I came across a reference to The Bridge of San Luis Rey the other day and a memory surfaced of it being one of the books on a required reading list in elementary school...maybe 8th grade? Or was there a list from which we selected a certain number of books for the summer?
What did I remember of the story? Almost nothing, though I did know the bridge fell, which may have been the drama that gave it appeal to me at 13!
TiVo found me a relatively recent movie version with some big names (Robert De Nero and Kathy Bates), so I caught it and started* watching it yesterday afternoon. I had forgotten completely that it took place in such a distant past, and more importantly, I had forgotten the entire premise, that of the monk trying to prove a planned existence by studying the paths of those who died. Heck, maybe I never read it at all and just knew it existed and saw it on the list.
There's a story in the Times that reports some schools are letting students truly pick their own reading...not from lists...though some other educators ask what student is going to pick Moby Dick? Got me wondering if they would they pick The Bridge of San Luis Rey? And does it matter?
[* No, I haven't finished it. Great costumes, but a bit of a bore, no? Did it go right to video when it was released in 2004? Even with De Nero???]
IMHO some "classics" should be read by all because it promotes a common base of understanding. For example, almost every month I hear someone on the news mention the term Machiavellian. So how is one to know what this means not having read The Prince?
ReplyDeleteThe classics have withstood the test of time because they are excellent stories and usually cause the reader to re-evaluate their world view. 1984, Lord of the Flies, , Atlas Shrugged, et.al. challenge the reader in a way that Harry Potter never could.
Don't get me wrong; I enjoyed reading the Harry Potter series very much... but it was mostly escapism. But reading the classics helps to build a well-rounded citizen.