Books are mental vacations, intelligence boosters, sheltered adventures, and champions of inspiration waiting to be discovered. Stubbornly analytical individuals often oppose the need for mandatory English courses in high schools, citing the functional "uselessness" of literature as evidence of the validity of their delusional position. However, pervasively influential in its role as a catalyst for the development and recognition of the imagination, the study of literature is educationally essential because it represents a timeless testimony to the immutable nature of humanity. Literature is an agent of civilization and progress. The crucial connection between literacy and progress is illustrated by the loss of culture and regressive socioeconomic development experienced by countries where illiteracy is rampant and school is poorly attended (Murthy 2). A central medium for knowledge transfer, history recorded in literature ensures instructional accuracy in modern classrooms. George Santayana famously argued for progress's dependence on meticulous documentation, saying, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” (Cohen 1). Embodying a direct reflection on historical attitudes, classical literature – while superficially fictional – conveys the intensity of human experience in an emotionally comprehensive way that analytical documentation cannot. Expert historian and producer Dr. Howard Zinn advocates the mandatory study of literature in high schools, stating, "books are windows into the author's world, while textbooks are concrete walls on which words are written" (Fredman 4). In an emotionally barren world of technological alienation, literature gives intellectual relevance to the (often overlooked...... middle of paper ...... personality, unites humanity in a common atmosphere of tolerance and peace. Works cite Cohen, M. “On History and Literature.” from: CanadianPoints of View Reference Center, Ipswich, MA, February 28, 2011. Gioia, Dana “Why Literature Matters: Good Books Create a Civil Society,” April 10, 2005 . 28 February 2011. ().Murthy, Padmini. "Literacy and Sustainable Development". 2004.Velasquez, Manuel. Philosophy: A Text with Readings. 2002.