it in a variety of angles. They hone our thinking to get rid of subjectivity where necessary and take a step back and look at problems through an objective viewpoint.
Personally, books have taught me a lot about what duty means in the face of love, and how difficult it is to leave your loved ones when duty calls. It makes me myself wonder if I would be able to let go of the people I love in order to fulfil my duties.
George R.R Martin’s ‘A Game of Thrones’ accurately portrays the difficulty of abandoning love in the face of duty such as when Ned Stark has to choose between serving his King in King’s landing or being with his family in Winterfell. Ned Stark loves his family and his life as Lord of Winterfell so very dearly, even in the face of death his primary concern is the wellbeing of his daughters. However, with great hesitation, as a man so heavily bound by honour and loyalty, he goes with his King to King’s landing, where he knows he has many enemies. After the king had been killed supposedly going hunting, next in lineage was the prince; who Ned knew was unsuitable for king, and after further investigation, realised his claim to the throne was illegitimate. He opposed him as he was but an immature young boy, who had an illegitimate claim to the throne. As an honourable man, he couldn’t let the fate of the realm be decided by such a ruler, so he attempted to expose him before fighting and raising his swords, only to be betrayed by those he sought help from. It was his final moments in his cell that made him realise the mistake he made in valuing his honour and pride over his love for his family. He realised there was hardly any virtue in serving a corrupt leader whom he didn’t believe in, so he threw away his pride for his love by publicly announcing that the kings claim to the throne was indeed correct (despite this being false) in return for the king sparing his life and guaranteeing the safety of his daughter, Sansa, whom the king held hostage. The king executed him nonetheless and continued to torment Sansa. It was his decision to remain dutiful that brewed this tragedy.
Get nisaY piK’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
I learnt from reading this book that there are times where you should perform your duty no matter what the cost, but there are also times where protecting and being with your loved ones is the correct choice.
Books have also taught me about the social hierarchy of society a long time ago. When compared to now, there was more discrimination between each class. The upper class almost always possessed a superiority complex.
‘Pride and Prejudice’, a novel set in 1797 by Jane Austen shows the social hierarchy of old in full limelight. In short, this story is about the arrival of 2 rich men and the 2 out of 5 middle class daughters that would soon marry them. Mr. Darcy, one of the rich men, when first meeting the main character of the story (Elizabeth), conversed with her in an arrogant tone of voice, always attempting to challenge her in a battle of wits, as a test of sorts, seeing as though Mr. Darcy was an upper-class gentleman whereas Lizzy was simply a middle class. Lizzy despised Mr. Darcy for this. However, he began to develop feelings for Lizzy, and after overcoming a lot of misunderstandings they ended up marrying each other. Jane Austen shows here that love and happiness overcome class prejudices, which implies that such prejudices are hollow, without feeling and unproductive.
John Boyne’s ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ also reaches the same conclusion as ‘Pride and Prejudice.’ ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ is a book set during the holocaust, where a Nazi general was transferred right next to a Jewish concentration camp. His son became friends with a Jew from the camp after numerous meetings from across a fence. Eventually, the boy, Bruno, crossed the fence into the concentration camp, before, unknowingly, entering a gas chamber with the Jewish boy (Shmuel), which lead to both of their deaths. The innocent friendship that Bruno and Shmuel shared despite the horrific backdrop of the Holocaust shows that divisions between people are arbitrary, useless and cruel.
Books open our eyes to different perspectives in the world. They teach us things we could never have learned without them. And depending on the delivery, they teach us things we will never, ever forget.
