One of the wonderful benefits of reading fiction, studies show, is that it helps cultivate empathy. By reading and experiencing the interior lives of the characters on the page, we are reminded that not everyone thinks and acts like we do. We are reminded that not everyone has been as lucky as we’ve been.
It also happens that fiction can teach us this empathy by way of specific advice and admonition. Perhaps you remember this opening line from The Great Gatsby: In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.
“Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.”
We need our kids to understand this. That’s why they have to read Gatsby and every other great novel. It’s also something we have to explicitly remind them—the way Nick Carraway’s father did in the book. Most important, it’s something we have to model ourselves.