The Importance Of Literary Canon

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

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.

Literary works are the foundation for education and are crucial for multiple reasons, some of which include that literature obtains a large variety of information that is at times not accessible to students by computers and teachers alone. Another advantage is adults and children alike improve their understanding and knowledge of certain topics whilst improving their intelligence of the language itself. Banning literary pieces of work is unjustifiable and proves to students that if something is not agreeable within a book, shielding its contents is the next honorary thing to do in order to prevent disruption. High schools should not ban books due to their excessive profanity, violence, sexual content and unagreeable topics because this restriction prevents young readers from developing a better understanding of the society they live in, and could counter act a new change and lessons to be learned.

Kids in Today’s Society In the article “What’s the Matter with Kids Today?” Amy Goldwasser believes that the internet is a positive tool in the youth’s lives today. Unlike the older generation that thinks that the internet is just taking time away from them and making them very distracted from their work and school. As an 88-year-old in the article states,” Kids today- were telling you! - don’t read, don’t write, and don’t care about anything farther in front of them than their iPods.”

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 literary canon is a classification of literature that is used widely to refer to a group of literary works that are most important of specific time period or place. A literary canon can establish a collection of similar or related literary works. In order for literature work to enter the canon it has to be decided by influential literacy critics, scholars, teachers, and other opinions who are highly respected. There are no rigid qualifications for canonization, whether work will be canonized remains a subjective decision.

Good morning fellow English enthusiasts. I would firstly like to thank you the opportunity talk to you about the importance and the value of the canon in our school systems. The literary canon is a controversial topic between english scholars and it has been debated as to whether or not it is important to continue teaching the canon to students. The canon is quintessential to the school program and will forever be the what makes Literature special. The canon is the be all end all of english texts, in its most simple form the canon is a list of texts which is considered to be the best works of Literature in human history. However each person's opinion on what constitutes a literary text can differ from one person to another. For me

When making curricular decisions in any educational institution, most educators must consider which texts will best serve the needs of their students in attaining specific curricular requirements, whether those be state-imposed standards, or departmental requirements. Determining which texts will stay on their syllabus often becomes a struggle between tradition and cultural relevance. As author William Bennett once suggested, we continue to teach the canon because “the highest purpose of reading is to be in the company of great souls” (Bennett, qtd. in Bolter 150). What makes a text or author

Focusing not on just genre, Graham Holderness explores the canon from critics and in relation to Shakespeare in his essay “’An Arabian in My Room’: Shakespeare and the Canon”. He defines the canon as writers of universally acclaimed classics with such names as Shakespeare, Dante, Jane Austen, and Milton. From this definition, he states that although the canon seems to have always been there, it did not appear until the 18th century. The canon during that time consisted only of poetry and playwrights and novelists were excluded. As times changed many different authors have been under debate on whether they should be in the canon or not. He argues that the only author that is not under debate is Shakespeare, “Shakespeare is the canon. He sets the standards and the limits of literature’” (Holderness 74). Jane Austen for example was not included in the canon until the late 20th century. From this he argues that the canon is not as set in stone as believed. Holderness then attempts to explain how an author is put in the canon. The article argues that in order for a book to be canonical it has to go from “opinion to knowledge” (75). Popularity also plays a role because it should be universally known like Austen. Another facet is through literary merit, something most classics have. Critics play a large role in this decision as they decide which book is best. Time element is important as well because a novel must remain popular rather than dying in popularity to stay in the canon.

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.