Once I couldn’t find the direction of my future, and A Portrait of The Artist as a Young Man tells me that a unique life will always be confusing, and you will eventually go to the place where you belong.
Once I felt the darkness and injustice of society, The Catcher in the Rye tells me that there is someone who guards your inner child, who can be your closest friend, your beloved brother, or maybe yourself.
Once I was confusing the meaning of love, The Great Gatsby tells me that you don’t have to think too hard about love, find a moonlight in your heart, seek they, and in the process become a better and better person.
……
Those instrumental rationalists who are running around for money and social status, please stop your boring questions once in a while. I respect your way of life, and I ask you to respect the things we love most in our hearts.
It is true that literature cannot bring us tall buildings, highways, and rich food, but it can fill the emptiness in our hearts and bring us the joy of thinking and appreciating. A person struggling to survive may not be able to distract too much energy from these things, but if we solve our basic material needs, then why can’t we have higher pursuits?
Finally, I’d like to return to your question. As more and more people stop worrying about the scarcity of food and houses, they will invest their lives in many interesting things, and literature, without a doubt, is one of the most time-tested. At that time, whether teaching it, spreading it, or creating it, it will naturally bring me enough wealth to sustain my life, so please don’t worry about me anymore.
Zhongting, I really liked the personal voice of your response, especially how you discussed specific books that mean a lot to you and that guided your journey to study literature. The parallel structure of “Once I felt/was/etc.” is really effective in making the reader think about how often in their lives they, too, have felt those things. The same goes for later in your post, when you ask questions back to your audience. Overall, your post is well written and reflective, and it makes the reader relate to your journey with literature. I wonder about the pause in the middle of the post where you write “…….” Is this meant to show that the list of books that mean a lot to you goes on and on, or to make the reader pause and think about their own meaningful books, or something else entirely? Maybe both?
Zhongting, I really enjoyed this! I loved your use of books you have found meaning in to exemplify why you are choosing your major. It is a well thought out and intelligent response! I am curious as to who your subject of response was, were you responding to someone in particular or was this to a broader audience?
Zhongting, I enjoyed your take on this response because it took the personal conversation and applied it to a more generalized sphere. This allowed you to write what can be less described as a conversation and more as poetry. There were so many pieces of this post I really admired. My favorite line was “The Catcher in the Rye tells me that there is someone who guards your inner child, who can be your closest friend, your beloved brother, or maybe yourself.” Your poetic descriptions of how these books have supported you, emphasize the importance of literature. Not only can they fill our hearts, but they also teach us to write beautiful things, and add our own thoughts to the world!