Gordon Daines

Title

Gordon Daines

Quote

"Well-written literature has helped me better appreciate my fellow travelers on this planet we call Earth, and the humanities have helped me be a better human."

Story

I’m an inveterate bookworm and have been since I was little. In fact, my mother tells a story about my second-grade self in which the teacher would consistently catch me reading books under my desk during class time. She would try to catch me out by asking me a question about whatever topic we were discussing that day, and I thought I was very clever because I always knew the answer. The teacher was in a bit of a quandary because she didn’t want to discourage my love of reading, but she also wanted me to pay more attention in class. I’m not sure how the situation got resolved, but I still love reading, and I became a very successful student. Somehow, the teacher encouraged me to keep reading, and she helped me understand the importance of paying attention to others. It was another teacher who helped me to appreciate the true power of reading.

When I was in the seventh grade, I had an English teacher who helped me understand the potential impact that the humanities could have on my life. Mrs. Durst introduced us to the power of good literature to help us develop empathy for others and to better understand different perspectives and cultures. She had us read several different novels (I don’t remember what they were beyond the fact that they would all qualify as classics of world literature), and then we had multiple conversations about those novels. It was from Mrs. Durst that I learned that conversations could take many different forms. We had robust discussions in class, wrote papers discussing our thoughts and ideas about the main themes in the novels we were reading, and gave oral presentations that our classmates could respond to. She gave us a master's class in critical thinking and gave us confidence that our ideas were worth sharing. It was the first time that I realized how powerful stories can be. Mrs. Durst's class deepened my growing love affair with reading and opened my eyes to the power of good literature to help us learn to be more compassionate and kinder. I learned that books could give me a window into poverty, great wealth, true evil, and exemplary goodness. Well-written stories were a way to look into the soul of humanity and could provide me with a method for becoming more empathetic. Well-written literature has helped me better appreciate my fellow travelers on this planet we call Earth, and the humanities have helped me be a better human.

One of my favorite books is Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. I think what resonates so deeply with me is the story of change and redemption that Jean Valjean goes through. Hugo's beautifully written story reminds us that all it takes is one small act of kindness to change the trajectory of someone’s life. The Bishop of D. had a remarkable impact on Valjean. He could have sent Valjean back to the galleys, but the bishop forgave Valjean for stealing his silver and then claimed his soul for God. This single act of compassion caused Valjean to open his heart to the possibility that his life could be different, and he then acted on that possibility. Valjean’s story then shows us the trickle effect that kindness can have and the impact that one person can have on the lives of many. We all have the capacity to be kind, and we all have the capacity to impact countless generations through that kindness. Hugo’s decision to share his talents by writing a story has had a tremendous impact on the world—one that I don’t think he could have anticipated. We can’t all be writers, but we are all human and we all have gifts that we can share. Those gifts can have a powerful impact on others. The humanities are an important way that we can give those gifts to others.

Date

April 29, 2025

Profession

Curator of Research and Instruction Services and the curator of the Yellowstone Collection in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections at Brigham Young University.

UH affiliation

Board Member

Tag

Interdisciplinary