Rhetorical questions with an end purpose can be propositioned with the intention of challenging curricular stratagem, particularly in the name of educational progress.  "Should we teach literature in our college classrooms?" or "Do we have an ethical obligation to teach humanities to the next generation of scholars?" are the sorts of enquiries that can set precedence in academic circles, providing fodder for discussion on implementing the best instructional tactics in the imminent restructuring of scholastic environments.  One particular issue in academia that is currently under deliberation is the justification for literary study in the classroom.So why study literature?  First, research has shown that studying the likes of Shakespeare, Wordsworth, and Dickens can generate feelings of human connectedness, an essential component for fulfilled living, social stimulation, and a long and healthy existence.  Immersive or "deep" reading of a literary piece serves as a meditation on, an excavation of, and a careful examination of the ubiquitous sociocultural ideas connecting the worlds in which both the author and reader reside.  One study on connectedness also found that emotionally compaginated individuals live longer than those who do not exhibit similar closeness with other humans.  Taken together, it can be surmised that "deep readers" may have a superior ability to understand and empathize socially by viewing the world through the differing perspectives of others, enhancing the potential for human connectivity.Second, it may be beneficial to recall our literary past in its truest form, the written word, over the superfluity of technological representations of ancient texts.  For instance, Shakespeare's body of work has been reduced to two-minute self-produced video clips found on the Internet, a valuable teaching tool for younger students with ever-shortening attention spans but one that lamentably excludes the essential beauty of the original prose.  The writings hold the intended "environmental literary print" up to the light, allowing readers to gain a valuable snapshot of history that cannot be substituted.  As our society continues to advance technologically, we can nevertheless find existential value in remembering our past.Third, if we could measure the unbridled joy felt upon discovering a forgotten text lying on the shelf, we might shift our focus from an extrinsic value of literature to an intrinsic one; that is, the written text is prized due to its ability to incite felicitousness, laughter, woefulness, and a myriad of emotions that make us inherently human.  As George Eliot writes in the canonical The Mill on the Floss, "We can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive.  There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them."  This exemplifies the human condition that strives toward fulfillment at our core psyche, a sentiment perhaps best expressed in the written language itself.Lastly, there is much to be gained from pedagogical models of studying literature:  women's studies teaches the value of gender equality, cultural studies intrinsically teaches less ethnocentrism and more tolerance, and the reader-response theory teaches that each individual response has value based on unique and subjective human experiences, to name a few.In certain higher education communities, there has been a grassroots movement gaining some traction in favor of removing humanities requirements from the core teaching curriculum, yet the lifelong consequences of doing so may not be quantifiable.  The humanities professors who protest silently, hoping that their colleagues will see the merit in studying literature as requisite, must remain reticent no more.  Without literary study to instill in us the value of the human experience, we may willingly sacrifice more than just coursework:  we may be on the verge of surrendering our human spirit.Passage Title: Why Study Literature? Question 6Which of the following statements can be considered the central thesis of the passage?A.Rhetorical questions must be asked for the sake of progress in education.B.The level of fulfillment obtained from reading is immeasurable.C.Human beings need constant social stimuli to live long and healthy lives.D.The study of literature in higher education is indispensable.