Pros And Cons Of Manguel

The anecdote drew in my attention, not because of a personal connection, but because of the story’s strange plot. The nature of the story tempted me to read on; a boy describing how he connected letters on a page to visual diagrams. I have never read a story about someone describing their first experience with reading, maybe because nobody recalls how or when they first learned how to read. After one receives the skill of reading it becomes second nature. However, my attention was lost in the extensive detail. While the example, the anecdote, was aimed to build a connection to the reader, I found myself anticipating the end of the story rather than enjoying its imagery.

The first three paragraphs consist of Manguel’s personal example, an anecdote about his first experiences with reading. In addition, Manguel includes “experiences of others” to fill two thirds of paragraph five. Therefore Manguel exceeds the 50% rule which has pros and cons. We develop a clear picture of how we experience reading in the world through Manguel’s examples, yet his main thesis gets lost in the list of examples.

The neverending list of examples that bored me was however substantial evidence to back up his claim. I am skeptical to agree with this statement as I have found that speaking is an equally if not a greater “essential function”. Speaking came before reading; historically we communicated first through speech and history was passed from generation to generation orally. Without the power of speech, the power of communication may be lost. I agree with and have found insight in Manguel’s statement of “We all read ourselves and the world around is in order to glimpse what and where we are.” We read symbols, gestures, words, others to form our perspective and acquire knowledge. Although we shape our view on the world through reading, I do not know if I can personally say that it is our essential