Literary Fiction and Empathy

The connections this article made were very interesting in how reading a fiction book can improve social skills. I found this very intriguing because reading about different characters opens your eyes to how different personalities react to situations. "Walk a mile in my shoes" applies to this article because the fictional characters represent people you may encounter in life and reading about a character that shares similar qualities to the person helps you understand where that person is coming from and why they might act or say what they do. In Hamlet's first soliloquy this concept also applies because while reading I imagined myself  in his situation and understand why he is feeling depressed, frusterated, and suicidal.