Why Literature? - Mario Vargas Llosa

          The general argument/point made by Mario Vargas Llosa in his work Why Literature is that literature is an important part of life and that people are too busy in life today to enjoy it. More specifically, Llosa argues/suggests that although people say they enjoy reading, they always follow it up with but I am a very busy person and don’t have time for leisure reading. He writes, “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 for recreation can afford. It is something to fit in between sports, the movies, a game of bridge or chess; and it can be sacrificed without scruple when one “prioritizes” the tasks and the duties that are indispensable in the struggle of life.” (pg. 39) In this passage, Llosa is suggesting that people are busy but that literature is such a good hobby/activity to engage in that it is worth fitting in and not hard to with prioritizing. In conclusion, it is Llosa’s belief that literature is extremely important and without a question needs to be fit into people’s daily life because it is an entertaining and cultivating experience.

            In my view, Llosa is wrong because a lot of people do find time for reading when they choose to, so it’s not that people can’t find the time for reading it is that they fill their time with the hobbies they most enjoy. For example, I enjoy reading like a lot of people do and sometimes wish I read more but the reason I don’t is my own fault because every time I have an hour of leisure time I fill it with a nap, television, soccer, or other things I enjoy more than reading. Although Llosa might object that people don’t read plainly because they don’t have time not because they don’t want to, I maintain that if people truly had a desire to read more and loved literature like Llosa does that they would fit in time to engage in it instead of choosing other leisure activities to fill up their time. Therefore, I conclude that I agree that literature is important and should be more important to people today but that the reason we do not find it important is not because of our limited time, it is because we find other activities more important.