By Emily Woodcock
For the longest time, access to books has been something unquestionable with most people praising those who dare to read one of the convoluted classics. However, shifting opinions on what should or shouldn’t be taught is making it harder for classic novels to survive in a modern era with education systems, such as that of America, completely wiping some classics off the curriculum due to dated themes or inappropriate language. Sensitivity towards topics like racism or homophobia makes it impossible for books that base their message around these themes to be accepted under a modern perspective. Classic authors are subject to criticism from those who misinterpret what is being said due to a shift in what is deemed acceptable even if the message being conveyed matches up with the standard of the modern society.
Classic literature opens up a window into the past so is it really best to start erasing or editing what’s written in order to fit a standard that wasn’t available when they were written? Speaking to Duha Bhat, the president and founder of the University of Chesters Literature Society, offered some perspective as to what the younger, and supposedly more sensitive, generation thinks about the controversy surrounding classic literature. “Novels are meant to show us how society is, it shows us the good and the bad.” Taking a firm stance that society needs classic literature to thrive, Bhat described the necessity of classic literature in a modern society as “it gives us the raw, humane things that we don’t usually read about [in non fiction].”
Viewing classic literature as an entirety is something that cannot be done due to the many differences that each book has; however, the standard of banned books was described by Bhat as, “the books that are getting banned are the ones that show society their own shame.” She recognised the need for criticism from a modern perspective but didn’t think that books should be erased due to difficult theming. “We read english literature because we criticise how things were back then, that what books are for.”
It isn’t just the younger generation that take issue with the erasure of classic authors. Steve Aldous, owner of Aldous Books, a bookshop in Chester that focuses on older literature and rare collectable editions, gave his opinion on the controversy surrounding classic literature. “Themes and opinions that are set 100 or 200 years ago are definitely outdated. However, as a contextualisation, it can be very good to understand the mindset of the people of those times.” Aldous represents the opinion of many people who can’t stand to see older books be disregarded due to themes that no longer fit the standard. He was very clear that he thinks classic literature is going nowhere anytime soon, “You should never abandon literature, you should view it in a different way.”
The idea that books must fit a standard is something that Aldous disagreed with as he didnt think that any book was exactly perfect no matter what era it was written in. “All books should be available for criticism, if you write a book whether it’s today or 500 years ago that can’t be criticised as times change then maybe it wasn’t a very good book in the first place.” The idea that any book has to fit society is something that doesn’t seem possible due to progression taking place so often, it is near impossible to have a completely controversy free book in an ever changing society.
Ultimately, classic literature will never be lost to time no matter how hard people try to erase it or the amount of controversy that surrounds it. It is far too important to gain perspective from authors such as Mark Twain or Harper Lee despite the themes of their books being much less acceptable in a modern society as these things still occurred in the past, even if they are no longer appropriate. Offering a look into a society that has moved on is something that can only be done through consuming media of the time, even if the past is hard to understand by modern standards, making it more important than ever for schools to continue including classic literature in the curriculum.
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