Classics

I love reading. I’ve loved it since I was little and I probably always will. Reading assigned books throughout my school years has never really felt like homework to me, except for a select few times, and I can tell you that each of those times, the book that was assigned to me was a classic. Here’s the thing: I understand that classic novels are important pieces of work, I understand that back in the time they were written, many of them were huge, popular achievements that marked important points in the history of literature. However, I think classics are given much more emphasis in education than they should be.

Let me get one thing straight, I am not a picky reader. Sci-fi, romance, historical fiction, mystery, it’s all fair game to me. So I’m not against classics because I automatically think they’re going to be boring. I simply believe that just because a book is considered a classic does not make it a good book, or an interesting book, or a worthwhile book. I think that there are certain novels that were relevant and maybe even considered exciting around the time they were written, but I think some of those books have lost their relevance. Not every novel is timeless, so I don’t think we should treat them that way.

My junior year, I was told to read two classic novels in a semester. The description of “House of Seven Gables” sounded interesting to me, so that was the first book I chose. I loathed every second of it. Maybe I could’ve just given up and read the sparknotes over each chapter, but I’m a stubborn person, and I trudged through to the end of the book. Maybe there were some powerful themes or there was an important message hidden somewhere in those pages, but I can safely say I gained nothing from reading that novel. I don’t believe it’s possible to pick up on whatever symbolism or meaning you’re supposed to find if every page feels like drudgery to you. That’s why I think it’s pointless to assign a novel simply because it’s a classic if it’s downright boring reading.

On the other hand, I do think many classics are worthwhile. I’m glad I was given the chance to read “To Kill a Mockingbird”. It was interesting, educational, and had a message that is always going to be meaningful. Overall, I suppose my point is that the date a book was written doesn’t have any impact on the quality of the book. I think a student would be better off picking up Harry Potter than House of Seven Gables. Forcing a student to choose from a selection of classics isn’t going to inspire them to go on and read more classics if the books they’re being forced to read are boring. They’ll simply end up more likely to dislike reading as a whole, so that’s why I think teachers should give more consideration into the classics that they’re forcing their students to read.

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