At first, Milo regarded the process of seeking knowledge as the greatest waste of all time. Which honestly, I completely understand why he would say such a bizarre thing. As most people know, knowledge is very important. But why? I think Milo doesn't understand and see the importance because he's never had any encounter in which his knowledge had to "kick in".
Truthfully, I thought the exact same thing when I was in elementary school. I had maintained good grades, but really, when would I ever have to count the number of bricks that make up my house, as the world problems in fourth grade had suggested. And when was I ever really going to use writing, unless I become a writer, or something of the sort? I think Milo is in pretty much the same situation. Knowledge has never come in use for him. Yet.
In Dictionopolis, Milo is taught how knowledge is what makes up a person. Well, in dictionopolis, it is literally what makes up a person. In this strange land, Milo learns that knowledge is what let's a person have their opinion heard. With more knowledge, a person has more to say. People are also more interested in what they have to say. In Dictionopolis, people with less knowledge, were actually arrested! This is a bit of an extreme, but this is probably the only way Milo will understand how important knowledge is.
And why do people seek knowledge? Well, to be smart. To get a better job. Money. But is any of that important in Dictionopolis? Maybe in "our world" it is why people value knowledge, but because jobs and money don't matter in this strange land, we see the real reason as to why people seek knowledge. In Dictionopolis, the reader and Milo are taught that people seek knowledge simply for their own happiness. To be able to speak up, and have their voice heard in the world. If someone wants their opinion heard, they must have a certain degree of knowledge to explain what they want, and for their opinion to even be considered.
Dictionopolis helped Milo see the true importance of knowledge, rather than the common, modern, shallow reasons. It also made it difficult for him: Milo didn't go with Dictionopolis's rules, he ended up arrested. Although this probably wouldn't happen in real life, it did help Milo understand why knowledge is important. Knowledge was also required to get Milo out of his six million year sentence!
I liked how you talked about how people often doubt the need for knowledge, and question when we will ever use certain skills we learn. I also used to doubt whether or not we would use what we learned and have opportunities in real life to apply those skills. Really, we actually probably will use many of them, and if we don't, that's okay, because more knowledge can always help you.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I originally wanted to write about how silly and wrong it was of Milo to say knowledge was useful. But I guess all of us as some point have wondered if our knowledge has every come into use. Thanks! <3
ReplyDeleteby the way that was me.
ReplyDeleteAnd also i meant Milo thought knowledge wasn't useful.
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