Revisiting High School Fiction
Novels You Were Assigned in School, But Might Want to Read Again .
A collection of books in the curriculum of many American schools that deserve a second read later in life, including To Kill a Mockingbird, A Separate Peace, and others
We all slogged through the "classics" in our American high schools, and many of us read them with only half-interest or contempt, but here are some books you may have been assigned that reward a second reading at a more mature age. It turns out, they sometimes did know what was good for us . . .
- When the Legends Die, Hal Borland: This book follows the troubled life of Thomas Black Bull, a native American child forced into a white boarding school when his parents, native Americans who are on the run from White law, are killed in an avalanche and he is left alone for to fend for himself in an alien world. The book's narrative is deceptively simple, depicting one man's grim struggle for identity in a controlling, foreign environment, his rage and resolution.
- A Separate Peace, John Knowles: One of the great, but lesser known "Coming of Age" novels, set just before the entrance of the United States into the Second World War, this book examins two roommates at the private boarding school of Devon, in New England, an act that leaves one of the boys crippled for life, and the emotional aftermath of that act. The narrative is restrained to the point, sometimes, of purposely veiling the intent and actions of the characters. A masterful book that captures the emotional tumult of adolescence, and snap decisions that cannot be taken back.
- To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee: The subtleties and the amazing sense of place are just two of the things that pass most readers by when they are assigned this book in school. Well worth another read, this book is more than just the simple story represented in the film version. Evocative, time-capsule prose and memorable characters demand to be revisited. The Library Journal voted this book "Best Novel of the Century" and not for no good reason: it is sure to remain a classic.
- Farenheit 451, Ray Bradbury: This short, eerily spare anti-utopian novel deserves another read. Fahrenheit 451 is about a fireman whose only job is to burn books, in a hedonistic future America devoid of critical thinking or literature. Ray Bradbury has stated that the book, written entirely on a pay typewriter in the basement of the UCLA library, is really about how television was eroding critical thought in America. The main character, Guy Montag, falls in love with a societal outcast and begins to question his societies values, eventually leading him to stealing and hiding books he was sent to destroy . . .
- The Once and Future King, T.H. White: An intriguing take on the King Arthur legend, rewritten poignantly while the world was enduring the myriad savageries of World War Two. T.H. White gives unexpected motivations and depth of character to Arthur and his knights, and posits Merlyn as a man living backwards: a bumbling old man who is getting younger (and less wise) all the time. The book is full of anachronistic allusions to modern life made by the wizard. A rewarding reread, with much more going on than you thought was there the first time around . . .
Start with these five, and you will probably remember several more that you ought to pick up again. Luckily, their entrance into the literary "canon" has assured that most of these books will be available in perpetuity . . .
The copyright of the article Revisiting High School Fiction in Modern American Fiction is owned by Ray Nayler. Permission to republish Revisiting High School Fiction must be granted by the author in writing.
