Posted by We all have fond memories of reading different books in childhood, even though we may not have turned out to be great readers and writers. Every child will have a time in their lives, or a moment, where they found themselves lost in this beautiful, imaginary world they found in the amazing books they read. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Moby Dick, some of these books stay with us even as adults and have the ability to shape our lives and expose us to different cultures, characters, and subjects.
This is why reading is so amazing. We can immerse ourselves in the lives of people who are so different from us, and yet learn to empathize with their situations and circumstances. Here are four of my favorite childhood books, and I describe my feelings reading them as a child.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
I would say that this certainly is one of those books that I’d always remember. It’s the kind of book that educates a young reader, and also the type that one could keep visualizing as the story progressed from chapter to chapter.
I remember that the time I had gotten a copy of this book was when a lot of things were going on around the world. It was a time Michael Jackson’s songs were so popular, and there were topics of peace and freedoms trending all the time.
When I read this book, I found that it was very much relevant to the affairs we used to talk about back in school, and those we saw on the news. About how black people are being perceived and treated, and how certain groups of people would somehow feel and act superior to others.
I could not analyze the whole story back then. I was only able to get the actual analysis and background on the book after having read a Huckleberry Finn essay recently, on the internet. However, I do remember being able to picture the scenes in the story back then, and being able to make better sense of the things that were happening and being spoken about in the world. I would call it a beautiful, vivid portrayal of most of the realities of the world by Mark Twain.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
This one, I would say, is pretty much similar to Huckleberry Finn in terms of the main idea, or what we’d call the themes. I found The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to be an awesome read because once again, it would give me this feeling of watching a movie or seeing the whole story from a corner of the scene. The character of Tom is one that is still very much alive, every time I recall reading the book.
The book takes you through a journey where you feel so many different emotions at different points. You feel sorry for characters, particularly Tom, you feel worried at a point, you get feelings of discontentment and anger, anxiety, and so many others as you see how discrimination happens and how profoundly it can affect the lives of people.
I remember pondering over the story and imagining myself being Tom Sawyer. I would imagine, and wonder what I would do if I were Tom, and if I were there in a particular scenario, instead of him.
If you looked at a Tom Sawyer essay, online, you would see that there’s so much depth in the novel than what you’d generally understand from reading it. Nevertheless, as a child, I certainly was able to figure out what the writer, Mark Twain intended to show the readers. I also found that it teaches its readers many things. You have a chance to learn about friendship, honesty, courage, and wisdom. All of these factors certainly are appealing to young children, which is why I was intrigued as I kept reading the novel.
Moby Dick
Quite famous among kids back in the time, I was glued to the book and read it with joy. Quite different from the stories of Mark Twain, this one had loads of action involved and kept me gripped as I would read about and feel all the action that took place very frequently.
The sea and sea life would never fail to fascinate kids, whether they’re kids of the ’90s or those of the present. Thus, the fact that Moby Dick was a ‘sea novel’ is what was truly intriguing to me. I remember feeling the tension, the anxiety, and the fear as though it were me adventuring amidst the oceans and fighting a mighty sea creature. Moby Dick is one of those books that gave children a roller coaster ride inside their hearts and minds.
Jane Eyre
Compared to the books described above, Jane Eyre is certainly of a different genre. The novel contrasts from the ones above quite drastically and includes the concept of alienation which is portrayed in a completely different way. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is a novel about common issues connected to women.
Having read the novel when I was so much younger, I found some of the elements quite fascinating. I would say I discovered certain things, such as how a woman’s mind and thinking, even emotions, are affected by things that the society does to her, or her family, based on social norms and regulations.
This book certainly made me look through a window that I never have done before. I would say it educated me and made me aware of problems, concepts, and ideas that I never knew existed before.
If you happen to analyze these books today, you’ll find so much hidden truth and lessons in these stories that will remain with your all your life. However, they certainly had so much meaning even back then, when I read and experienced them as a child. The things I understood were just simpler versions of the actual issues. After all, isn’t that what everything’s like when you’re nothing but a child?
