What Books Would You Put on an English or Literature Syllabus?
During a fascinating discussion in the comment section of How to Make Literary Fiction Sexy Again, we spent quite a bit of time on the damaging effects of assigning literary classics to budding readers in English and Literature classes.
It goes something like this: Teacher assigns a student (who occasionally enjoys reading for pleasure) several literary classics that bore the student to death and turns the reading experience into yet another academic trial. Student slogs through classics, passes class, reads genre fiction for the rest of his/her life.
T (of The Liminal State fame) who is an English teacher herself (JC bless you) brought up an excellent point. Many times it’s not the assigned books that are boring, but the way in which they are taught. Teaching these classics to students in relevant and exciting ways could unlock the pleasures of the reading experience that so often get lost in academia. The blogosphere can probably do little to change teaching habits but it is definitely another front on which the battle must be fought.
After Ilona (The Friande) made some great suggestions for books that students would enjoy (Rebecca, The Crucible), it occurred to me that this is actually one area in which we (the blogosphere) can help. Many of us remember what the reading lists of our English and Literature classes were like. Most of us survived this academic assault on the reading experience and we still read plenty of literary fiction today. It turns out then, that we are in a unique position to recommend books that students will learn from and yet enjoy. We know what worked then and we know what works now.
My syllabus would look like this:
- Ulysses
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
- Cloud Atlas
- 1984
- The Corrections (which I couldn’t finish but modern doesn’t always mean easy)
- Jane Eyre
- Pride and Prejudice
- Gone With The Wind
- LOTR
A lot of this is subjective, but you see where this is headed.
So if you had the power to shape what literary fiction a generation of tech savvy, (reportedly) attention deficient students would be exposed to, which classics would you select? If you had the power to keep countless students from abandoning literary fiction, which books would you choose to do it? How modern would they be? How would they be more relevant to the young uns?
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I actually did read “Rebecca” and “The Crucible”- both in middle school. It really depends on the school system you’re in. Making broad statements about the state of teaching the classics is a fallacy. Some schools are great at it, some schools suck. At any rate, I would teach “East of Eden”, “The Handmaid’s Tale”, and any Austen OTHER than “Pride and Prejudice.”
Aha! I was hoping you’d stop by today maam. I read DWG a lot and I’d say you’re eminently qualified to speak on this matter.
Broad statements are always dangerous and you’ll have to forgive me for this generalizations. I do think we we can agree that the classics frequently turn the majority of students away from literary fiction. We (who possibly stayed with literary fiction because our schools were great at teaching the classics but more likely because we’re born readers) are the exception.
Great list (why East of Eden instead of Grapes of Wrath?) and thanks for stopping by!
East of Eden is a little less political and, aside from the older Irish farmer, tends to keep its focus on the young people. I guess it would just be easier to relate to for students than Grapes of Wrath.
I tend to like the political books meself but I think yours is the right call. Keeping the young uns interested is the key. I’ll have to give East of Eden a go one of these days.
Also I want to read “Of Mice and Men Who Loved Them” lol.
If I stick to my earlier assertion that the teaching method means more than the book being taught then my picks will be ones that I would have fun teaching and that I know could translate well for the modern teen. Here’s my list:
The Great Gatsby: fabulous, eminently teach-able and relevant themes.
The Book Thief: not a classic yet but a stupendously memorable book to teach. It is a bit long so it takes some creative planning.
Beloved or anything else written by Morrison: hard to convince schools to use Morrison because of adult themes but maybe for a Senior AP course.
Native Son: great book to teach – I have had some wonderful things happen in class while studying this novel.
1984/Fahrenheit 451: Together they are a great way to get kids talking about politics and society
Catcher in the Rye/Lord of the Flies: Again, taught together – so much you can do with these themes.
So, I could probably add a hundred more to my list and I do know that I left off lots of “classic” classics – but I tend toward a social justice bent in my lessons so these are the first to come to mind.
Great list, T.
I am a huge fan of 1984 (especially the much bashed, several page long explanation of the Party’s true motive and intent. Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye unlocked my writing chi. After I read that novel, I had this great feeling of possibility within my writing as if to say look “this is what you can make words do.”
Oh Mayowa…..if only I could make words do what the brilliant Ms. Morrison can. I adore her.
I’m not sure if I would change the syllabus from my high school English classes. I loved all those books. The problem was there wasn’t enough time to read everything that SHOULD have been on the list, including more contemporary classics!
Lydia,
Did everyone else feel that way or do you think you were one of few?
Thanks for stopping by.
Gone with the Room? Really? I can’t see that… but LotR is a great idea.
So let’s see. I agree with the David Mitchell, and Tolkien (as before mentioned). To that I would add John Cheever, Steven Millhauser (short stories), Ismail Kadare, I’d keep Animal Farm, maybe something from France – Sartre? Ishiguro definitely. Sticking with short stories and novellas when possible. Something slightly twisted and macabre when necessary (those are the books I remember keeping everyone’s attention). Those are all off the top of my head.
I might be totally off base here (after all, I am an old fuddy duddy), but something about the romantic melodrama between Scarlett and Rhett feels like it would resonate with the intense melodrama of young love.
The short stories and novellas idea is absolutely wonderful. Well done!
Umm… that would be Gone with the Wind. *sigh*
I don’t know about the LOTR or Gone With The Wind. Don’t get me wrong – both are absolutely my favourites. But I think the size might put some students off and I wouldn’t like that.
Having said that, I don’t have any alternatives to offer really. Maybe The Book Thief? Memoirs of a Geisha as well would be another good choice.
I read Rebecca in high school and love love loved it, it has been a favourite ever since. But I think that I was only one of about three of us that enjoyed it.
Oyy Becky,
Great point. I was just on about the whole attention deficiency thing a few comments ago and these books are pretty lengthy. Rebecca is starting to sound like a really popular choice…
I read To Kill a Mockingbird and Twelve Angry Men together in high school. These 2 books were much more well received than say A Separate Peace. I also think Slaughterhouse-Five would be a good addition to an hs reading list.
Great additions Alley.
I actually missed out on To Kill a Mockingbird in school and I only got to it a few years ago, loved it. Vonnegut is rather popular with young men in coffeeshops around here, I usually see at least one bloke reading him when I go.
If we’re talking about young men in coffeeshops then we’d have to include some Tom Robbins. (It’s funny – I pretty much hate Robbins, but I find myself recommending him all the time now just because the way he writes is so brilliant. Just what he writes about is so offensive.
I want to add one more book to my list…Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. I love teaching this book – kids get so passionate about the whole hero/anti-hero thing with Okonkwo. I love a book that can get kids fired up and yelling over each other in order to voice their opinions during open discussion. Ok…just one more – Wilson’s Fences – for the same reason.
I’ve never been able to finish Things Fall Apart, T. I feel a little bit like a traitor (I am Nigerian) hehe but I just havent been able to do it (tried at least three times). I do read a ton of other nigerian novels (including some of Achebe’s other novels). I actually hosted a podcast about nigerian fiction on The Writing Show.
First i’ve heard of Fences. I’ll have to look it up.
You must go out and purchase Wilson’s Fences today….you won’t be sorry. As for Achebe – it’s a difficult book and Okonkwo is a difficult character…not very likeable for sure.
I have a little expedition to the bookstore planned for tomorrow. I’ll look for a copy.
Thanks for the recommendations, T.
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog. I wouldn’t change too much from the syllbi I’ve had throughout high school, but I would take off Thoreau’s Walden. Too tedious. It was one of the few required books I didn’t finish. The other being My Antonia, by Willa Cather. I’m sure it’s a great piece of literature, but I really don’t like it.
@Shannon – like an arrow through my heart that you don’t like My Antonia…..that book made me want to sweep Willa Cather off her feet! ;)
Haha, well maybe I should give it a second try. Well I suppose it would be a first try, because I barely started to read it before giving up. :P
Shannon,
I enjoyed your posts and i’ll be back to read more. Thoreau does sound a bit heavy for students although he does have my favorite writing quote – “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”
Thanks for stopping by.
Hey Mayowa
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I totally agree with your sentiments. Almost the whole of Jane Austen was ruined for me by having to study Pride and Prejudice three times during my secondary school years – lack of imagination?! Also, I haven’t yet been able to read Keats or Steinbeck as an adult because they were ruined by years of over-analysis of ‘To a Nightingale’ and ‘Mice and Men’. Also, I had to study boring old Merchant of Venice when all other classes in my school got to do awesome Macbeth which was very unfair. Good that I’m not bitter about this though!
I think maybe ‘Never Let Me Go’ would be a good one for teenagers – bit sciency, bit thoughtful, bit school-y: lots of angles they might relate to.
Anytime Lyndsey, I’ve added you to the ol reader so i’ll definitely be back.
I’ve been thinking about rereading some of the books I had to read for school again. Maybe they’ll grow on me without the academic pressure. I hope you get to check out some Steinbeck (love Grapes of Wrath). It’s very strange but I actually enjoyed a lot of the Shakespeare we read in high school.
Thanks for stopping by!
Oh I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve gone through books thinking about a future syllabus. I’ve actually been tossing around some ideas for a children’s lit syllabus that would include a few classics and contemporary books…
Alice’s Adventure’s in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Harry Potter, JK Rowling
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
The Giver, Lois Lowry
Hatchet, Gary Paulen
Forever, Judy Blume
I used to have a whole list somewhere on my computer…
(BTW, came from the blog hop. Love it!)
Great suggestions Sarah, I need to book up on the Lois Lowry and Gary Paulen though as they haven’t crossed my path until now. Some googling is warranted.
Thanks for stopping by.
We read some of Shakespeare’s works in high school, I know I enjoyed that, but not sure if it would apply across the board. Poetry was also another part of my English syllabus, and I still recall Kipling’s “If-”.
Aside from that, I saw comments suggesting Tolkien and The Book Thief, fantastic suggestions. Even C S Lewis (Narnia) would be good school reading.
http://readseverything.blogspot.com/
We read tons of Shakespeare too and I rather enjoyed those works. Strange that Shakespeare should be more interesting (given what i’ll call old school english) than some literary novels from a few decades ago.
Oh, you’ve got some great suggestions on here! I’d definitely do Catcher in the Rye and Things Fall Apart. Maybe Cannery Row, easily my favorite of Steinbeck’s novels (of which I’ve read many). Lolita! The Count of Monte Cristo! I would do a lot more short stories, because I don’t think we really read any when I was in school. Barthelme, for one. Lorrie Moore. George Saunders. This is a fun game. I’m going to think about this all night!
It is fun isn’t it?
Love the discussion on this post. How come I haven’t heard of Cannery Row? (I rather like Steinbeck meself). Nabokov is my favorite writer for Lolita alone (Glory is a far second). I do agree about shorts not being popular on syllabi, wonder why that is.
Thanks for stopping by.
Great topic!
My list would include 1984 (because it’s my favorite, and I think everyone should read it), Catcher in the Rye (because what book is more relatable to angsty teens?), Of Mice and Men (because you have to be heartless not to feel something in it, and it’s short enough that just reading sparknotes wouldn’t really save you any time), might even try a Dorothy Sayers book (because all though it’s like detective fiction, it’s intelligent writing and talks a LOT about literature), and Native Son (a little gore and anger to appeal to the angry boys but truly great writing).
Connie,
Native Son sounds like it would have been right up my alley as a young’n. I was what you would call a trouble maker hehe. I was just reading somewhere that Catcher in the Rye is no longer as popular with students as it used to be…any clues why that might be?
Glad you enjoyed the topic.