Question:
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: "People should read only those books that are about real events, real people, and established facts."
Should we read only books recording real things? In my opinion, those books that are about real events, real people, and established facts are good, but we can also miss some intriguing books which are full of imagination and romance.
Reading books which record realistic things should be highly valued for it tells us the accurate facts and renders us the right value. Take history books for example. A serious and prestigious history book should only have actual things and not have false and exaggerated facts. From this book, we can learn what had happened in the past and understand the profound impact of human mind and acts on the development of human society. For instance, we will recognize that we owe a lot to some great scientists and inventors who propose great theories and invent new technology and products, thereby boosting the productivity and making our life better; on the other hand, we can read that some vicious leaders like Hitler who seeks hegemony and boasts notorious racism stir up hatred and war among nations. The cruel war kills millions of people and the human civilization suffered from devastation. But if we read books that record fabricated facts like what had been wrote in the autograph of Hitler, we will be misled by him and regard him as the hero of German nation. The unfortunate consequences arising from misleading is that millions of people fight for this vicious leader. Therefore, we will understand good and evil through reading books which have real accounts of history, and it is essential for us to establish the correct value.
However, it is not necessary for us to refuse other types of books which are full of fantastic imagination and romance instead of the real things. As a matter of fact, we can benefit from them. A case in point is the fairy tales. We know a famous book called the Antusen's fairy tale, and a large number of people had read or listen to it when they are children. Some well-known stories I can still remember are Cinderella, the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the Mermaid etc. These stories do not describe the real people, real things in the world, but the fabricated plots do not stop the love of people to them, especially children. These stories offer children a beautiful virtual world, and they never do the least harm to them. Instead, they stimulate and nurture their imagination. It is a commonsense that imagination is a critical part of human intelligence. In addition, for some adults who are fans of science, they like to read science fiction. Science fictions describe some fancy things that do not exist currently but happen in future. Although it is not true, it reflects the wonderful hope of human toward future and unknown world. In fact, some great discoveries are inspired by science fictions. Another beneficiary of fiction books is archaeology. We all know that the accounts of the sagas or legends many years ago are not real; however, archaeologists can learn a lot from them. From these sagas, they can get a lot of information about the origin and migration of human ancestors. Hence, we can benefit a lot from books, and even if they do not record the real things.
Taken together, we should keep open-minded to accept fictional books for both realistic and fictional books are good for us.
But if we read books that record fabricated facts like what had been wrotewritten in the autographautobiography of Hitler,
The unfortunate consequences arising fromout of misleading facts in such autobiography may encourageis that millions of people to fight for this viciousruthless leader.
As a matter of fact, we can benefit from them too.
