Diana’s Comments (group member since Nov 27, 2012)

Diana’s comments from the Reading the Classics group.

Kirstin wrote: "Romeo and Juliet. I know it was a first of its kind so I give it props. Bitter feud, forbidden love, fights, death, tragedy. I understand that all of Shakespeare is ground breaking but I never unde..."

Romeo and Juliet have never been my favorite of the Shakespeare couples. Their very teenage behavior makes it seem too much like puppy love gone very bad. For me, Beatrice and Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing are far more interesting.

Poe had a marvelous talent for creating a mood. And The Raven is one of the best examples

Charlotte wrote: "I think The Grapes of Wrath is overrated. I liked it but I thought East of Eden was vastly superior. The first one hundred or so pages I also found incredibly dull and the overall structure of the ..."

I have enjoyed Steinbeck's shorter books better than his long ones. I think some authors do better with a short book rather than a sweeping novel. forces make their point and tell their story without a lot of unneeded characters and plot lines.

Back in the dark ages (40 years ago) when I was in College, most places closed for three hours Good Friday afternoon. The University, however, held classes as usual. I had an English Lit class at 1:30 that afternoon. The Professor told us attendance would be optional. I had a later class so I came. He read and lectured on the symbolism of a poem by John Donne on Good Friday. It was the amazing Lit class I ever attended.

Sometimes what make a classic wonderful or awful has more to do with the reader than the writer. The experiences the reader has had, what they've read before. Age, sex, marital status, profession and culture can all effect a person's reaction to a book. Sometimes it's just the mood the reader is in when they try the book.

Two short books to consider THE SHORT REIGN OF PIPPIN IV
by John Steinbeck. Very different from his better known books. Also THE PRINCE by Machiavelli. This book could produce lots of interesting discussion.

Brendan wrote:

Throw it away then! Books are to enjoy, not suffer :)"
Don't know if it's considered a classic, but I just spent 3 weeks trying to read IN THE NAME OF THE ROSE. The library rental expired and I started to renew it. I was only half way through it because I kept putting it down and going to other books. Stared at it for a few minutes and thought "Do I really care how this ends?" Answer no. Dropped in the return slot and walked away.

I think your reaction to anything assigned in High School depends a lot on the teacher. I had a teacher my Junior year with a Dickens fetish that needed to retire. She had reached the point teenagers clearly bugged her and she was just marking time. We had to choose one Dickens book for a book report and read Great Expectations in class. She gave a strong dislike of Dickens. The next year I had a very involved English teacher who loved Shakespeare. I went on to read most of the plays myself and took an elective class on Shakespeare in collage.

Marren wrote: "A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens"

I think the problem with the Christmas Carol is that it has been made into so many movies and TV shows. remade with slightly different scenarios, parodied, and rewritten so many times that the original seems old and boring. It is so much apart of our cultural life that it has lost it's punch.

LadyDisdain wrote: "It's implied that they forgot how he truly was and started portraying him as a saint simply because he'd died. I think this is just Austen being brutally honest in her observations of people again ..."

I think this it what the old saying '"only the good die young" is talking about. When we lose someone young it seems a greater loss. As a result we tend to magnify their good qualities and ignore their bad ones.

Lauren wrote: "I don't particularly like Anne.

I had the same reaction. She seemed to let others do her thinking for her. At first I though that it might be just a difference the way our culture sees the role of women. But when you compare her to Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice or Emma she still comes of a much weaker woman.

Helen wrote: .
The other was "Moby Dick" it was extremely boring with ..."
I am ashamed to admit I have started Moby Dick at least three times and never gotten more than 50 to 75 pages into it. Everyone say how wonderful it is, but I agree it's boring

I read one time that Huxley and Orwell gave to very different pictures of the future. And it was starting to look like Huxley got it right. With what is happening in our society today is see their point. the obsession with entertainment. The disappearing of the traditional family unit. The Changing morals. The growing control big business has of our culture. In many ways it is looking more and more like Brave New World.

The story is set in the 17th century. It was written in the 19th. Around 1850 I think. Which means Hawthorne most likely had the attitudes of a Victorian.

I think one of the main themes of the book is repentance. One person who faces the sin, deals with it. (Admittedly she had little choice). But she moves on.
Her life is eventually good. The other one hides the sin and suffers for it for years.

I liked the Scarlet Letter once I got past the first chapter. I had Lit prof tell me that it is the worst chapter ever written in a good book. He said to go back and read it after finishing the rest of the book then it makes sense.