Today in class, we discussed the book "The Crucible." I don't really like reading books like this, meaning play type books. I really dislike reading plays, because its not natural. In my opinion plays are supposed to be performed, not read like you would a novel. I know that this book relates to what we are learning in class, but i would much rather read some other book on the salem witch trials, one that is historically acurate, and not in the form of a play, because I do think that it is an interesting topic.
I think that English class sometimes even discourages students from wanting to read. I dont understand why we read novels such as "Great expectations" or "Oedipus" because they do not speak about topics that are significant to modern society, and I found neither of them to be very entertaining. I think that we need to read more books that students will like, and not books that are read soley to show different forms of plot structure. In all the years I have been in school, I have only read a few books that i enjoyed enough to even remember reading them. These include "Th Catcher in the Rye", "To Kill a Mockingbird", "And Then There Were None", and going back to fifth grade "Number the Stars." There were deffinately more books that I didn't mind reading, but I can't remember what exactly they were about, beacause I didnt enjoy them enough to give them that pleasure.
The best of the books was "The Catcher in the Rye." I don't even know what it was about it, but I remember that throughout the whole entire book, there were almost no points where I grew bored of the story. The writing style of that book is extremely well done. I like the first person narration, but its not just that, its the way that Holden Caulfield speaks. It is very informal. that is the type of book that i like to read, it is very relatable, he talks like a normal person would, and not like hes trying to be an English professor.
If we read more books like that in school, and less long novels from the 1800s, and Shakespeare plays, I know I personally would enjoy reading alot more. I bet alot of students would. However, as it stands, I feel like I am forced to read books that I don't want to read, instead of being allowed to read books that I do want to read.
Duly noted, Dan. I agree with your sentiments, although I respectfully disagree with you regarding Great Expectations. Okay, I'll admit that Dickens tends to be quite long-winded, and often unnecesarily so. He was, afterall, paid by the word and the page, so there was incentive for him to write in a less-than-concise manner. But I love Pip as a character! He undergoes such a significant change from beginning to end, and he is such a jerk to the person who has always treated him best (Joe). But he realizes this at the end, and this recognition makes him ultimately quite human. We have all snapped at our parents in our growing years for things they do out of love that we don't agree with. I think this is the same thing that Pip does to Joe. It is eminently relatable to real life, and this is a sign of good literature.
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