Are you good with swapping out Of Mice and Men for Twilight,
for example? Or Macbeth for Hunger Games?
While I may not necessarily be the biggest fan of Macbeth or Hamlet, other books taught in English classes like Of Mice and Men and Catcher in the Rye were books that I will treasure forever as they
not only proved to be engaging, interesting books but they also taught me
numerous lessons about literature and life in general. If schools were to trade
these books in for more 21st century type books like Twilight and The Hunger Games, I think that a lot would be lost in a sense that
students will no longer grasp hold of the same life knowledge learned through
these classic stories. I suppose The Hunger
Games may serve to teach lessons about endurance and faith, but only on the
surface whereas the lessons about companionship, betrayal, self-worth, etc.
that are taught through the classic stories go deep into the heart and soul of
the novel and require understanding of language, style and literary elements.
These are the kind of books that further our ability to understand the world
around us and prepare us for the trials and tribulations that come throughout
life. They have some element of moral and/ or virtue that make the stories worth
reading. These classic stories also have some realistic qualities to them as
the experiences and challenges faced by Holden Caulfield relate to numerous
people on many different levels. The
Hunger Games and Twilight, on the
other hand, are stories set in completely unrealistic societies where the
characters face unrealistic situations that cannot be applied to modern day
life- that is unless you plan on fighting people to the death or transforming
into a blood sucking vampire (which is highly unlikely). All in all, when it
comes to sticking with the classics or trading in for the recent stuff, I say
stick with the classics. They serve far more purpose in preparing students for
life than Katniss Everdeen and Edward Cullen ever will.
While I see your point I think some of the internal struggles of modern day characters are ones we can all relate to.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point that the lessons and themes portrayed through literary writing are more impactful than when those ideas are given in popular writing. In literary writing, when an author is talking about hardship or a moral challenge, it can be assumed that the writer has actually suffered through a similar experience themselves, or they have experienced it intimately through another person. However in polular writing, themes typically only exist at the surface level, and their only purpose it to add to the plot, rather than actually impact the reader.
ReplyDelete