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Better choices than 'Old man and the Sea'
By LOIS CLERMONT
News Editor
I winced when I saw “The Old Man and the Sea” on a Plattsburgh High School reading list for kids entering ninth grade.
I think that book has been turning young people off from Ernest Hemingway for years.
It’s not that it’s not a good book; it won a Pulitzer Prize.
It’s just a lousy way to introduce teenagers to a wonderful writer.
When Hemingway came on the scene, his writing was refreshingly different from the formal, more stilted style that had been popular for decades. He wrote like a journalist — a conversational style, spare sentences where every word mattered, dialogue that developed the characters and the mood.
Teenagers would appreciate the love stories, the crisp dialogue, the sad circumstances portrayed in “The Sun Also Rises” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.”
But they won’t want to wade through the long descriptive passages about a man’s struggle to catch a fish in “The Old Man and the Sea.” Yes, it’s about way more than that, and it’s a great book for discussion among college students. But it’s downright dull for 13- and 14-year-olds. They will forever after remember Hemingway as that boring guy who writes about fishing.
Hemingway himself was surprised when “The Old Man and the Sea” won a Pulitzer; it hadn’t been one of his favorites, although he quickly embraced the attention. The award was given more for his body of work than for that particular novel.
I think one of the big draws in picking that novel for a reading list is that it’s Hemingway’s shortest book. Maybe teachers figure they have a chance to get the kids to read a classic novel by an acclaimed author if it’s just 127 pages.
But length isn’t everything. Think about the thousands of local kids — and adults — who are eagerly gobbling up every word of the 759-page “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”
It’s interesting that that book — the most widely anticipated book release of the summer, one that was sure to be a hit with young people, a book that features a classic battle of good versus evil amid imaginative characters and an engrossing plot — isn’t on any school reading list I’ve seen.
Comments
Your thoughts cross my mind often, especially as one who had planned on finishing college as an English LIterature major. I understand, actually, sometimes I don't, but for the sake of argument I'll say I understand why some people feel it's important to read classics. But at the same time, there are so many contemporary writers doing amazing things with language and themes, writers who shed significant light on important social topics and do it in a way that is pure art when consumed by the reader. Writers who come to mind are Tom Robbins, William T. Vollman, David Foster Wallace (sorry, I don't have as much experience with contemporary female fiction authors).
Students reading such works would not only be exposed to truly magical ways of using language, but they would be enlightened on pressing social topics.
And not to downplay the quality of dated writers, but students reading some of these more contemporary authors would actually enjoy what they are reading while being called upon to utilize vital critical-thinking skills.
Posted by: Steve | August 6, 2007 10:57 AM
Lois I totally agree.
I remember ready Old Man and the Sea in high school and I don't think I've ever read another Hemmingway book. That particular effort is more like Charles Dickens in its dark, brooding details of one man's impossible struggle against a fish and the elements. I remember that it depressed me every time I picked it up.
Posted by: Card Buddy | August 29, 2007 7:37 AM
I really like this book and i haven't read this kind of book in my country. I like the old man how hard he works and catch the fish. I think this book is a good example of the hardworker peole who works hard and take care of themselves and they family. I recommend that students should read this book in the school and at home because it is very good.
Posted by: iifa | September 14, 2007 9:37 PM
My favorite Hemingway book is A FAREWELL TO ARMS -- with many of the qualities of the two other Hemingway books you favor.
Often high school reading lists are handed down from generation to generation of students without much thought to newer writers. I guess the thinking is that a book can't be a classic unless it's over 50 years old. Yikes!
Posted by: Foxy | October 23, 2007 10:23 PM