Dear Readers,
When I began this escapade known as the Tea and Crumpets, The Random Thoughts section was just a collection of random quotes. It still is, but now (and in the past few issues) most of the quotes and pictures are carefully selected to show where my personal thoughts were leading to at that particular time. I really encourage you to read the Random Thoughts page.
Mary Moberly
Senior Editor of the
Tea and Crumpets
The Importance of Reading Classics
Aleatha Moberly
I read voraciously: canonical literature like Dickens and Dumas and Hugo, Romantic and modernist poetry, etc. Most people seem to agree that reading these books is a fine example of time put to good use. However at KSU it always seemed that I would get put in the English class of people who never even bothered to buy a copy of the novel we were studying, let alone read it. They usually hadn't even bothered to read the cliff notes. They simply knew nothing about the book. So, being surrounded by these kids got my mind turning. What is so great about these supposedly "good books" anyway? Why are we supposed to read them? When adults find out that I enjoy reading classical literature, why are they so happy for me? The reason why certain books are called "good literature" is because these books help humans to develop two specific traits: the ability to critically analyze one's environment, and the ability to connect with the other humans within that environment.
It is understood that life after college is just as difficult (if not more so) as life during college. Misunderstandings with other humans continue to abound. There is still a space in the educated mind for occasional feelings of worthlessness. Although these incidents will always emerge, studying canonical literature can lessen their sightings. Good literature will present the reader with realistic characters who possess real, humanistic problems. By reading about these characters, the reader begins to understand and know them. He can begin to predict what the character will do in its next conflict (or at least predict that the character will do something completely unpredictable).
The reader will find himself relating to the character, or discovering that some of the attitudes of a character are a lot like the attitudes of one of his acquaintances. After studying many characters' emotions, thought processes and reactions, and connecting them to those around him, the reader will have more of an understanding, forgiving disposition towards humans in general. In short, the reader will find it easier to connect with other individuals. This instinctive need to connect our lives with the lives of others is, when mastered, the pinnacle of a healthy emotional life.
Reading old books can sometimes get a little hairy. Like in Les Misérables when it has that huge description of the post-war battlefield in France with Napoleon or something.....I kind of skipped that part...anyway...there are some passages within the classics that at first totally mystify us. Why? What is the purpose? Like, in grade school when we learned how to write paragraphs: What is the Main Idea? This paragraph has no main idea!! What is going on here? Well, don't fret. All it takes to decipher a piece of seemingly meaningless or incomprehensible writing is to put on your Thinking Cap and use your Critical Analysis Skills (another thing we learned about in grade school). If you approach a book with a firm belief that it will be impossible to interpret (and that, even if you could interpret it, it wouldn't have anything to do with your life) then it will be a complete waste of time. Read the book with a blank, accepting mind. You don't have to think about anything philosophically grand or pretentious. Just try and understand what the words mean; what the speaker is trying to say. As you begin to understand the words, the story will easily unfold, and you will be able to understand the deeper concepts within the story. At this point, you can begin to apply it to your life (perhaps subconsciously at first). The book will mean a great deal to you: you're left with a deeper understanding and a fuller appreciation of it. After much practice and after analyzing several pieces of literature, you're left with a profound ability to critically analyze your environment. You learn to see more, understand more, and value more this world. This in itself will significantly prepare you for any job, any situation you may find yourself in after college.
The combination of these two traits, the ability to critically analyze one's environment, and the ability to connect with the other humans within that environment, are the two most crucial traits of human experience. Each trait in itself is good, but together they are most desirable. If a person has a good heart and finds it easy to relate to people, that is good.