I have loved reading for as long as I can remember. Minutes, hours, afternoons – all have been spent completely transfixed by little black and white letters arranged across a page. People who don’t enjoy reading will find themselves asking what makes a story so intoxicating. Is reading just another pastime to deter boredom? Is reading escapism?
In this article, I’m going to argue that reading should not just be another form of escapism, but a direct and purposeful “escape”. From what? That’s what we’ll cover today.
Escape From Escapism
Collins dictionary defines escapism as a “tendency to escape from reality, the responsibilities and routine of real life, etc., esp. by unrealistic imaginative activity”. Escapism involves a letting go of pressures and stresses while straining for some fanciful peace and relaxation you can enjoy for a fleeting period of time. Escapism ends.
If you’ve read any of my previous articles, then you know that I love appealing to old dictionaries. Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines “escape” in this way: “to flee from and avoid, to pass without harm, to evade, to avoid the danger of”.
Escapism is usually a passive activity, one supposed to bring you to a place of temporary happiness. In contrast, escape is an active pursuit with the purpose of discovering lasting truth, beauty, and goodness.
Reading should not be a passive activity, but an active one. Reading should not just bring temporary happiness, but should provide you with eternal awakening. Reading good literature is not escapism from the hardships of this world, but an escape to a clearer understanding of what this world truly is and what you, as the reader, truly are meant to be.
If you were in a battle and had just been called back from the front lines, you would take time to recover and rest and learn and train. Reading should be like that. Reading should be active, not passive. Using reading as an escape means using it to teach and train, to calm and rest, and to empower one for right living. Escape, not escapism.
Use Reading to Teach
“I will begin by conceding that reading requires more mental effort than sitting in front of a television set and simply watching what passes before us… When I find myself drifting into passive and mindless forms of recreation, an inner voice tells me, This is ignominious; you are made for something better.”
Doctor Leland Ryken, in an article entitled “In Defense of Fiction” outlines multiple points for why reading fiction is healthy. Quoted above, Dr. Ryken points out the obvious difference between reading fiction and other forms of escapism: one is active, the other is passive.
Reading fiction can provide escape differently from things like social media, TV, and other cultural trends. Reading should not just be a diversion from boredom, but an avoidance of danger and a fleeing from harm as you are exposed to truth and spurred on to pursue a life that is pleasing to Christ.
The enjoyment of a good story can also be edifying. Christ taught in parables all throughout the gospels. The human mind loves a good story, one that is engaging, thought-provoking, and stimulating. Our perspective is limited by the world around us, and stories allow us to see the truth. When Christ taught in parables, he didn’t simply retell old nursery rhymes. He taught stories with powerful themes, Biblical morals, and edifying messages.
Wholesome fiction will not be escapism from this world, but an escape to where we can more clearly see the truth.
Use Reading to Calm
Christian Ohnimus, a blogger whose work I have frequently quoted, writes this about fiction stories:
“Fairy tales are often maligned as mere escapism. Their evils are too violent for small ears, their happy endings too convenient and contrived, and both the good and the bad are condemned as unrealistic. How can children learn about the real world from such fantasies? But by distancing ourselves from our everyday problems, fairy tales allow us to engage with them safely.”
Escapism is often viewed as a retreat into oneself to discover calm and quiet. But escape isn’t a retreat into ourselves; it’s an active distancing away from ourselves and towards truth.
Silence calms the mind. Fiction is an art form and there is beauty in the words, the story concept, and the development of the characters and setting. Even though reading may be difficult for people, it is an art form that should be learned. The human soul longs for beauty. We find beauty in the Scriptures, in Christ, and in the world around us. Part of that world are the fiction stories we have access to.
Wholesome and edifying literature should be written in a captivating manner. It’s part of what makes a good story so beautiful and desirable to read. As Dr. Ryken points out in his article:
“The fictional imagination presents human experience to us in heightened and clarified form. It makes us take note, just as a still life painting of a bowl of fruit awakens us from our normal inattentiveness. Heightened awareness of human experience is one of the greatest gifts that reading fiction stands ready to give us.”
Fiction has the ability to provide clarity, to calm, edify, and encourage a reader. But it also should empower.
Use Reading to Empower
You end the chapter. You close the book. The escape is over. Or is it really?
A good story should empower you to continue. Not to long for another precious hour where you can retreat back into your story, but preparing you to go back into the world and fight. Learning how to rightly “escape” with a novel means becoming a good steward of your time. Phillippians 4:8 encourages the believer to think about whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent. A good story will contain all of these things.
“As readers of fiction, we are lured into a similar act of observing human experience. And as we stare at the human experiences that are held before us, we come to see them more clearly. Fiction provides knowledge in the form of right seeing. Truthfulness to life is the domain of literature.”
Truthfulness come to life – as Dr. Ryken points out – this is what fiction should be. Not a mindless escapist path from the real world to a fantasy world, but a purposeful, active, intentional search for truth in the pages of a fictional story.
Reading should not be a hobby where you ignore the world, but a training session where you prepare to continue the fight.
Prepare for the Battle
In conclusion, read.
Reading wholesome and edifying fiction should be teaching you truth, calming you after the skirmish, and empowering you to continue the battle. Fiction should not be escapism from reality, but an escape to reality and truth.
In the final paragraphs of his article, Dr. Ryken concludes in this way:
“We need to begin at a theoretical level in regard to both leisure and fiction. Our theory of leisure needs to include a conviction that God wants us to take time for refreshment, and further that he holds us responsible for the quality of our leisure pursuits. We should aspire to be all that we can be in our free time, embracing the ideal that our leisure life can be a growing time for our human spirit. Perhaps we can call this step ‘beyond mere diversion.’”
Escape, not escapism. Read radical literature.
- Ohnimus, Christian. “Why Children Need Fairy Tales.” Homeschool Connections, 8 July 2024, homeschoolconnections.com/why-children-need-fairy-tales/.
- Ryken, Leland. “In Defense of Fiction.” DesiringGod.org, 10 Aug. 2021, www.desiringgod.org/articles/in-defense-of-fiction.
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