CHAPTER 3
Arts and Personality
Culture, art, work of art, message to humankind, new world, dialogue, creativity, humanity, freedom—these faces of cultural phenomena were presented in Chapter Two. It is interesting though, to see how all these ideas translate into everyday life. Luckily for me, there were five smart people, my students, who were able to help me in further exploration. They proved already that I should not worry about finding the right question to start with. I had thought I should worry about keeping the conversation going, but I was wrong, for neither took much effort.
Well, first things first. The next time I entered the classroom, I announced my question, "Why do we read books?" Silence and blank looks were all I got at first.… But not for long.
Why Do We Read Books?
Alpha: Isn't it obvious? Books teach us to behave.
Beta: Yeah, like Tom Sawyer in that Sunday school.
Kappa: Tom Sawyer is a good boy.
Delta: Who said he isn't?
Gamma: I didn't.
Beta: Me neither.
Kappa: I am not even sure I don't like what he did in Sunday school.
Alpha: Well, you may like him personally, but he didn't serve as a particularly good example.
Kappa: So? You don't always serve as an excellent example, do you?
Beta: Hey, Kappa, do you like Alpha because of that?
Kappa: Come on, I'm serious here.
Delta: You're always serious.
Teacher: So, what about books? Why do we read them?
