Kaleigh's Virtual Bookshelf

Why do authors write? Why do we read?

My Virtual Bookshelf

 


• The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling: This series helped me through the loss of my father by showing a protagonist I strongly related too. Harry Potter experienced the type of suffering that I experienced in my childhood, and he kept pushing on showing me that I could do the same. This series also taught me that even if something isn't written with the intention of being art, it can still be art. J.K. Rowling began writing this series due to poverty but still created something that is cause for fanaticism and speculation. This can be connected to the question, Why write literature?

• Angels and Demons by Dan Brown: I remember the book Angels and Demons as a fond childhood memory, a book that brought me and my best friend together. As I have gotten older I've realized Dan Brown had a deeper reason for writing the whole series, inclusive of Angels and Demons. While I read this book as a thrilling way to escape math class, Brown wrote this, in part to comment on the institution of the catholic church. I say in part because I'm sure Mr.Brown also meant to sweep your imagination off to exotic countries like he did mine. So here is another example of why authors write; to excite, or comment on institutions or ideologies and the fanaticism that feeds them all.   

• Scott Pilgrim Series by Bryan Lee O'Malley: This comic book series was one of the first I had come in contact with and it really encouraged me to read more and helped me to develop my own interest in pop culture. This was also a key comic that a lot of my friends read during middle school which created many of our inside jokes. Authors can choose to write graphic novels for many reasons, one being the multiple forms of expression a comic book allows with both the picture and the text. 

• The Color Purple by Alice Walker: While reading this novel in my AP Literature class I became very aware and interested in literary devices. The way Alice Walker used symbolism, imagery, and her vivid and intriguing use of diction enchanted me. It truly is a timeless piece that holds so much value and respect. An Author like Alice Walker will write as a form of self expression and as a way to speak out against the injustices of their times. For Alice Walker she worked against segregation and the separation of colors, and for women's rights. She used the horrific era between 1910-1940 as the backdrop to her novel to show parallels between the two time-periods.

• Beloved by Toni Morrison: Beloved was one of this first novels I read in college and I loved the use of magical realism. This wasn't the first time I had been exposed to magical realism, but the way Toni Morrison uses it emphasizes the inner torment of the characters in an almost tangible way. Much like Alice Walker, Toni Morrison uses a repressive southern setting to speak out against injustices of her time. Toni Morrison uses Beloved as a way to suggest a means of emotional and physical healing and progress for the African American community.
    

“I just knew there were stories I wanted to tell.” – Octavia E. Butler (on why he writes)