When it comes to literature, writing and reading are your driving forces. The two are an indispensable pair, sort of following a certain Yin and Yang trope. Simply choosing one over the other seems impossible when you put a certain amount of thought behind it. But in order to fully understand their importance, we need to start at the beginning.
Human beings have one of, if not the most, long and complex histories surrounding our evolution and the documentation of our discoveries and accomplishments. As it is widely known that humans are social creatures and prefer the company of others, never-minding teenagers going through a ‘phase’. With this in mind, speech became a necessary form of communication as we discovered a more efficient use of our vocal cords. As we furthered our journey in speech, we drew to the walls of our cave-homes and began expressing daily occurrences with hand-held objects such as coal, early forms of graphite, and clay. As a species, we weren’t collectively ready for an official alphabet as pictograms and cuneiform were easier in terms of illustrations.
Though, as we gained knowledge of the world around us, we later initialized universal forms of writing that projected our actual words. “By combining speech and writing, we now have millions of written languages ready to use,” notes Brian Snipes, a professional essay writers at Descriptive Writing and Exemplification Essay.
To put it simply, reading would not exist without writing, nor would writing without reading. They are one and the same and comparing the two seems impertinent to the process of literature. But with a more personal preference in mind, you can easily guess which one you’d prefer to spend your time doing. “Most find writing to be a tedious experience, as it can be difficult to capture the essence of what you want to describe and with so many terms available, finding the right ones to appeal to an audience is challenging,” opines Rachel Miller, an assignment writing expert at MLA Formatted Outline and Paper-Research.com. To those who are able to use these important skills in writing, the readers can find themselves engrossed with storylines full of imaginative concepts and memorable characters.
Of course, storytelling began far sooner than reading or writing, as early humans most definitely re-told them to their young or ‘associate cavemen’. But as we advanced, so did our stories which are now transcribed to books, websites, magazines, pamphlets, and much more.
Writing these stories takes a certain amount of creativity which is usually widely frowned upon if it comes in copious amounts. To be able to craft a story by mind alone, using what you see around you to shape and mold characters is amazing to think about. Writing is an art-form that has inspired countless films and genres. To imagine a world without it would be heartbreaking.
To understand these amazing pieces of literature, one would need to be able to understand it. Which starts by reading. Back in the ‘olden days’, people who were able to read were held as more powerful and were genuinely rich and better educated than the public. Reading holds a lot of power, as it opens an infinite amount of possibilities. In fact, it was considered so powerful that slaves in the Americas were banned from the practice with the punishment of having your fingers cut off or slashed.
Now that we’ve (hopefully) moved on from that era, there is still a concerning population of people around the world who can’t read OR write. I think we take it for granted, never considering the sheer luxury of having to learn to read and write in public schools.
But back to the main topic.
Which is better, reading or writing?
The two are practically one and the same. Simply setting back and analyzing pages upon pages of text can be extremely entertaining, and writing those texts can be just as fun. It’s hard to disagree with a statement that in order to be a good reader, you need to be a good writer.
Thomas Jackson is a dynamic and talented content writer at WonderWorldSpace.com, renowned for his engaging and informative articles. Beyond his professional pursuits in writing, Jack is also known for his deep passion for fitness, which not only shapes his lifestyle but also influences his work.