Task 3 Practice: The role of art in developing empathy

Art is an important element of modern society but what is more important than art itself is the role it plays and the message it communicates. Since art is something that every culture promotes and appreciates, everyone has the capability to understand the emotions being portrayed whether it be a piece of literature, music dance or even visual arts. Therefore art plays an important role in developing empathy for people who live different lives than us.

A personal example of having felt empathetic emotions through a piece of art was when I read David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The novel is about a boy who has faced so much misery in life from having an abusive step-father to a toxic school environment and living in poor conditions of London in the 1800s that you cannot stop yourself from shedding tears. Having had no clue about the history of England or anything about the culture, the novel still succeeded in making me feel as if I was experiencing the terrible situations just like the protagonist of the novels. Although my life and my experiences have been completely different than the one portrayed in the novel, with the help of the novel, I could imagine what it must've been like to have gone through those miserable times.

Another example of having experienced a sense of empathy for people whose lives are completely different than mine is when I watched a Bollywood movie called "Taare Zameen Par" which tells the story of a young boy struggling with dyslexia especially because there is not much awareness of Dyslexia among his parents or his teachers.