5 ms·
Man, I really have to re-read the Great Gatsby. It's ridiculous it's assigned as high school level reading. Yes the prose is appropriate for high school unders
by voidhorse 10y ago
Man, I really have to re-read the Great Gatsby.
It's ridiculous it's assigned as high school level reading. Yes the prose is appropriate for high school understanding, and the base themes are comprehensible enough, but man, the entire subject matter of this book largely revolves around scenarios, concepts, and behaviors one usually doesn't become aware of, or have any direct experience of, until adulthood.
Worse still, forcing students to read the book in high-school/ end of junior high probably just turns them off from it, or leads them to falsely feel like its not worth as much as it actually is because so much of it is attuned to adult experiences teenagers can't quite sync up with yet, even if they were born into a rich family or use the fullest powers of their imagination.
There's a tremendous gulf between the social landscapes of adults and those of children. (Though you could perhaps argue part of the point is to maybe show this isn't the case--nonetheless, I think certain things defy comprehension until we've experienced them ourselves, or until we've at least encountered sufficient analogues or had enough time to synthesize a variety of other proxy experiences into an equivalent)
- xahrepap 10y agoI have no interest in reading the book... because of exactly this: I had to read sophomore year of highschool, it was boring, left me with no desire to read it. And I could never understand why my teacher loved it so much.
- douche 10y agoLike most supposed "classics"of english literature that high school students are saddled with, it's largely a steaming pile, particularly if you are coerced into attempting to find meaning in it as a raw fifteen-year-old. I'm not sure it's any good, rereading it now in my late 20s, to be honest. It's hard to find anything from my HS AP literature course that I'd use for anything but tinder these days.
- ikeyany 10y agoI'm trying to figure out if that is a flaw, or an inherent feature, of our educational system (assuming you went to high school in the US).
- appleiigs 10y agoI was thinking the same thing (your entire comment) today, even before running across this thread. My bloomberg terminal has daily quote when you log in. Today it says "I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure, which is: Try to please everybody" - Hebert Bayard Swope. I didn't know Swope so I googled. Wikipedia says Swope could be partial inspiration for Gatsby (at least the house and parties). I read the book in early junior high school and I remembered it to be a book about nothing. Just a guy who missed a girl and that's it. In addition to not relating to the social and personal experience aspect, I really didn't notice the writing style which people gush about. Will need to re-read for sure.