Why Literature?

Mario Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian novelist that began his career in 1957 with publications of short stories. In the 1960’s he began publishing the novels that would make him successful. He is active in his country’s political life. He ran for president of Peru and was defeated and then moved to London.

            The general point made by Mario Vargas Llosa in his work Why Literature? is that reading has become obsolete. More specifically, Llosa suggests that the number of men who read is decreasing while the number of women who read outnumbers the men. He writes, “According to the widespread conception, literature is a dispensable activity, no doubt lofty and useful for cultivating sensitivity and good manners, but essentially an entertainment, an adornment that only people with time can afford.” (pg. 39) In this passage, Llosa is suggesting that men claim they like reading but don’t have time for it because it is something that is for entertainment only. In conclusion, it is Llosa’s belief that reading has decreased because people think they are too busy to sit down and read a book, specifically men.

            In my view, Llosa is totally right because I feel like people don’t read at all. For example, I really like to read and I read all the time when I have free time and when I tell people that they give me a weird look and ask, “You like to read? Who reads these days?” Another great example is that a teacher friend of mine told her students to read about one hundred pages in the time span of a week and they complained that they couldn’t read that much in a week. Although Llosa might object that there are people who do in fact read, I maintain that it isn’t very common. Therefore, I conclude that Llosa is right when he thinks people don’t take the time to read anymore.