The Pro's and Con's of Classical and Contemporary Literature: A Teenager's View - By Triniti

     If you have ever wondered the differences between classical and contemporary literature, this article is for you. I like classical a lot more than contemporary, no matter how much I enjoy more modern books.

       A lot of children nowadays use a lot of basic English, not even knowing any old fashioned words (which I still use in basic conversation). I was reading Great Expectations (Charles Dickens) recently, and I noticed how beautiful and eloquent the verbiage was. They use a lot of words that aren't heard very much anymore, simply because of the times. It may be harder to read, but it also encourages learning. I will admit that I have a kind of high reading level, or I did when I was young, so I was capable of reading Jane Austen when I was nine years old. In fact, around the time that I was ten, my mom and dad decided that I should start reading Charles Dickens and Jules Verne. I have yet to read Jules Verne again because when I tried to read books by that author when I was that young, I had no interest in traveling Around the World in 80 Days (Verne). I also tried to read David Copperfield (Dickens) and Emma (Austen) when I was ten, and I didn't like those very much either. When it comes to literature for young children, no matter how high their reading level, must be based on interest level. Young children, in my opinion, would enjoy more contemporary than classical, at least between the ages of seven and twelve. Keep in mind, enjoy does not constitute "it's better for them."

     Infants through kindergarten age would probably enjoy Dick and Jane, but I haven't read books at that level in a long time. Dick and Jane was one of my favorite things to read when I first learned. I first started reading when I was four, as did my two older brothers. The words are very simple, such as, Look Jane! See Spot. See Spot run. That is not direct quoting, but pretty close. There are also some board books that really young children would like, such as The Boss Baby. When we were little, my mom would read us a book called I Love You, Stinky Face (Lisa McCourt). That one is really cute, but your mom has to read it to you. I still like that book, but if you read it to yourself, then you lose a lot of the meaning.

     Books that I would recommend for seven to ten-year-old children would probably be The Boxcar Children (Gertrude C. Warner), The Magic Tree House (Mary Pope Osborne), and the Ramona books (Beverly Cleary). And how could I forget The Chronicles of Narnia (C.S. Lewis)! There are plenty of other good books, but those were some of my favorites (I still read them, just for something that I don't usually read). 

     For ten to twelve-year-old kids I'd probably include Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Rick Riordan), The Mysterious Benedict Society (Trenton Lee Stewart), The Land of Stories (Chris Colfer), and the Beyonders (Brandon Mull) series, among others, as good reads. At this age, you may want to introduce Louisa May Alcott's many books. Little boys (as well as girls) might enjoy her book Eight Cousins, as well as Little Men or Jo's Boys, although the latter two are part of a series that begins with Little Women.

     Another nice thing about classical literature is the environment that it's set in. The things that are written about could have actually happened to the authors. Little Women, for example, is based on Louisa May Alcott's early life. It has this aura about it of house and home. She grew up during the American Civil War. The way that she describes each place and feeling is from experience. The poverty among other families that the March family helped, the poverty that they themselves were in, the sorrow felt by friends and family whenever someone wasn't coming back, those feelings came from things that she knew.

     One thing that you have to watch out for in classical literature is that English is not a "dead" language like Latin or Ancient Greek. The words that we use and their meanings are always changing. As I was reading Little Women, I almost winced at how some words have changed over the years. The part that I saw which shocked me so went as follows:

     "In order that we may start afresh and go to Meg's wedding with free minds, it will be well to begin with a little gossip about the Marches. And here let me premise that if any of the elders think there is too much `lovering' in the story, as I fear they may (I'm not afraid the young folks will make that objection), I can only say with Mrs. March, 'What can you expect when I have four gay girls in the house, and a dashing young neighbor over the way?'"

     The proper definition for the word which caused my dismay is below. This is the way that Miss Alcott meant it.

Gay:
adj. 1. having or showing a merry, lively mood.
2. given to or abounding in social or other pleasures.
(Webster's American Family Dictionary, 1998)

     There is absolutely nothing wrong with that definition. When that definition is used, that would be how I classify myself. I enjoy being merry and social. The thing is, that's not how that word is used anymore because English is always changing. So, be careful that you do not misinterpret what a classical author is saying, because you can get a very wrong idea of what happened. 

     With contemporary, you won't have that problem, at least, not as much. The thing with contemporary is that it tends to be a lot more dangerous to read. I'd much sooner hand my future children a random book by Charles Dickens than by almost any contemporary author. Dickens may write about some harsh topics, but I have confidence that inappropriate material would be far less likely to infiltrate a child's brain with his work than with most contemporary authors. 

     Shakespeare, however, should be censored as much as contemporary literature. I've only read Romeo & Juliet and A Midsummer Night's Dream, but the latter was really weird. There were multiple story lines (neither of which did I like) and that made it very confusing. The faery side of the story was very dark and strange, and the human part was just as dark and strange, but in a different way. Many people have misgivings towards Romeo and Juliet because they think that there is some content in it that isn't. I will say that by the end of the play, Juliet had married Romeo. I don't agree with her actions, as she was disrespecting her father, but that was why she really wouldn't marry Paris. She was already married. 

     I do enjoy lots of contemporary books. Several of the books that I mentioned for younger readers are contemporary. I also enjoy books from the 1900's, which I don't consider classical or contemporary. One of my favorite books is Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury), although that is definitely for junior high to high school readers. I would highly recommend it for today's environment.

     In Fahrenheit 451, the premise is basically that books can damage you. None of the authors tend to agree with one another, so if two books don't agree, burn them both. It can cause hurting on both sides if these evil things are allowed to circulate. The Bible, the one un-errant book in the world, the words that God, Yahweh, Jesus himself gave to us, doesn't agree with The Origin of Species (Charles Darwin), so you have to burn them both. That is not right, but this does actually happen in our world. A lot of classical literature is being banned from schools, libraries, etc. 

     This book and others are not prophesying. They are simply showing natural degeneration in cultures. I'm not saying that different generations are less sinful than others. But some generations are more open with their sin than others. My siblings and I aren't allowed to watch and read a lot of newer things because of the content. When we watch anything, we mostly just watch old movies and TV shows, like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Singin' in the Rain, Life with Father, I Love Lucy, That Girl, and our favorite, The Dick van Dyke Show. The first four are movies and are very clean cut. The latter three are TV shows, and each of them, while very clean compared to today's movies and shows, still occasionally have elements to them that show that they are what they are, adult shows. There are old movies that aren't totally kid friendly, as well as old books, so you can't just say, "It's old. They don't put bad things in old movies, books, etc." That would not be true. 
  
     Jane Austen is awesome. She writes love stories which are very clean cut. I'm not allowed to read modern romance novels. I don't know what's in them, but I'm not allowed to read them, so I'm fine with that. If you want to read a good romance novel, go get a copy of Sense & Sensibility or Pride & Prejudice. They are both epic. They are kind of hard to read, but they are worth it. They too have that environment that I couldn't put into a book if I wrote one about that time period because she (Austen) writes about what she knows. 

     I also read some contemporary Christian books by a woman named Francine Rivers. One of them was called Redeeming Love, and the others were part of a series called Mark of the Lions. They were really good. They are definitely high-school reads, unless you're reading them to your children and censoring out some things. Redeeming Love is based on the book of Hosea, but set in the old west. In Hosea, God commands him to take a prostitute, Gomer, as his wife. She tries to go back to her old life. That is in this book. The Mark of the Lion series is set in ancient Rome, so it also has some of that stuff because Rome was a very immoral place, similar to the current United States. I really loved these books though. I would recommend them for 10th-grade girls and up. They were fiction, but they taught a lesson in their pages. I don't know much about the author, but based off of those books, she is solid in her beliefs. 

      I like reading about ancient Greeks and Romans. I read The Iliad and The Odyssey (Homer) a while back, and they were awesome! The first few chapters of The Iliad were only listing the purpose of the war and the names of all of the participating groups, but after they finished discussing the reasons that the Achaeans were attacking the Trojans, it got pretty good. It was kind of graphic, so I suggest refraining from reading it until high school. It was kind of hard to follow, but I do suggest reading it before you read The Odyssey. 

     The Odyssey holds your interest much better than The Iliad, and is easier to follow. Only the first chapter is used to explain the story and characters, and the gods are much more relevant in this book than The Iliad. If you like Percy Jackson, you'll probably enjoy The Odyssey. It follows more than one plot, including the voyage of Odysseus, which may make it hard to follow for some. 

     What I wrote is just my opinions. What you and your family read is dependent on your and your family's ideologies. I know some people whose children are not allowed to read any contemporary literature, and I don't see a problem with that. I know people whose children don't like to read anything except for certain contemporary books and they let them. I don't see a problem with that either. I personally prefer older books. I just began War and Peace (Leo Tolstoy), and so far it's really good. I don't think that most people would really enjoy it though. 😉

     But the most important book of all is the Bible. No matter what else you read, remember to put God first in your life. Forget all of the dramas and romances of errant man. Focus on God and what He is teaching you. He is not man, that He should lie; or son of man, that He should change His mind. He will never leave us or forsake us! 

     If you have any questions concerning books for various age groups or just want to know my opinions on various books (I may not have read them, but if I have I'll answer) comment below!