In doing some research for appropriate book titles for jr. high students, I ran across this blog from a fellow Christian and I though it somewhat appropriate in light of recent book and movie titles swirling around campus and movie theaters. Take it for what is worth, but do remember that God knows your heart and the content of the books you read!
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2008
Classic Literature
I remember the day quite distinctly. I was a junior in high school, fourteen going on fifteen, standing in Barnes & Noble. My mother and younger brother Elijah were milling about in the children's section, and I was in the science fiction section, looking for another book by Ray Bradbury (ala "Fahrenheit 451")...
When this really "cool" guy walked up. He was under six feet tall, had wiry blonde hair, thin, hip glasses, flip-flops, and cargo pants; he was obviously in college... to me, at fourteen, this guy was super cool!
"Hey," he said, "you like Bradbury?"
I did a double take. College student? Talking to me?! Okay, Jasmine, act natural... "Um... yes, I do."
"That's so awesome! It's hard to find girls out there who like a good Bradbury book."
"I know. I'm the only girl I know that likes him." Probably because you've only read one short story and a book... "He's amazing."
"Impressive! Hey, would it be okay if I recommended a book to you?"
"Sure thing!"
"Read this one... I read it when I was in high school, and it changed my life."
My mother was calling me. "Uh... thanks. I've got to go."
"Cool. I guess I'll see you around."
Oh, goodness! He'll see me around?
I ran over to my mother and told her all about it. There was college student in Barnes & Noble who thought I, a mere mere high schooler, was well-read!
Mommy just shook her head. "Jasmine, he was in the science fiction section. Nerdy."
The book was The October Country. I bought it.
By the time I was thirteen, I'd made up my mind that I wanted to be a writer. That desire morphed between my freshmen year in high school to my junior year into a desire to be a screenwriter. Nevertheless, I'd always loved literature, and I loved reading things that were above my grade level; it made me cool... like the guy in Barnes & Noble. :-)
I mean, picture me in Starbucks, a latte in my hand, reading A Room with a View with my adorably sheek glasses on when the iPhone rings (the ringtone is something awesome, Chopin's Nocturne in C Sharp Minor): "Oh, hello, Ron [Johnson]! No, I can't change that scene! Well, it doesn't matter if Russell [Crowe] likes it or not; just tell Nicole [Kidman] to talk to him about it. This is a story of immigrant workers striking against an unfair factory owner in New York in 1904! They can make it work. Oh, sorry, I've got to go... they're telling the owner of the blue Porche Cayenne that her car is parked in front of a fire hydrant. That's me." Coolness. :-)
Okay, okay... maybe not... Seriously, though nothing gave me more pleasure at the age of thirteen than to be able to smile precociously at adults when they asked me what I liked to do: "Read and write" and they asked me what I liked to read: "Oh, Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, The Diary of Anne Frank."
However, while studying American Literature for an upcoming test, reading back over some books I haven't really touched or thought about much since I was trying to impress people not that long ago, I have realized how our great American classics are often filled with themes that aren't God-honoring. Characters find themselves in compromising situations, they make bad moral judgements, they use foul language, they have fatalistic outlooks on life...
These are things that we are taught to excuse in "classic" literature, sometimes even to praise. Haven't we all heard about Steinbeck's realism, Emerson's talent, and Orwell's insight?
And Steinbeck is real. Emerson was talented. Orwell was insightful... But there are definitely some major flaws in their worldviews, flaws that I myself looked over in my quest to be a well-read, insightful individual. And I'm ashamed to say that as I looked over them, I became desensitized to them. Whenever Mommy would ask me what was going on in a book, and raise her eyebrow at something crazy one of the authors had just said, I would shrug. "It's a classic."
I do love literature. I have seen through the beauty of the way that literary giants master their craft what an awesome tool it can be. If people read more, I think it could be as powerful a medium in our day and age as film is! However, I have learned, over the years, the importance of not shutting my mind off when I read, accepting classics at face value just because someone has put them on a list of things I need to read in order to be successful and intelligent. As I read anything, from Chaucer to Steinbeck, I need to be careful to read with my eyes open, and with a heart that has treasured God's Word.
I think the study of literature is important, but I also think, that we should be careful what we read, not merely picking up books because someone has told us they are worthwhile, but seriously evaluating our reasons for reading a piece of literature before we read it! If we can't find a good reason, we shouldn't read the book; out there in the real world, I don't believe it matters much whether or not you've actually read The Canterbury Tales or Madam Bovary unless you were able to take something useful away from it.
If the reason you're reading a book is to better understand the Lord's providential hand at work throughout history, to master the English language, our tool of communication, to learn how to think critically about worldview, if our parents approve of what we're reading, and are willing to sit down and discuss it with us chapter by chapter, by all means, read the book!
If that reason is to appeal to really cool, flip-flops wearing college dudes at Barnes & Noble... put the book down. :-)
Classic Literature
I remember the day quite distinctly. I was a junior in high school, fourteen going on fifteen, standing in Barnes & Noble. My mother and younger brother Elijah were milling about in the children's section, and I was in the science fiction section, looking for another book by Ray Bradbury (ala "Fahrenheit 451")...
When this really "cool" guy walked up. He was under six feet tall, had wiry blonde hair, thin, hip glasses, flip-flops, and cargo pants; he was obviously in college... to me, at fourteen, this guy was super cool!
"Hey," he said, "you like Bradbury?"
I did a double take. College student? Talking to me?! Okay, Jasmine, act natural... "Um... yes, I do."
"That's so awesome! It's hard to find girls out there who like a good Bradbury book."
"I know. I'm the only girl I know that likes him." Probably because you've only read one short story and a book... "He's amazing."
"Impressive! Hey, would it be okay if I recommended a book to you?"
"Sure thing!"
"Read this one... I read it when I was in high school, and it changed my life."
My mother was calling me. "Uh... thanks. I've got to go."
"Cool. I guess I'll see you around."
Oh, goodness! He'll see me around?
I ran over to my mother and told her all about it. There was college student in Barnes & Noble who thought I, a mere mere high schooler, was well-read!
Mommy just shook her head. "Jasmine, he was in the science fiction section. Nerdy."
The book was The October Country. I bought it.
By the time I was thirteen, I'd made up my mind that I wanted to be a writer. That desire morphed between my freshmen year in high school to my junior year into a desire to be a screenwriter. Nevertheless, I'd always loved literature, and I loved reading things that were above my grade level; it made me cool... like the guy in Barnes & Noble. :-)
I mean, picture me in Starbucks, a latte in my hand, reading A Room with a View with my adorably sheek glasses on when the iPhone rings (the ringtone is something awesome, Chopin's Nocturne in C Sharp Minor): "Oh, hello, Ron [Johnson]! No, I can't change that scene! Well, it doesn't matter if Russell [Crowe] likes it or not; just tell Nicole [Kidman] to talk to him about it. This is a story of immigrant workers striking against an unfair factory owner in New York in 1904! They can make it work. Oh, sorry, I've got to go... they're telling the owner of the blue Porche Cayenne that her car is parked in front of a fire hydrant. That's me." Coolness. :-)
Okay, okay... maybe not... Seriously, though nothing gave me more pleasure at the age of thirteen than to be able to smile precociously at adults when they asked me what I liked to do: "Read and write" and they asked me what I liked to read: "Oh, Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, The Diary of Anne Frank."
However, while studying American Literature for an upcoming test, reading back over some books I haven't really touched or thought about much since I was trying to impress people not that long ago, I have realized how our great American classics are often filled with themes that aren't God-honoring. Characters find themselves in compromising situations, they make bad moral judgements, they use foul language, they have fatalistic outlooks on life...
These are things that we are taught to excuse in "classic" literature, sometimes even to praise. Haven't we all heard about Steinbeck's realism, Emerson's talent, and Orwell's insight?
And Steinbeck is real. Emerson was talented. Orwell was insightful... But there are definitely some major flaws in their worldviews, flaws that I myself looked over in my quest to be a well-read, insightful individual. And I'm ashamed to say that as I looked over them, I became desensitized to them. Whenever Mommy would ask me what was going on in a book, and raise her eyebrow at something crazy one of the authors had just said, I would shrug. "It's a classic."
I do love literature. I have seen through the beauty of the way that literary giants master their craft what an awesome tool it can be. If people read more, I think it could be as powerful a medium in our day and age as film is! However, I have learned, over the years, the importance of not shutting my mind off when I read, accepting classics at face value just because someone has put them on a list of things I need to read in order to be successful and intelligent. As I read anything, from Chaucer to Steinbeck, I need to be careful to read with my eyes open, and with a heart that has treasured God's Word.
I think the study of literature is important, but I also think, that we should be careful what we read, not merely picking up books because someone has told us they are worthwhile, but seriously evaluating our reasons for reading a piece of literature before we read it! If we can't find a good reason, we shouldn't read the book; out there in the real world, I don't believe it matters much whether or not you've actually read The Canterbury Tales or Madam Bovary unless you were able to take something useful away from it.
If the reason you're reading a book is to better understand the Lord's providential hand at work throughout history, to master the English language, our tool of communication, to learn how to think critically about worldview, if our parents approve of what we're reading, and are willing to sit down and discuss it with us chapter by chapter, by all means, read the book!
If that reason is to appeal to really cool, flip-flops wearing college dudes at Barnes & Noble... put the book down. :-)
Two rules for silent reading books in Mrs. Rhoden's class:
1. Double check your heart as you read. Is there anything in the content of the book that may cause a rift in your relationship with God?
2. Double check with your parents. Do they know what you are reading and what your book is about?
Below I've posted a top 10 list of classic literature that is age and content appropriate!
