Monday, February 9, 2009
Great books
What is a great book? Well, what do you want to read about? What are you’re interests? What style of writing do you like? Are you looking for form or content? Great books should be left up to the reader to decide whether or not they are “great “ or not. Suggestions always help but that does not mean that the two readers will agree. Carrying the title of a “Great Book” is completely based on ones opinion. Just because a scholar enjoys a book does not mean that everyone else will. Even other scholars will disagree. In the article what was published in the newspaper that we read in class the writer believed that great books are those that have lived on throughout time such as Shakespeare, for one example. On the other hand he was not open minded to other writers what the course was covering. This is a liberal arts college. What do we pride our selves on so much here? The ability to be well rounded in every area of academia. Why can’t this writer keep his mind open to newer writers. This way he will be able to expand his views sense they are so closed. Also, if these are great books and authors that are popular and everyone has read, why would you want to reread it and discuss thoughts and themes that I’m sure have been brought up in another class. He should what to expand his book collection and discuss new book and others where there are going to be new and different themes that might open his eyes to the world. Going over information and texts that professors already have vast amount of knowledge on is helpful in some ways but its so much more fun to watch them learn as we , the students, learn along side of them. This way you can get a first hand view of how to read critically.
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I agree with Keegan's view on what makes a book great. It's always up to the reader, like that phrase, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". It is the same with literature. But even if it is in the eye of the beholder, the beholder must be open to new sights so that they are not limited in their worldview. Reading critically is important but one must still stay open to newer ideas. No one will agree on everything with everyone else but there must be a mutual understanding and for these books, the understanding is that they were chosen with care and regarded as worthy of praise.
ReplyDeleteChris in my previous post I was pretty vague about what a great book is. I still feel that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” but I soon learned that there are some standards that it has to meet to qualify. Me, being vague was a way to cover up my ignorance about the subject and I have no problem admitting that I didn’t have an opinion because I didn’t know enough about great works that have compiled through out the years. \
ReplyDeleteIts funny how that one article sparked conversations in a lot of classes all over campus. Right after our class last Thursday we talked about the articles in the paper and discussed that a great book has to appeal to readers emotions, the reader has to identify to the reading some how, it has to attack great universal questions, is it timelessness, and does it have insight into the time period. A lot of these qualification are subjective to someone’s opinion but it also gives people to grounds to agree on something.
I would agree with Keegan on this issue. I think that if we look at the big picture, it doesn't really matter which books we read as long as we are challenging ourselves and learning. So whatever canon someone else believes in is irrelevant. I'm a big believer in progressive teaching, where the student gets to make choices in their education based on their own interests. When students are engaged in class because they are interested in the subject matter, they will learn a lot. I don't think that a student who reads authors that someone else has decided are great will learn better if they are not engaged. I think it's more important to be engaged and active in class activities than to read a set number or type of authors if they will not keep the students engaged.
ReplyDeleteI would not necessarily believe in the idea of "beauty in the eye of the beholder" when determining what is considered classic canon. I would agree with Chris about his idea that people should be open to different and new authors. What I have a problem with is that the statement "beauty in the eye of the beholder" gives everyone and anyone the ability to choose what is classic. Something becomes a classic when it is widely accepted as a good piece of literature by the academic and public crowd. Yes we all have our favorite books that speak to us in different ways, but because I think something written might be the most beautiful piece of literature that I have read gives it no reason to be accepted as a classic. To be a classic, a piece needs to go through an almost set criteria. I am not suggesting that there is a certain checklist a book needs to go through to be considered a classic, but all things considered classic do have to be accepted by the academy as classic, and more importantly, a text needs to be accepted by the general public on a world wide scale. So no, not one person can find something beautiful and it be a classic text, the text has to bee closely scrutinized and go through the test of time and be regarded by the vast majority of the world to be considered a classic.
ReplyDeleteIn Keegan’s post he mentioned some important ideas concerning what a “Great Book” is. These ideas circled around the notion that a great book is one of personal discretion. Keegan acknowledged the fact that not all people will have the same general understanding of what a great book is, also that many academics differ in their gauge of literature. Although many readers look towards academics and their opinion on specific literature to begin to develop their own bases, the majority of readers branch off and adhere to a specific genres. This is what Keegan alludes to in his response to the article. One thing that Keegan didn’t necessarily address was the impact of other peoples ideas of what a great book is, and how it impacts ones personal discretion. Having been an avid reader for going on over a decade now, my personal discretion is something that allows me to read literature that I enjoy. However, as I have been immersed in the collegiate structure of class and curriculum for three years now, the impact of others opinions of great books have drastically affected mine. This concept could have strengthened Keegan’s response because all readers are influenced either positively, or negatively by others opinions.
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