I just read an article http://tls.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,25341-2647599,00.html about being able to talk about books we haven’t read. Though the article was written about people in an academic world, I found the following to be wrong:
“We live in a society . . . in which reading still remains the object of a form of sacralization”, particularly where certain “canonical texts” are concerned: it is practically forbidden not to have read these.”
I don’t think any of us probably expect each other to have read anything. Is there any common denominator book? I might risk the assumption that everyone who went to college read Gatsby, but almost certainly that doesn’t apply to the American population at large. Maybe everyone read The Telltale Heart in grade or high school?
Is it useful to have a common cultural “home base”? What do you think it is for our generation? (And will it be The House on Mango Street for some other generation?)
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I could make an argument for some children’s books. I would assume that everyone I have met has at least a passing knowledge of “The Little Engine that Could.” Most people have also heard the story of Jack and Jill (in case you are lost, they went up a hill, got some water, an accident ensued, but everyone turns out OK).
I was thinking “Everybody Poops,” (aka “Minna Unchi” in Japanese) a perinial classic.
Not only does it have a feel good ending (pun intended) but it also offers nuggets of wisdom (pun intended) for those growing up to be big kids.
But maybe that’s just me being scatological.
Which, FYI is as hard to spell as a motherfucker. You know, if you want to use proper grammar and punctuation and spelling and whatnot.
Cheers, by the way!
oh, j-alupa, I’m so proud of the ways I’ve improved your vocabulary. hmmm… maybe not “improved,” maybe just added to…
alupa, you’re funny.
roger.
This is actually kind of a big debate in high schools. There are a lot of people who feel that all students need to have the knowledge that the authors mentioned. From a very practical point of view, they feel that a student should be able to have some sort of understanding of some Shakespeare and other similar books of the canon purely to show that they have intelligence and are well read in job situations. On the other hand there are those that in an effort to make completely culturally relevant classrooms have forsaken traditional texts and gone the way of books that connect more to a student’s culture than that of white culture. It’s interesting because I definitely see both sides of the issue…that’s why we only watch movies in my classroom
I think there should be a canon of books that we expect secondary education students to have read and, hopefully, understood. Expectations in education are low ala teach to the standardized test. We need to do better for our children. A base set of literature that exposes children to some very classic text is invaluable for broadening their world view and providing a sense of our past.
Here are some books and plays that I remember reading in middle and high school:
Hamlet
MacBeth
Romeo and Juliet
The Stranger
To Kill a Mockingbird
Where the Red Fern Grows
Heart of Darkness/Secret Sharer
Death of a Salesman
Cat’s Cradle
Tell of Two City’s
The Scarlet Letter
The Call of the Wild
Great Gatsby
The Mayor of Casterbridge
Tess of d’Urberviles
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
White Fang
which movies?
We usually choose from the Debbie Does series…although “One Got Fat” is soon to become a favorite…
Brett: I remember reading those books as well. As good as they may be they only represent one aspect of culture. While The Call of the Wild does great things for Junior High boys, could it maybe be supplanted by something else? Are there books that may be more accessible to a non-white population that allow for the same interpretations. Correct me if I’m wrong, but in this book are there any non-white characters other than Uncle Tom, Calpurnia and I think a couple in Heart of Darkness…
On the other hand, knowing “To be or not to be” definitely shows others that you know your stuff…