Kaleab Worku

Professor Julia Intawiwat

UWRT 1102
April 17, 2015
Step 5: Essay- A Writers Impact on Reader
Writing is an everyday form of communication. It can dictate our emotions and inspire us
to have different perspectives on numerous topics. While it comes in handy and useful, writing
can also lead us in the wrong path. Just as any form of communication, writing can be as moving
or influential. In a book I read in UWRT 1102 class titled Into the Wild, Christopher McCandless
is a boy in this twenties who goes out on a long journey to Alaska driven by family problems and
his love for nature. His source of inspiration came from books from authors such as Leo Tolstoy,
Jack London, and Henry David Thoreau all which he kept by his side until his death in an
abandoned bus in Alaska. These authors are not directly responsible for McCandless death but
they definitely played a part. The power of author persuasion is overlooked in most situations
and the problem that arises with this issue is understanding the different effects that a book might
possess. Books can be persuasive positively and harmfully and the consequences that it can have
on an audience is unpredictable. Of course writers will not stop trying to persuade readers but
maybe placing a few restrictions could possibly reduce the risk of a writers influence on his/her
audience.
Authors, even those of fictional books, want to get their view across. Recently, I read a
book titled Inferno after my friend recommended it to me. I very much enjoyed all the mysteries

and adventures in the book but my interest during the course of reading the book was
overshadowed by my hatred for how the author decided to end the story. After finishing the
book, I felt cheated by the book that I became so attached to. There I was thinking that I was
reading an adventurous and captivating story when the author decided to plant his controversial
belief right at the end. In the story, a genetic engineer creates an airborne virus which the main
character is trying to find and extinguish. The virus does go into effect and once the viruss
impact is revealed, the genetic engineer responsible for the virus is somewhat glorified by the
author. The virus randomly picks out 1/3 of the worlds population and makes them infertile. I
understood that the author is probably an advocate of the fight against population increase but
the manner which he chose to show his support is unacceptable for me. I for one identified the
authors intent but I feel that there are many who might fall victims to the authors sneaky plan.
Jack London, one of Christopher McCandless idols, has been questioned about his unrealistic
stories and had been branded a Nature Faker during and after his lifetime. Jack Londons
books have been described to sometimes be deceiving in that they make animals seem like they
were like humans with the same ability to think and feel (Jack Londons The Call of the Wild:
Nature Faker?). Jack Londons views were most likely consumed by McCandless who could
have been misled. Some works, especially in fiction, seem like they are simply written to
entertain while their real purpose is to persuade which in some cases is inappropriate.
The age group most vulnerable to persuasive works are children as they are still in the
stage of absorbing a lot of new information. Storybooks even go as far as challenging childrens
gender stereotypes. In a study done on the effect of gender atypical storybooks where children
were given books unaccustomed to their gender, results showed that these atypical books
changed childrens behavior in areas such as toy preferences, occupation and activities, and

future goals (Abad). There are those who are against such methods as they want to keep
traditional gender roles and there are also those who feel atypical gender books can be used to
break gender stereotypes but the fact of the matter is that books can have a lasting effect on
especially children and this should be something that has to be monitored. Just like people worry
about exposing violence and sexual behaviors to children through movies or TV, books should
also receive much attention.
In addition to behavior, books also tend to have a say in our own writings. In my opinion,
this is among the positive influences of books. Authors usually tend to have great writing styles
and it is only beneficial to acquire their technique. One study performed by a teacher show that
there is actually a correlation between what students read and what they write. Amazingly the
teacher found out while experimenting that not only do the students mimic the styles of the
authors, but they also seem to adopt the style of one another. Noticeable traits that students
seemed to adopt from authors and others were tone, genre, diction, and rhetoric (DeCristofaro).
On average, students do not spend too much time reading another persons work and to have
grasped the authors style to an extent where the student can then use it in his/her own writing is
just another example that shows the power of influence on a person.
Writers usually have a set of ideas which they want to share in some fashion through their
writing. Even in works of fiction where the sole purpose a writing might seem to simply be for
entertainment, the author usually finds a way to force the reader to think about some issue in a
certain way. The influence of authors on readers is not something that can be stopped nor should
be stopped, however the establishment of limitation could be beneficial. Authors influences has
its negative moments but as much importantly, it has its positive moments. There really is not a

method of concluding this matter other than wishing the reader to make wise choices when
getting him/herself caught up in the writers grip.

Works Cited
Abad, Carla, and Shannon M. Pruden. "Do Storybooks Really Break Children's Gender Stereotypes?"
Frontiers in Psychology. Frontiers Media S.A., 24 Dec. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3872116/>.

DeCristofaro, Dina S. "National Writing Project." Author to Author: How Text Influences Young
Writers -. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
<http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/146>.
"Jack London's The Call of the Wild: "Nature Faker"?" EDSITEment. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2015. <http
%3A%2F%2Fedsitement.neh.gov%2Flesson-plan%2Fjack-londons-call-wild-nature-faker>.