James Joyce. F. Scott Fitzgerald. John Steinbeck. How many of those names did you recognize?
J.K Rowling. Steven King. John Green. How many of those names did you recognize?
This first batch are authors who were labeled in the top 10 according to the Modern Library’s Top 100 books with the help of hundreds of authors, historians, critics, and publishing luminaries.
The second batch were the first authors I could think of.
I am sure 98 percent of students reading the first sentence were unsure who at least one of those people were, let alone what they did. Whereas on the other hand, they would immediately recognize the authors in the second sentence.
With the curriculum reform occurring in the English department this year, I believe it is time to officially ditch the archaic texts that teenagers are unable to relate to.
While many of the classic American novels have meanings that can be stretched to fit different situations, it is becoming more and more difficult for students to draw the connections due to the sheer time difference between the time that book was written or taken place. Sure, “The Great Gatsby” has an undertone of materialism, but upon the first read as a novice, teenagers are distracted by the vehicular manslaughter and murder that the story actually tells.
In modern texts, the message is not as deep and people who are beginning to read beyond the lines are able to see it better. For instance, “The Fault in Our Stars” is not only an engaging novel, but it also has a simpler meaning of love and loss that is more easily relatable to teenagers.
Ultimately, in this new update of the curriculum, I think that it would be best to include novels with connections that can be made easier than Shakespeare or J. D. Salinger and where a beginner won’t be distracted by the plot. Instead, the plot will aid in their understanding of the larger message behind the book.
