Any books that you studied in school that have had a lasting impact?
I really loved Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird". It was beautifully narrated by the immocent yet filled with common sense voice of Scout, while dealing with serious issues of rape and racism among others. I loved the terror the children felt for Boo Radley, when the real terror was the bigotry around them which led to them being hated because their father defended an innocent black man.
I also loved Romeo and Juliet, at the time, though now I look back on it and I wonder - it really is teenage love it describes, when you think about how Romeo is in love with Rosalie at the beginning, then he just has to look at Juliet and he falls for her so deeply he wants to kill himself rather than be without here...definitely influences by pubescent hormones!
redwinegoblin
I studied To Kill a Mockingbird at school too and loved it. I also loved Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet (definately one for angsty teens everywhere!!!)But i think the best work was introduced to at school was Edward Thomas, we studied War Poets at A-Level and I just connected to his writing in a way that I hadn't with any other poet.
I wasn't so keen on Chaucer and didn't like him much more when I studied him at university. We also studied Death of a Salesman which I wasn't too taken with. Mindyou, I wasn't really in any frame of mind to like much that I learned at school so since I've become more mature and less annoyed with the world I've re-read a few books I disliked at school and seen them in a completely different light.
April_Rose
Yeah, I must try doing that as well. What I hated about English in secondary school was we were constantly being told what the meaning or significance of things were rather than be allowed/encouraged to figure it out for ourselves. It was all geared toward exam success rather than a true understanding of the literature, and disagreeing with establishe dopinion - even if you could back it up - was actively discouraged. It made me annoyed with the sort of books and poems that are studied in school for a while, making me tense up if I read anything worthy at all, but thankfully that phase didn't last long!
angelfairy
For A-Level English Lit, we studied a book called The Color Purple by Alice Walker. It really was a fantastic book and extremely hard hitting and emotional in places. It will definitely stay in my mind for a long time.
It's not a book as such but for another module of Eng Lit we had to focus on the writing of World War One. Reading some of the letters, poetry, diary entries and novels based and written about the war was facinating. I didn't expect to enjoy that module as much as i did, but most of the stuff we had to read was so emotional. One book that sticks in my mind is All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.
We also studied Hamlet for the coursework which i enjoyed. Lots of angst in that play hehe, i can't help but love the angsty stuff from Shakespeare.
Oh, another book we studied was Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson. I liked the fact that we were asked to study a novel that dealt with the subject of homosexuality as the main character was a lesbian. I found the religious implications in that book facinating as it shows how far some people would go to prove that being gay is a sin. And it was based on a true story that the writer had experienced. I love it when people put a bit of themselves into a book, even if it is subtle.
Oh wow, i'm really rambling on now hehe. I get a bit involved when talking about books...
jenny*
I really wanted to study To Kill A Mockingbird for my exam but instead we did A Kestrel for A Knave. When a first read it, I quite liked it, but after analysing everything little thing... having ever line drilled into you, it kinda loses its touch..
When I read To Kill A Mockingbird at home though, I absolutly loved the book, especially the main character, and the many stories involving her play-times with her brother & friends
April_Rose
Yeah, To Kill a Mockingbird really is fantastic! She really evokes what it feels like to be a child and be mystified by everything....maybe it's good you didn't do it in school Jen!
I can't believed you did Jeanette Winterson at school angelfairy! that's fantastic! I love that book, read it when I was pretty young (13/14?)and it really made an impression on me, but I read it again a few years ago and I think i got more out of it.
