Some people think that it is a waste of time for high school students to study literature, such as novels and poems.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Nowadays, there is an opinion from those who think that studying literary treasures such as novels and poetry is a waste of money and does not have much benefit. As a person who used to read books, novels and literary works from a young age, I totally disagree with this thought.

My first reason to challenge this thinking is based on the fact that reading a novel means reading a long text. The habit of reading novels will help most children to become avid readers. This skill will be very useful when they have to deal with textbooks at the college level because textbooks tend to be thick and students are required to read many textbooks in one semester. Apart from the benefits related to endurance, by reading novels, the ability to reason and creative power will obviously be better because they are used to visualizing abstract concepts, know various kinds of human characters and understand better that life is not just a black and white world. In short, novels significantly enrich one’s social experience.

My second reason for challenging this thinking is that the ability to appreciate poetry is the ability to recognize innate beauty and bitterness. Humans in life always learn from something; not only from the happiness that occurs in their lives, but also from the bitterness that may befall them. Modern poetry is not merely meaningless beauty. Conversely, it is an infinite storehouse of inspiration. By having good competence in understanding poetry, a person will be more able to appreciate what life has to offer. This, in turn, makes them a better and stronger person.

In conclusion, I am of the opinion that casting literature aside from the school curricula is just unacceptable and utterly wrong. When faced with a modern, materialistic world, their souls will gradually dry up, and in my opinion, literature is an oasis that is always ready to refresh the soul in humans so that it is always in optimal condition to fulfill the fate in life.