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Books You Should Have Read in School Had
You Been Paying Attention
By Alison Andrews
February 27, 2006
Don’t hate me too much when I tell you that
I formerly taught English. Yes, I was one of those cruel taskmasters who
assigned the classics to my students (and I considered myself lucky if any of
them read even the Cliffs Notes).
In my defense, however, the curriculum was
mandated by the state—I didn’t have a choice about what to assign or even when
we would read it. By the end of my time in the classroom, I’d developed a
healthy amount of sympathy for the students who were required to read books that
held no meaning for their lives. How is The Iliad going to speak to a
ninth grader who’s obsessing over the pimple that sprouted on his chin that
morning? I also heard a lot of students say in frustration, “Mrs. Andrews, I
just don’t get what these people are saying.” After all, Elizabethan and
Victorian English sounds very different from contemporary speech. For many
teenagers, it was easier to just give up.
In my opinion, the curriculum forces
students to “read” books they are not yet mature enough to enjoy. Then, scarred
for life by a bad experience with the “classics,” they miss out on some
excellent books that might speak powerfully to them in adulthood.
Does this sound familiar? If so, here are
some books that deserve a second (or first) reading. Just don’t waste your time
with the Cliffs Notes. You won’t be graded, I promise.
Who is the Catcher and Why is He in the
Rye?
If you can read the first chapter of
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger, without wanting to read the
rest of the book, I will personally pay you $20. On second thought, I won’t do
that, but I doubt you would win that bet by honest means.
The narrator, Holden Caulfield, is a
16-year-old who has become synonymous with “cynical adolescent.” Holden tells
the story of a couple of days in his life after he’s just been expelled from
prep school, and he’s disgusted with just about everyone he meets, because in
his eyes they’re all “phonies.” What interests me about Catcher is that
it has multiple levels of meaning that reveal themselves upon rereading at
different times in one’s life. Read it as a teenager, and you identify with
Holden’s rebellion. Read it as a college student, and you get exasperated at his
immaturity. Read it as an adult, and you see the grieving child underneath his
tough façade.
Why the Twenties Roared
I used to want to write the Great American Novel. Then
I discovered it’s already been written.
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is simply one of the best
books ever written. The rags-to-riches story of Jay Gatsby is embedded in the
narrative provided by Nick Carraway, Gatsby’s neighbor and the cousin of the
woman Gatsby has structured his life to regain. By giving the smallest
particulars of life in the Roaring Twenties, Fitzgerald achieves universality
for his characters and an unparalleled understanding of the soulless materialism
at the heart of the American Dream.
Out of the Sea
Almost diametrically opposed to Fitzgerald’s unabashed
lyricism stands Ernest Hemingway, who single-handedly changed the way
contemporary prose is written. After Hemingway, prose became tauter, leaner,
less gushy. Adjectives and adverbs became the enemy. His style is
inseparable from his worldview. For Hemingway, life is tough and only the strong
survive. Yet he was not merely a writer who drank a lot and went to
bullfights—the macho image he cultivated hides the depths of pain below the
surface that the careful reader can explore.
I hesitate whether to recommend his best
novel,
The Sun Also Rises, or
The Short Stories. I feel the short stories are his most remarkable
achievement, but almost anything of his is better than reading the novella that
is usually assigned to students: The Old Man and the Sea. Don’t bother
revisiting it—it’s one of the worst things Hemingway wrote, and I can only
assume it’s assigned because it’s so short. It’s still too long, in my opinion.
How Can I Choose Just One?
There are so many other possibilities, I feel dizzy at
the thought of narrowing them down. Here are a few final possibilities:
-
The Crucible—Arthur Miller’s masterful play is more about group
psychology than about the Salem witch trials in 1692.
-
The Iliad and
The Odyssey—Essential to understanding the development of
literature, and some great adventure stories in there as well. Homer phrased
things so well; I sometimes wonder why the rest of us dare to try writing
anything at all.
-
The Diary of Anne Frank—Even eighth-graders are touched by the
tragedy this book portrays. If it leads you to want more about the senseless
slaughter of the Holocaust, I recommend Oprah’s current pick,
Night, by Elie Wiesel.
-
Pride and Prejudice—By all means, see the Keira Knightley movie (and
the miniseries starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy), but please don’t neglect
the book, which has its own charms. Jane Austen has an eagle eye and an
ironic wit that doesn’t miss a beat in the battle of the sexes.
So Why Read the Classics?
In fact, why is a book called a classic at all? I
think a book should only deserve this description if readers, no matter how long
after it was written, enjoy reading it. No teacher can make you enjoy a book. We
can only hope to introduce you to a story that will engage your mind because it
is inhabited by memorable characters that will illuminate some aspect of human
nature. In fact, a true classic is a book that gives you a gift—yourself.
ninetyandnine.com
© 2006, Alison Andrews
---------
Alison Andrews
lives near Fort Worth, Texas, with her husband and daughter. She and her husband
lead the small group ministry for their church. At any given moment, she's
either reading a classic novel or singing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” over and over
and over.
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