Literary Canon Pros And Cons

Our cohort is nearing the end of its secondary education and therefore it is important that we reflect on the ways in which it has shaped our attitudes, values and beliefs. For example, over the past five years, we have read, analysed and evaluated various literary works such as novels, plays, poems and films in our English studies. These texts have expressed various ideologies, explored interesting themes and introduced us to fascinating characters. These elements have left a lasting impression on our attitudes, values and beliefs. In addition to this, English literary texts have provided us with historical knowledge as well as a thorough understanding of the role that aesthetic devices

There has recently been a renewed interest and passion in the issue of censorship. In the realm of the censorship of books in schools alone, several hundred cases have surfaced each year for nearly the past decade. Controversies over which books to include in the high school English curriculum present a clash of values between teachers, school systems, and parents over what is appropriate for and meaningful to students. It is important to strike a balance between English that is meaningful to students by relating to their lives and representing diversity and satisfying worries about the appropriateness of what is read. This burden often falls on teachers. The purpose of this research paper is to discuss

In Francine Prose’s essay “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Sing” Prose tends to evoke her unsureness on why schools use certain books to teach students their moral values. Prose argues that certain books should be taught in English classes, that in fact, teach students their values. Prose uses several literary examples, such as Frankenstein, How To a Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, etc. She also provides several controversial opinions, such as using different books to try and teach students, like The Diary of a Young Girl, Teaching The Novel, and many more that she has personally read in her lifetime. She also claims that teacher should start teaching curriculum that has meaning and that will provide skills that a student would

In Francine Prose’ paper, “I know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read”, Prose describes why many high school student dislike reading literature that the American education system has preached. The premise of her essay is that today’s high school English classes are largely flawed in both material and teaching method. Prose contends that these practices are damaging to the students’ understanding and appreciation of literature. She harshly critiques the quality of required reading in American high schools and suggests a reconsideration of the English curriculum. She challenges the audience to acknowledge the curriculum’s impact on high school students and urges the audience to consider how it may addressed. Prose crafts her argument by using an appeal to logos, asking rhetorical questions and employing negative connotation.

Throughout the essay, Prose argues that literatures in high schools are dumbing down the English curriculum. She says books that are “chosen for students to read are

The literary canon is those works considered by scholars, critics, and teachers to be the most important to read and study, which collectively constitute the “masterpieces” of literature. (Meyer 2175) In the past there has been much debate on whether non-fiction should be considered for inclusion in the canon, but non-fiction writers being considered part of the canon is not unheard of, and is already a reality – George Orwell, Henry David Thoreau, Ernest Hemingway- all had a significant body of non-fictional work and are well respected, well established members. Sonja Livingston’s work is part of a genre called creative non-fiction. As stated in his article for The Writer, Lee Gutkind states, “Creative nonfiction-also called "new

Reading lists that were given to the speaker’s sons in school were unrealistic in reading level and modern day relevancy

According to the prompt, “Students in high school English classes in the United States can read texts that vary widely from school to school” (Prompt). In today’s world, different countries and nations vary in ways. However, one variation between countries that has came to notice, would be the fact that most nations have a defined national school curriculum, while other countries, such as the United States, do not (Prompt). This also means that students in countries other than the United States may all read the same books in high school, while students in the U.S. could read different texts in wide range from school to school (Prompt). The United States’s choice to not have a set English class reading curriculum for high schools has both, its advantages and disadvantages. Some individuals feel that this is positive because it creates diversity from classroom to classroom across the United States, while others feel that it is negative because having the same reading curriculum would ensure that students are gaining the same education and are reading material that is appropriate. However, high school English classes should not all have the same reading curriculum because it will limit the amount of opportunity for students, as well as it would exclude non popular and more recent pieces of writing.

This essay originally titled Studying Literature in Grade 12, has an abundance of information regarding and convincing the readers that the grade twelve English course should be composed of Canadian literature. The grammar in this essay however, was weak. The subject did not agree to their pronouns, making many sentences awkward. Overall, improvements could have been made. Some of these include MLA format, the title, introduction paragraph, grammar, punctuation and the citation format.

In college, there are two main classifications of books: those read because they are required reading and those read because they are desired reading. Sometime however, a book can be read to both fulfill a class requirement, and be enjoyed on its own merit: The Alchemy of Race and Rights: Diary of a Law Professor, by Patricia J Williams, is one such book. It is obvious what makes a book required reading, but what is it that makes a book desired, enjoyable, even fulfilling reading? In a polling of several university students, the most common responses to this question were: “the book must be well written”; “a book in which the reader can personally relate to the writer or characters is held in much

The Common Core State Standard for Language Arts, which is the current standards observed by North Carolina, determines the particular proficiency students need in order to be prepared for their academic and professional futures according to the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. They add that some of these skills include, but are not limited to critical thinking skills, literacy skills and analytical skills. Current process, for the most part, do help establish a framework for keeping materials relevant to the maturity level of students. However, if students or parents feel as if their values or beliefs don’t line up with current standards of education, complications can arise. Complications such as the censorship of beneficial literature can have negative consequences in society. In agreement with Judy Blume, “ If every individual with an agenda had his/her way, the shelves in the school library would be close to empty.” Although there are many books that have either been banned or challenged, according to The Committee on Intellectual Freedom of the American Library Association, To Kill a Mockingbird is listed as “being among the 10 most frequently challenged books” (Karolides, Bald, and Sova 483).

For example, Shakespeare's plays have been around for hundreds of years. English departments focus highly on his stories alone. However, the messages languages and cheaters are no fun at all. Romeo and Juliet or Taming of the Shrew would be great if we could understand and relate to, then nevertheless, the topic but the message as we aren't quite schooling appropriate, Such as killing each other in the name of love or abusing your wife by brainwashing her until she obeys the male authority. Further, the reason that Shakespeare plays, books, and short stories should not be taught in schools.

Classic literature is something that is seen as a work of art, a piece that is valued and a text of highest quality. They are outstanding and recognised for years, centuries and decades as they resonate through time. These books or texts are influential and hold importance throughout times. These texts should be taught in the school curricula as the views that are represented are similar to those that are important in todays society, therefore they should be an important part within with school curricula. One classic text, ‘The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn’, written by Mark Twain in 1884 and one classic movie, ‘Breakfast At Tiffany’s’, produced by Blake Edwards in 1961 are great examples of Classic literature that have similar themes and views as those that we face today. Their relevance keeps these books seeming new and fresh as the audience connects to their characters and their idealisations.

The contrary side may infer that all students of high school English must read particular texts, such as literary canon books because they are most genuine, preeminent and beneficial. This is quite erroneous, though. According to George P. Landow’s article, “The Literary Canon,” “To enter the canon, or more properly, to be entered into the canon is to gain certain obvious privileges” (Source A). Landow, in essence, states that to become part of a “canon,” a literary work must transcend certain criteria. For example, dramatic works, such as “To Kill Mockingbird” and “Romeo and Juliet,” have been inaugurated into a canon, known as the “literary canon,” due to their profound, cohesive and well-accepted form of writing. Consequently, the opposition desires for all students of

The literature field is full of works that are nothing short of great. Many popular writers, such as Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, have authored stunning classical plays and novels, which have been read around the word. This makes choosing one’s work over all the others’ even the more difficult when there comes to the time of literature evaluation and comparison. However, in the midst of all those great literature works, there are some great standing out articles due to their strong composition and meaningful life messages that the authors try to convey to the audiences. One of them is the short story “Sonny’s Blues”, written by James Baldwin in 1957. This story shows us the reality as well as the complexity of life matters, and an overall picture of all the subcategories also really shows us the reason why it should be remained as a part of the literary canon of the 21st Century.