Happy Holidays! In a few short days, you will begin your final semester of high school life. I am excited that I will get to witness those last few exciting days with you! More importantly, I am excited that we will be reading some great works of literature. Books are such an essential element of a fulfilled life. I know that you all have read many wonderful books in your years of reading. So, my question to you in this blog is "If you could require the world to read one book (with the exception of the bible), what would it be and why would you want them to read it?" I will share mine with you: "I would require the world to read Nathaniel Hawthorne's
The Scarlet Letter. This book teaches about honesty, responsibility, courage, and freedom. It emphasizes the importance of individuality and inner peace. I can't wait until we read it together." Post your book choice and reason by midnight, Thursday, December 27, 2012).
8 comments:
I would require the world to read John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Of Mice and Men demonstrates many problems present in society still today. It shows how loneliness can truly affect an individual and how the lose of a loved one can devastate someone. However, the most important lesson in my opinion would be the degradation of other individuals. For example, Crooks is constantly degraded by everyone and knows what it is like, however, he turns around and does the same to Lennie. This process is cruel, and I believe the wide exposure of this book may enlighten people that all people are equal, and there is no benefit of degrading others.
Joshua Matthews
If I were to pick a book for the world to read I would pick Elie Wiesel's book Night. Night represents the troubles of the world's history that we most certainly overshadow at times. It portrays from cover to cover how an individual must cope and find the true meaning of God in the harshest of times. The main character has to eventually realize that it is only himself who can make a positive outlook in order to make it from cloudy skies to clear ones. As for me, this book tells the story of a great lesson in life. We overlook the past in order to foresee the future, however, there are great lessons to be learned from past times in great books such as Night.
If I had to pick one book for the world to read, it would be Farhenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This book shows us the effect complete censorship by the government can have on society. Although this book is about the future, I feel like this is the direction our government is headed. Government is continuously enforcing laws that allow us or stop us from doing things. Is this novel, books are banned and if they are found, they are burned. Guy Montag burns books, but thanks to a girl, he starts to realize his mistakes and starts to save the books. He hides from the government and learns they are not as good as they say they are. Everyone should read this to learn to stand up for their believes and know that things are not always as they seem.
One of the most important books to read is The Giver. In it Lois Lowry delves into the human soul and mind with an indirect approach. As someone growing up and learning about the world, I often had questions as to why things seem so difficult and why things have to be a certain way. The Giver shows a different type of society with the benefits of no pain and complete tolerance as well as what the society is missing. The books also teaches compassion for the less fortunate (like the twin baby) and the things that we may take for granted in the society we live in today(colors, stories, etc.). Because this book helped me make sense of the world while I was maturing, I believe that the world would learn much from reading it as well.
The book I would require the world to read would have to be The Road. Throughout the story the author, Cormac McCarthy, portrays feelings of desperation and longing, but also of love and loyalty. These feelings are demonstrated through the characters known only as Papa and the Boy as they travel through the barren post-apocalyptic world. Even in this post-apocalyptic environment where survival is the top priority, they still hold onto eachother and find comfort in one anothers' presence. These are values that I believe to be well taught from the reading of The Road.
I would require the world to read Courageous by Alex and Stephen Kendrick. Courageous shows how to find inner peace, become more family oriented, and to forgive others. Throughout the novel five policemen must discover how to become better men. One learns how to forgive a man who killed his daughter while one works to repair his marriage. Each one faces diffent obstacles, but become better men because of it. I believe that if the world reads Courageous, it will become filled with better people.
If I could require the world to read one book, it would be Sula by Toni Morrison. Throughout the novel, Morrison shows how right and wrong can easily get confused and how people have to fight to be a good person. She also shows how human interaction affects how people live their lives. Toni Morrison writes about how one person's mistakes or bad habits actually causes others to better themselves. Sula is a novel that teaches its readers many useful life lessons.
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