Oooh
I want your essay!!!! Do not worry about length.
I have to say I hated Camus and Sartre- and it was my rejection of existentialism and their way of looking at the world that I consider important (although I like the humanistic element of Camus- and I know he SAID he wasn't an existentialist- but not many people believe him). I think it can be a good thing to look at a really dark vision, and reject it at an early age- so you don't have to spend time later wrestling with your terror of some dark nihilistic void.
I don't think I would recommend all those books to all the kids in my class. But every child who can read at grade level, should read Aurelius- because of the goodness shining through his life. I think he makes a nice exemplar of what a man can be- especially a great man, who could have been corrupted by power, as so many of the Caesars were. Hoffer changed the way I look at life- it's a simple book to read, and Russell is for everyone too (as long as one doesn't try to read Principia Mathematica- which is definitely not for everyone.)
I was 14 when I read Aurelius. And I loved it. I was also 14 when I read Hoffer- because I just found my copy and my father inscribed it to me on my birthday :-) I read Sartre and Camus in high school- I think sophomore year, along with the horrible Moby Dick. blech. I read How Proust can Change Your Life recently- but it was so good, I have been reading bits of it to my classes- to inspire them to read, and to love reading, and to see value in it. Since they do take to it, and since I loved the book, I include that. I think Campbell's simple summative book can be read by anyone- don't you? Power of Myth is much easier to read than his longer books about myth- like The Hero With a Thousand Faces. I put Grimm's fair tales on the list, and combined it with Bettleheim, because my students need to understand the complexity of simple things. I want them to look at something as simple as a nursery rhyme, and think WHY is this the way it is? Does it serve some inner need of man- or is it purely an instructive rhyme? I want them to take apart their own thoughts, and the thoughts of others, and I want them to turn those things over, as if they were 3 dimensional puzzles, until they take the whole thing apart as well as they are able. And of course The Norton samplers are to help them find what they love. I remember just hating Milton (still don't like him much) as a young teen, but I found much to love in the Norton. And it was fun going through it. I would never recommend a cover to cover read- but I will tell the kids in my class- pick one up, take a bite from each selection, and read in full the ones you find tasty. |
