Hey everyone, sorry it's been so long since I last wrote, life has been really crazy lately. (I don't know about you all, but graduating high-school is a bore. Seriously.)
Today, I am going to talk about the literature that is called 'classic' in this modern age. I have been CLEPing out of English Literature this last semester, and up until the Victorian period, 90% of all literature was based on religion. (The Victorian period is...all right, with an influx of...rather...liberal information based on the idea that men should be their own rulers.) This week though...when I began the Modern period of literature, I was disgusted to find that almost all of the authors that are considered 'worth reading' were either of dubious morals, or overdosed on drugs or liquor.
What. I ask you, are we seeking to teach our children by upholding this...garbage...as literature? (Not that many young people seek to read this material voluntarly, it must be strange to others that I enjoy all this dry stuff! ;P) If this is the standard of what is deemed 'valuable' information that should be taught in colleges, what is being taught in high-schools today? Honestly!
Let me give you some examples:
Dylan Thomas, Irish poet, lived a hard life and drank himself to death at the age of 39.
Aldus Huxly, wrote 'A Brave New World', lived the life of the wealthy, and took drugs in his later life, causing his work to suffer.
James Joyce, Irish author, born Roman Catholic, later renounced his faith, wrote about young men who didn't fit into society and rejected it's conventions.
Willam Butler Yeats, wrote Irish literature, was passionate about his art, and occults.
...And it goes on and on. This is what we Americans say is worth reading? Let me tell you something, if that was all that literature could offer, I would discard my love of books without a second thought. I almost have anyway! But thank goodness that isn't true. There was, and still are, some authors who wished to bring good to this world of evil.
One bright light in this tangled mess, is someone we all know and love for the magic he brought to our everyday lives. Who am I speaking of? Lewis Carroll? Not a chance. This man was the best friend of J.R.R. Tolkien...have you guessed who yet? No?...He wrote about a winter that never ended, a sea that went to the edge of the world, a witch who sought to tunnel to the heart of all that was good, a sandy desert where horses talked, and swarthy skinned slaves who attempted to abduct beautiful women...need I continue?
C.S. Lewis, a man who from his boyhood wrote storys about mythical creatures and fantastical worlds where almost anything could happen, did not write these stories for fun, he had an alterior motive. Every one of his books were allegories
of the Christian life, and what he wanted more than anything else, was to point children (and adults) towards the 'Light at the end of the tunnel'. (meaning Jesus)
So in all honesty, there is good in this world...if you look in the right places...but if you aren't careful, all the darkness that is spreading will overwhelm you, and you will lose sight of what is good.
Don't forget that there is a Light for us to follow, no matter how dark this world gets, or how much pain you see in this world.
~Marissa H.
