Visualization and Empathy in Fiction Reading: The Significance of Diversity

Abstract: It is easy to assume that people activate the same mental processes as they read. Contemporary brain science, however, offers new insights into the distinctive individuality of readers’ mental actions and responses. This article draws on neuroscience to analyze two aspects of reading activity frequently taken for granted: the assumption that all readers create describable forms of mental pictures, and the premise that reading fiction develops empathy and social awareness in the reader. Both assumptions are overly simplistic. This article explores elements of visualization and empathy in two recent young adult novels: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn and Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley. It investigates how distinctive authorly invitations lead to individual readerly responses, invoking Arthur M. Jacobs’ model of “background” and “foreground” reading and Jack Thomson’s scheme of reader development. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of a broader understanding of diversity for pedagogy in the literature classroom.