It was unusual to see an article on Literature in Lifestyle Magazine. Olivia Goh addressed Lit students in it. Indeed, this subject has many benefits, both hidden and obvious.
Yes, though it is full of subjectivity, this can turn out to be a saving grace in exams. At degree level, different texts can be used to answer the same essay question, as long as there are substantial textual evidence and well-constructed arguments. Lit teachers who aren't open to this when perusing exam papers have failed to bring out the very essence of the subject, I feel. This will just serve to quell the students' passion for the subject. Some have even started to hate Lit because of such demoralizing attitudes.
As Olivia wrote, Lit can "teach people how to think...shape character and impart good values". I feel sure that my emotional maturity stems from majoring in Lit, though of course the Arts in general contribute to that too. Sometimes it is at a higher level than those of people older than I am. How remarkable. Technical reading, on the other hand, can be limiting to one's inner growth and this is a danger first-world countries are in due to their expansive boundaries in education, ironically.
Most upper secondary students choose not to take Lit for the O'levels but due to the fact that Singapore's education system seems to be pushing for a wider literary exposure in its syllabuses, schools have incorporated Lit into both the passages and the questions while setting comprehension exercises for their students, thus making it a 'killer'. As a result, Lit students have an added advantage over their contemporaries. Only the former will know what the terms irony, metaphors and tone fully mean.
Lit "sensitise(s) the human mind to the living world and its complexities" according to a great critic. This affirms Olivia's view mentioned above. Readers become more empathetic to pathos and are able to look beyond superficiality.
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