Why a good book is a secret door

By carolinianweb on April 17, 2019 • ( 0 )

Alliana Avancena
Staff Writer

Pablo Picasso once stated, “We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth or at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.” As this quote states, there are clearly truths and lies in fiction and in reality. Sometimes art gives people credit to be in willing suspension of disbelief or poetic faith. In turn, children are the foundation for the best audience of serious literary fiction.

There is a construct behind the quality of work that writers produce, a gray space that artists walk through to express themselves. It can be called a liminal space that makes a secret door the only one perspective one has access to. The main theme to observe are the ideas of art being hidden behind a lie. In some instances, art can reveal the truth that many people can connect with.

Another observation is that stories build compassion and other characteristics that good members of society need to know in order to have empathy to carry along with them for the rest of their lives in the many experiences they are yet to have. Even with these optimistic traits to interest readers in books, too much of something is not replenishing; this moreover dilutes meaning. Less is more in the interest of describing what is necessary.

A reflection to gain from learning and thinking about art in literary works is that there is relevancy even in mystery contained within a commonality. In order to internalize and vocalize these ideas, people must become accustomed to these controversial topics. Controversial topics are symbolic in most pieces of literature to disguise the truth; they are subtly implied and sometimes brought to attention.

In thinking about this idea, that truth must be twisted in a nicer way to be understood, why has society normalized the cushion for sensitivity? As a child, parents say that children cannot handle concepts too large for them to understand, but is it not that they have already been dealing with such ideas growing up from personal experiences or through stories they have heard from friends and family? What about domestic abuse, mental illness, sex trafficking, sexual harassment, dealing with divorced parents, feeling lonely, hunger, homelessness, not knowing the direction of life, challenges with social skills or dealing with life with disadvantages due to socioeconomic status? That’s something to think about.