On Reading in Relation to Literature (Abridged) by Lafcadio Hearn

 

On Reading in Relation to Literature

A. Answer the following Questions in about 20-30 words each:

Q1. Who are able to read very well even before reaching the age of twenty five years?

Some rare men who, through a kind of inherited literary instinct are able to read very well even before reaching the age of twenty five years.

Q2. How much is retained in the mind of a reader who reads only for amusement?

People who read only for amusement have a vague idea or two about what they have been looking at.

Q3. Why most of the persons are are unable to express their original opinion about a book?

Most persons are unable to express their original opinion about a book as they have been reading very casually.

Q4. What does the author mean by hard reading?

According to the author, hard study means reading a book thoroughly, studying all the meanings and bearing of the text, slowly, and thinking about it.

Q5. Explain how, according to Lafcadio Hearn, amusement and study are two different things?

Reading a book thoroughly with all its meanings and aspects slowly and thinking about it, is study. While reading a book rapidly without paying much attention to its contents, is amusement.

Q6. What are the chief characteristics of a scientific book?

A scientific book is full of information and knowledge, thus needs to be read with utmost attention.

Q7. What is the author’s opinion about half educated persons?

Half-educated people for amusement and are not capable of appreciating the deeper qualities that belong to a really great literature.

Q8. What is the result of the habit of discipline formed in a person?

 If habit of discipline has been formed, a person throws away the book which does not give him intellectual food and appeal to his higher emotions.

Q9. What do we find when we re-read a book?

 When we re-read a book, we find new meanings and new beauty in it. Such a book never becomes old and is immortal.

Q10. Why has reading for mere amusement been compared to a narcotic?

Reading for mere amusement kills all ability to think and imagine. It helps us to pass our time. Drug addiction also does the same thing.

B. Answer the following Questions in about 60-80 words each:

Q1. How does a great critic differ from a common person?

 A common person does not how to read books. He reads them only for amusement without paying much attention to the deeper meanings that lie hidden in hem. He reads them quickly thus he has only a vague idea of what he has read. He is unable to answer any question regarding the book. He reads a book for amusement; to pass his time.

On the other hand, a critic reads a book very carefully and attentively. He avoids reading a book for amusement. He can express an original opinion regarding the contents of a book. A critic knows how to read a book.

Q2. “A good book of fiction or romance or poetry is a scientific work”. Explain.

The author strongly recommends that every book worth reading ought to be read in precisely the same way that a scientific book is read. No book should be read merely for amusement. Every book worth reading should have the same amount of value in it that a scientific book has.

The author believes that a great book of fiction or romance or poetry is a scientific work. It has been composed according to the best principles of more than one science, but especially according to the principles of the great science of life. It is written keeping in the mind the knowledge of human nature.

Q3. How is the greatness of a book determined?

There are certain parameters to determine the greatness of a particular book. First of all a great book touches the higher intellect of the reader. If a book fails to touch the emotions of the reader, he should not read it again. A great book appeals the reader every time he reads it back. Above all in every additional reading , it enhances the reader’s interest in it by unfolding newer meanings and beauties in it. A great book stands the test of time and the judgement of generations. A great book never becomes old and is immortal.

Q4. Mention the qualities of a good book.

There are certain parameters to determine the greatness of a particular book. First of all a great book touches the higher intellect of the reader. If a book fails to touch the emotions of the reader, he should not read it again. A great book appeals the reader every time he reads it back. Above all in every additional reading , it enhances the reader’s interest in it by unfolding newer meanings and beauties in it. A great book stands the test of time and the judgement of generations. A great book never becomes old and is immortal.

Q5. What should guide us in the choice of our readings?

 The author believes that a book ought not to be read for mere amusement. Young men should form the habit and discipline of reading great books. He should not read any book from which he obtains no intellectual food. He should avoid reading a book which does not appeal o the higher emotions and his intellect. Habit of reading should enhance our ability to think and imagine. Above all we should read only the books we want to read more than once. For poor men the best of all libraries would be a library entirely composed of great books.

Q6. What does the author mean by “A great book grows exactly in proportion to the growth of the reader’s mind?

A great book grows exactly in proportion to the growth of the reader’s mind.  A great book is not apt to be comprehended by a young person at the first reading, except in a superficial way. It has taken humanity in many cases hundreds of years to find out all that there is in such a book. According to a man’s experience of life, the text of a great book unfold new meanings to the reader. The book that delighted us at eighteen, if it be a good book, will delight us much more at twenty-five and it will prove like a new book to us at thirty years of age. As we grow old we find newer meanings and beauties in a great book.