The Importance of Classical Literature
Many of us are familiar with classical literature. There is no doubt you have read one of Shakespeare’s plays, Homer’s poems, or Dickens's novels for English class in high school. Whether you enjoyed them or not, these works are undeniably some of history's greatest pieces of literature. The timeless stories they tell can intrigue readers so much that they get sucked into a skillfully crafted world. For example, the well-known story Anna Karenina is a captivating tale about a beautiful girl who engages in a clandestine affair with the dashing Count Vronsky. The more modern 1984 is a thrilling classic that explores the dangers of an omnipresent government where citizens are under 24/7 surveillance.
Apart from the enthralling stories these works convey, they also provide readers with a prized glimpse into the past. For instance, The Odyssey depicts the culture of ancient Greece with its mythological gods and monsters. To Kill a Mockingbird offers a vivid and accurate portrayal of racial tensions in the 1920s and 1930s. Not only can classical stories capture the realities and influences of certain time periods, but they can also educate us about the past and even help us analyze our lives in modern society.
On the surface, The Great Gatsby tells a story of unsuccessful love and heartbreak between Daisy and Tom Buchanan. However, the underlying message is a criticism of America's Roaring Twenties culture, plagued with material access and decayed moral values. This is comparable to 21st-century consumer culture, where people increasingly flock to the market to purchase material goods. Another example is Huckleberry Finn, a novel that brings awareness to antebellum America and its culture of slavery and hypocrisy. The poignant racial tensions in the book are not unlike modern America, where police brutality and racist tendencies remain fiery issues.
Despite the insights classical literature can offer us, some determinedly attempt to ban these masterpieces. Offensive content in these classics often leads to uproar and challenges from adults who consider their themes and language to be too derogatory. Although he is considered to be a giant of literature, even Shakespeare’s plays have not escaped this scrutiny. His plays adopt a patriarchal viewpoint, quite common in the 16th and 17th centuries. Taking this into consideration, it is no surprise that the women in his plays conform to Elizabethan societal standards. In The Taming of the Shrew, Katherine eventually submits to her husband Petruchio; and in Othello, Desdemona is implicitly depicted as a possession passed from her father to her husband. Another controversial classic is Huckleberry Finn which contains the now-censored N-word throughout the book.
Understandably, it can be a struggle to read texts that contain themes or ideas that you know are wrong. Reading a story containing overtly racist language is undoubtedly going to be an uncomfortable experience, and seeing women and minorities portrayed as lower beings is not going to sit well with most people.
But the thing that most people get wrong with classical literature is that they believe reading classics perpetuates the themes inside them. All too many believe that allowing others to read classics translates into the approval of the messages those classics contain. Reading a controversial text does not mean that you will adopt the viewpoints expressed in it. Instead, you will merely garner greater awareness of the time period described. It is important to understand our country’s history, however unpleasant it may be. The fact that a majority of classics contain problematic themes tells us that our country’s history is filled with issues, many of which still need to be addressed today.
In antebellum America, the N-word was commonly used without regard. Therefore, it makes sense for the characters in Huckleberry Finn to have this word in their vocabulary. To ignore or omit this word would be erasing a part of our country’s history that needs to be acknowledged.
We cannot sugarcoat the tragedies that have occurred since our country’s founding. They cannot be things we throw under the rug, desperately pretending they never happened. Instead, we should read the classics and then analyze the problems within them, realizing the information they give us about the past and the parallels with the present. Classics offer us so much knowledge and insight that we should appreciate. Remember, never read less, always read more.
References
Beans, T. (2020, Feb. 25). Banned and burned: Banning books should be a thing of the past. The News Record. https://www.newsrecord.org/opinion/banned-and-burned-banning-books-should-be-a-thing-of-the-past/article_326303b4-583c-11ea-ae38-7f3db9ae2aa6.html
Perez, S. T. (2020, Feb. 10). What’s the relevance of classic literature today? Study Breaks. https://studybreaks.com/culture/reads/classic-literature-relevance/
