Top 5 Reasons to Read the Classics
Classic novels are the ones that readers down through the ages have consistently identified as valued works of art. These books contain elements that keep one generation after another coming back for more. We often say they “stand the test of time.”
What is it about the classics that makes them an English teacher’s staple for unit studies, essay assignments, and reading lists?
Here’s a countdown of my top 5 reasons why everyone should take time to read the classics:
Reason #5: The classics establish a rich foundation for studying other subject areas.
Classics sharpen the skills you need to succeed in all areas of higher learning. Would you like to improve in comprehension, critical thinking, interpretation, drawing conclusions, and crafting verbal and written expression? You can begin by reading books that set high standards in syntax (the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences), diction, figurative language, and plot development.
In other words, bypass that electronic game, grab a classic, and dig in!
Reason #4: The classics provide challenging texts for informal language study.
Want to build your vocabulary? Work your way through one of the classics. There’s a place for memorizing SAT word lists, but experiencing words in context, absorbing shades of meaning from a story’s tone, moves those words to the forefront of your mind. You’ll be more likely to understand the words when you see them again in a new context.
Plus, as you read, you just might stumble upon the first time common words and phrases were used by the authors who coined them. Keep an eye out for flummox, abuzz, sawbones, on the rampage, devil-may-care, dinner party, banana republic, hard-boiled, door mat, pandemonium, freelance, swagger, and luggage, to name a few.
Reason #3: The classics expand our understanding of history and culture in context.
Classics immerse readers in certain time periods and help them “experience” the events that unfold for themselves. Readers of classic novels can vicariously trek through the American wilderness alongside Natty Bumpo or feel the desperation of the hungry masses during the French Revolution or hum along with the sea shanties as they stand watch for Ahab on the high seas.
Some classics go beyond reflecting a time period’s culture and were themselves agents of change that helped shape that culture. This is true for the novels of Charles Dickens, who targeted abuses in education, or Harriet Beecher Stowe, who targeted the institution of slavery.
Reading these classic novels can lead to a deeper understanding of history—especially of the mindsets and motivations of the players involved—than can be found in a text book.
Reason #2: The classics unite generations.
Italo Calvino, an Italian author and journalist, wrote, “The classics are the books that come down to us bearing upon them the traces of readings previous to ours, and bringing in their wake the traces they themselves have left on the culture or cultures they have passed through.”
The clothes we wear, the jobs we work, our accents and living conditions may differ greatly from previous generations. But our reactions to the stories we share reveal what we have in common—similar hopes, dreams, fears, needs, and longings.
Did readers in times past also agonize with Hester and Dimmesdale as they said farewell on the scaffold? Were they, too, filled with admiration as simple, big-hearted Joe Gargery sacrificed to save Pip from the mess he’d made of his life? Were they outraged at Godfrey Cass’s casual denial of his only daughter, as well?
It’s powerful to discover that the things that move a modern day reader touched the hearts of those who came before. This is one reason to pass these stories on to the next generation—to show them that though times change, people’s hearts remain the same.
Reasons #1: The classics enlarge our appreciation for and understanding of life.
Every generation wrestles with big life questions: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?
Classic novels explore the answers.
Readers from every time period long for heroes.
Classic novels present some of the greatest ever written.
In a world too often touched by ugliness and tragedy, everyday folks seek for ways to live good, noble, and true lives.
Classic novels lift our minds to causes greater than ourselves.
Classic novels share life lessons, inspirational examples, and solutions for society’s problems from some of the most creative, thoughtful minds in our world’s history. Their stories enrich us in ways that can’t be quantified.
Let me leave you with the words of David M. Whalen, provost and professor of English of Hillsdale College,
“Reading and understanding great fiction is one of the glories of the human soul. In doing so, we engage in a conversation about the most important questions, which shape our minds and deepen our souls.”
Renee Ann Smith teaches literature in a Christian high school by day and writes stories by night. She reviews books and shares inspirational posts on her blog Doorkeeper at http://reneeannsmith.com/. You can also find her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ReneeAnnSmith.