What was the dumbest "classic" mandatory reading book you suffered through in high school and why?

Crime Stats wrote:

Ben L Wrong wrote:

"To kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee.

Yeah, that's awful and then you realize that WHY that book is required reading and become very cynical.

I know it's blasphemy, but I hated that book. It seemed so contrived an hacky yet it's hailed as this great work.

I should write a book called "To Mock a Killing Bird" where a black guy kills two white people but is let off due to jury nullification and incompetent prosecutors.

geetar wrote:

Crime Stats wrote:

Yeah, that's awful and then you realize that WHY that book is required reading and become very cynical.

I know it's blasphemy, but I hated that book. It seemed so contrived an hacky yet it's hailed as this great work.

I should write a book called "To Mock a Killing Bird" where a black guy kills two white people but is let off due to jury nullification and incompetent prosecutors.

Already been done, son. "If I did It"

geetar wrote:

Crime Stats wrote:

Yeah, that's awful and then you realize that WHY that book is required reading and become very cynical.

I know it's blasphemy, but I hated that book. It seemed so contrived an hacky yet it's hailed as this great work.

I should write a book called "To Mock a Killing Bird" where a black guy kills two white people but is let off due to jury nullification and incompetent prosecutors.

Nope. You are no longer able to portray blacks as anything but trust worthy, noble, fair minded, while they're being exploited and put upon by The Man. All women must be strong willed, smart, and the true leader (even if they're married to a powerful man).

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer/Hunter

I don't remember much... I just sparknoted it.

Worst book that I ever sparknoted.

The Old Man and the Sea. I never understood the Hemingway hype.

Things Fall Apart

I hated them all. Wastes of time, did not learn anything that would help me succeed in the real world.

Xcskier66 wrote:

Ayn rand is insufferable. Her philosophy and writing is awful. How did someone so hateful and ignorant of some peoples bad luck at life become so popular?

How is that even a question?

The Scarlet Letter. Boring and nothing special.

Life of Pi is terrific. Can't imagine anyone hating it.

I guess I'm lucky that I went to a fairly enlightened school district and was never assigned an Ayn Rand novel (I read a couple on my own). She was generally considered a bad joke where I came from.

quickndirty wrote:

geetar wrote:

I know it's blasphemy, but I hated that book. It seemed so contrived an hacky yet it's hailed as this great work.

I should write a book called "To Mock a Killing Bird" where a black guy kills two white people but is let off due to jury nullification and incompetent prosecutors.

Nope. You are no longer able to portray blacks as anything but trust worthy, noble, fair minded, while they're being exploited and put upon by The Man. All women must be strong willed, smart, and the true leader (even if they're married to a powerful man).

Or in your mind, you can't portray blacks as trustworthy, noble, fair minded, or exploited, else it is just contrived, hacky, PC pushing crap. Right?

jamin wrote:

I hated them all. Wastes of time, did not learn anything that would help me succeed in the real world.

Nothing would help you succeed in the real world.

jamin wrote:

I hated them all. Wastes of time, did not learn anything that would help me succeed in the real world.

I thought you were perhaps inspired by the complete tool in Catcher in the Rye.

I taught English on the high school level in summer school for many years. During the regular school year I was a history teacher. I always felt that it was important to direct readers to the context of the novel that was going to be read for class. If one doesn't have an understanding of the world in which the novel is set, much can be lost. The world written about is often far different from the world of now.

Then again the reader might not have any interest of the era in which the story is set. Thus, the book becomes a deep yawn.

Runner1/2/1 wrote:

Great expectations

____________

This is one of my favorite books!

The fundamental objectives of HS English class should be to first teach students to write in a clear, concise, and grammatically correct manner and second develop their critical thinking thinking skills. In practice, most English teachers spend an inordinate amount of time attempting to teach bored students how to tease out meaning from dated novels with little limited context to their day to day lives. Most kids would be better served reading simpler novels so they can develop their ability to structure and write coherent paragraphs rather than grasp for meaning. All you need to do is read LetsRun to realize how poorly most people write.

My vote goes for Wide Sargasso Sea. Flaming turd of a book.

Wuthering Heights.

Pure pain from cover to cover. Not only was it boring but it was too freaking complicated (too many freaking characters) so that it was impossible to fake your way through what the teacher made us do with it on tests and assignments. Screw Heathcliff.

Is Terrific wrote:

Life of Pi is terrific. Can't imagine anyone hating it.

The issue with reading Life of Pi as a high schooler is getting through the first 50 pages. If one can manage that without getting too bored, they'll probably enjoy the book.

In high school I would have said Great Expectations. It wasn't a dumb book by any means, and years later I truly enjoy it, but it was unfortunate that I had to read it freshman year with a teacher who really didn't know what she was doing.

Looking back it's probably A Separate Peace. Screw Finny: if I want to tell someone I'm 5'9 when I'm 5'8.5, I don't want to deal with his shit for it.

I also wasn't a fan of the fact that I had to read all three of Fahrenheit 451, 1984, and Brave New World all within the space of two years. It just got boring on some level.

Favorites are certainly Gatsby, East of Eden, and Twelfth Night.

malmo wrote:

The Canterbury Tales.

I had to read this in olde english😂