School Books

This image is not a commentary on my beliefs about students and reading, not even a little! ;)

Last semester, I had the opportunity to teach a literature class that I hadn’t taught previously. Although there were several stellar students in the course, the group dynamics were discouraging; there was a sort of inertia that dragged us down all semester. I’m willing to accept my share of the blame - maybe I didn’t work hard enough to find a solution - but I am grateful that this particular class is finished! Thankfully this struggle did have a silver lining! In designing the syllabus, I got to read texts that I knew of but had never had the opportunity to read during my own studies. I don’t know how much my students appreciated their inclusion, but I am better read now – and I hope they left the class with greater critical thinking skills and at least a small appreciation of literature!

Faust - This was, by far, the work the students enjoyed the most. I always feel a certain affection for well-written villains (like Lucifer in Paradise Lost, for instance), and I can’t help but feel a certain sympathy for a scholar who was led astray by a longing for knowledge, so it was a good read for me, too. It does leave me wondering though: why do my students always feel a greater affinity for the Romantics - who are removed from them by a solid three centuries - than for the Victorians?

The Tale of Kieu - This was one of my favorite reads this semester. It taught me a great deal about Vietnam, and I came to look forward to the moments of contradiction in the text. On one hand, Kieu is a female icon, upholding feminine virtues even in the face of adversity and abuse. On the other hand, she orders executions of those who have wronged her without the slightest hesitation. I love rich, complex characters! I also cannot get over the ending!

(reread) My Bondage and My Freedom - To be untouched by a narrative like Douglass’s is probably to be something less than human. I worked with this text several times in graduate seminars, but it was rewarding to see what passages resonated with my students, where the text made them take pause.

Notes from the Underground - In the first half of this text, I identified with the narrator more than I am entirely comfortable with admitting… This shorter work gave me a new respect for Dostoyevsky and a new interest in his works. Because of it, I am now reading Crime and Punishment.

The Death of Ivan Ilych - At the same time I was teaching this text, I also taught “Queen of Spades” by Pushkin and “The Overcoat” by Gogol. I preferred the other two texts, but can respect the power of this one and the message that to live a life without meaning is not to live at all (something worth dwelling on  in our time!)

(reread) A Doll’s House - I first encountered this work in a drama class as an undergraduate. I loved it then because it surprised me in the final act. I didn’t think such a foolish character as Nora could undergo a believable awakening, but she does and the play’s final moments have great power!

The Cherry Orchard - I enjoyed this play because I read it at the same time I was reading Nicholas and Alexandra, so I had a deeper appreciation of the chasms between the social classes and of the feelings on both sides. For my money, this is another play where the ending comes for your heart with a knife. Fiers lying there in the dark….

(reread) The Most Dangerous Game - I originally had no intentions of teaching this text (I was encouraged to avoid British and American authors) but a discussion with one of my students made me remember it and want to include it. It jives nicely with my own research - the idea of people as the hunted rather than the hunters - and the students had a firm grasp on the imperial elements that appear throughout.

(reread) Little Women - One of the great privileges of teaching literature is that one is often taught in turn. I worked with just one student on this text and I balked a little at first because I felt that I had outgrown the work; some passages seemed too syrupy, too disconnected from reality. Yet, over time, I found passages that still applied. The lesson Marmee teaches the girls about too much leisure? I think I’ve had to teach myself that lesson a few times, too! My student also did a wonderful job of tracking down the many cultural influences that appear at the borders of the story - from Transcendentalism to Suffrage.

Heart of Darkness - If I thought enough of my abilities as a scholar to imagine I could find something new to say, I would love to write on this text. I was so struck by Conrad’s word choice, his ability to conjure atmosphere… and that lie at the end! And then there is the narrator’s obsession… I don’t have anything concrete to say about it, but I would love to spend time parsing it out!

The Metamorphosis - This tragic little tale both won me over and repulsed me… and since I live with someone who makes a living from insects, I couldn’t help but feel a strange tenderness for poor Gregor. The moment that really did me in was his protection of the picture of the girl in the fur coat. He doesn’t known this woman - the picture is a cut out from a magazine - but he feels so much that he risks bodily harm to protect this aspect of his fading humanity. I can just imagine myself trapped in cockroach-form, protectively crouched over my Andrew McNaughtan photo of Geddy Lee!!

In the event of entomological transformation, look for me here!

(reread) Ready Player One - I successfully taught this text in a pop culture course and have since been using it as a supplement in composition classes to push students toward writing about things of personal interest to them. The geek in me also loves the way the author pays homage to things he loves (I wish I had thought of that first)!

(reread) Beowulf­ – Remember that line from The Hobbit? It goes like this: "Arrow!" said the bowman. "Black arrow! I have saved you to the last. You have never failed me and always I have recovered you. I had you from my father and he from of old. If ever you came from the forges of the true king under the Mountain, go now and speed well!" Beowulf is my black arrow in the classroom. It never fails, it gives the students a very solid foundation in terms of the epic, and I always enjoy the conversation it generates. I usually tell students that I am their good ring-giver and they are my noble shield-bearers. 

(reread) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight – I love the alliteration in Gawain and the way it contrasts the two hunts. I always tell the students that they should feel nervous for Gawain if all of this carnage is being described outside – it means he’s just as much in danger inside! Having an immature, fashion-driven Arthurian court is also a nice twist on Camelot!

(reread) Paradise Lost – I’ve mentioned above that I enjoy a sympathetic villain. To compel students to engage with the literary legacy of Paradise Lost (one that taints many people’s understanding of Genesis) I ask them to compare the poem to either Wrath of Khan or Pleasantville. It makes for some very fun papers! I’m not quite willing to read Kirk as a God figure (to the regret of William Shatner, I’m sure) but Spock as a Christ figure reads better – where the needs of the many (sinners) outweighed the needs of our mightiest One.

(reread) The Odyssey – I began my class on epic with The Odyssey (as is only fitting) and my ambitious start was well-rewarded. Students were quick to pick out the cultural (masculine) values being held up and we’ve been tracing the development of the epic hero ever since!

Epic (New Critical Idiom Series) – I can’t say enough good about this series. I was introduced to it as a graduate student working under the wise and wonderful Dr. Donald E. Hall and I’ve been recommending its slender volumes ever since. If you need to get a quick, thorough introduction to a literary topic, you can’t do better than these. This particular volume was a little dry, but it gave my students a good introduction to the ancient epics, the trajectory of epics up to Milton, and the way that elements of the epic have seeped into modern fantasy, science fiction, and video games.

(reread) The Complete ElfQuest v. 1 – This teaching experiment was not a grand success, as the reading was due the day before Easter break. Half of my class didn’t appear and the half that did appear neglected much of the reading. However, as I’ve related in other posts, I think this comic has a lot to offer, and I’ll use it again in my Graphic Novel course in the fall. Try, try again!