What's The Point?

"Reading is the inhale and writing is the exhale." - Donalyn Miller, courtesy of my elementary school's librarian


I love that quote. So eloquent. So true. Such nice imagery.


WARNING: Spoilers of a book you're likely to never read unless you're a sophomore or have yet to become one!


In English this morning, we were discussing how we felt about the end of the book we were reading: Things Fall Apart, in which the main character commits suicide at the end.


Someone in my class, upon being called on, said "I don't really understand what the point of the book is if the main character dies at the end."


I think I'll stick that in again for extra emphasis. 


"I don't really understand what the point of the book is if the main character dies at the end."


My immediate thought, which I did not voice due to how mean it is: "Oh yeah? Well I don't understand what the point of your life is if you're going to die at the end."


This is the problem with Hollywood. If there isn't a happy ending, there's no point. We want emotional gratification.
The primary purpose of a book is not (or should not be) to entertain (in this case meaning to provide emotional gratification). It should be to make people think. Entertainment is certainly a huge bonus, and its the only way to get a book sold (unless you're writing nonfiction), but it is not needed in order to have a good book. 
Now for the ideal person, a thought provoking book is also almost by definition an entertaining book, but such is not the case.


WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE, and I know that sounds really optimistic and all, but it's true, and if we don't think our lives matter despite that gloomy fact, then we're in some deep waters without boats or gills or any other manners of survival.