importance of reading classics

Upload: kahloon-tham

Post on 23-Feb-2018

214 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

  • 7/24/2019 Importance of Reading Classics

    1/2

    Shakespeare once wrote, Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some havegreatness thrust upon them. While lines such as this one have become renowned and quoted overthe centuries, one might wonder - are they still relevant and useful in todays modern context?Literary classics refer to literary works written before our time, usually before the twenty-firstcentury, that have achieved widespread readership, fame, and occasionally, even notoriety. Most ofthese works have gone on to become the subject of intense scholarship, with some even havingbecome required reading in schools today. These literary classics still have plenty to offer us now,for they depict lives in eras before our time, allowing us insightful glimpses in to the past, and theyare important cornerstones of a societys cultural identity.

    Literary classics can be seen as time machines - opening one takes you into the past andoffers you the chance to experience a life before your time, right from the comfort of your livingroom They capture the socioeconomic conditions of a specific time in history, allowing us tocompare between life in the past and our lives today. F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsbydepicted the lavish lifestyles of the rich and famous in the 1920s, while Anne Franks diaries take usback to a time of fear and darkness. History is enshrined in literature - how else would we be ableto experience life under the Nazi regime, or the desolate conditions of The Great Dust Bowl ascaptured in John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath? Indeed, these literary classics are important

    documents of mankinds history that no other medium is able to replace, for books offer a uniquesense of personal engagement - it allows one to step into the shoes of historical figures and relivethe past. This function of literary classics is especially crucial when media such as photography orfilm have yet to be invented. Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities - the worlds best-selling book -offers a gripping account of the French Revolution that no other medium can offer. Hence, it wouldbe wrong to think that literary classics no longer offer us anything of value.

    Furthermore, literary classics form the basis of a societys cultural identity. Every societyhas their own myths and legends, and these are captured in literary classics for the benefit offuture generations. Homers Odysseyand the Iliadboth provide stories of Greek gods that havebecome an integral aspect of Greek (and indeed, Western) culture. In China, the renowned tale of

    a monks journey along with his semi-human disciples are enshrined in the form of The Journey tothe West, which still achieves widespread readership today. An individuals sense of belonging tohis culture is therefore founded upon these myths and stories, and to deny the role of literaryclassics in passing them on would be paving the road for the disintegration of ones culture.

    However, one might argue that literary classics no longer have anything to offer us simplybecause they are old and no longer have any relevance to our modern lives. For example, anyteenager who reads Romeo and Julietmight find it absurd - it is, after all, a tale of two thirteen-yearolds who fall in love within a matter of days and for which they commit suicide. In an age wheretechnological advancement has led to increasingly fast-paced lives, does one still have the time toread such classics that barely have any bearing on their lives? Indeed, it is questionable how manyyouth today will choose to pick up Shakespeare if it were not mandated by the syllabus. As such, it

    appears that contemporary authors such as Jonathan Safran Foer, with his tale of a boy who losthis father in the September 11 attacks, have more value and currency for our lives today, andliterary classics are no more than a waste of time.

    Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of literary classics come from countries that havelong and illustrious histories. Most classics today come from the United Kingdom or the UnitedStates. In Asia, the most prominent literary classics come from China, with its prized 5000 years ofhistory. As such, countries such as those in Latin America, Southeast Asia, or Africa are oftenneglected when it comes to the prominence of their literature. Considering the breakneck pace ofglobalization today, such a narrow view of what literary classics, and by extension, culture, entailis no longer appropriate nor valuable.

    However, while it may appear that literary classics are no longer relevant due to their ageand context, this is hardly true. The beauty of literature, as F. Scott Fitzgerald writes, lies inknowing that your longings are universal. Literary classics are valuable because they offer us

  • 7/24/2019 Importance of Reading Classics

    2/2

    insights into the human condition, which has hardly changed over the years. ShakespearesMacbeth, for example, displays ambition that many of us today can still identify with. LadyMacbeth, too, continues to be relevant to our lives today, having even been the subject of Freudsstudy. Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Graydepicts a young man so afraid of losing his youthand beauty that he makes a disastrous pact with the devil - is this not relevant in a societyobsessed over beauty and engages in procedures like plastic surgery? Indeed, literature - be itclassic or contemporary - shows us what it means to be human. We are able to see ourselves inthe characters of our favourite books. There is a reason why literary classics continue to be soldaround the world and translated into every major language today - because its messages areuniversal, its characters timeless, and its appeal undeniable. Hence, despite its old age anddifferent context from our lives today, literary classics do have much to offer us - perhaps thegreatest gift of all - an understanding of who we are and our place in the grand scheme of things.

    The purpose of literature is to engage the reader, and in this respect, literary classicscontinue to excel. Lewis Carrolls Through the Looking-Glasscontinues to enchant readers of allages. So does C. S. Lewiss The Chronicles of Narnia. All a book requires is our imagination, andliterary classics continue to engage our creativity and take our imaginations to the limits. Hence,they still have much to offer us today - especially for our younger generation, who are growing up

    in the age of television and technology, which present ready-made visuals and do not challengeour imaginations. As Roald Dahl - an author of many classics in their own right - argues in hispoem on television, books can offer us something no other medium can - the joy of using ourimagination and stepping into another world.

    In conclusion, while it may appear that literary classics have lost their worth in todaysmodern society, this is hardly the case. Literary classics continue to provide crucial insights into thepast and form the basis of a societys culture. They continue to take readers on fantastical journeysinto the unknown, and more importantly, continue to guide us towards an understanding of who weare and our place in the universe. As civilization progresses, much of todays contemporaryliterature. such as Haruki Murakami of Japan, or Wole Soyinka from Nigeria, will go on to become

    classics in their own right. Our future generations will have much to look forward to in terms ofreading choices, but the classics of today will continue to be classics tomorrow.