To be great writers, we must be avid readers. To be informed citizens of the world, we must read widely.
As part of my independent, ongoing education, I’m reading a few titles my teachers didn’t assign. One is The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Teachers mentioned the novel, but few readers in modern times seem to have read it. Initially published in 1905, Sinclair’s work exposed the filth of the meatpacking industry. As a result, The Jungle’s publication eventually led to the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration.
Today’s readers can see other reasons why this book is controversial. Sinclair was a socialist working in the muckraking tradition of investigative journalism. Some people doubted his depiction of various theses at the time.
However, the overall story rings true. A modern novelist could have penned this story except for a few details. News outlets say that most Americans live from paycheck to paycheck, and the characters in The Jungle are no exception. When one member of the large family loses a job, the entire household suffers. Children are put to work under challenging circumstances. None of the positions anyone holds is pleasant or sanitary. People from acquaintances to corporations are more than happy to rob them. At the same time, Sinclair lets the reader know that some of the characters’ significant problems stem from their own folly and flawed decisions.
As Christians, we are called to care about the poor, and this is one message that could be appropriate for us to convey in our books today. Those who want to write about the impoverished, or simply to understand more about these people, time, and place in history, would do well to read The Jungle.
What books did you miss in school? Of those you have read, which ones would you recommend?
Story Structure Part #2 – Three Act Structure
They made me read In Cold Blood
when I was but fifteen,
and I think it did no good,
and really was quite mean
to force a look at viciousness
and evil running wild
into the dawning consciousness
of what was yet a child.
Maybe they thought reality
would make a man of me,
but there came a chained causality
that killed simplicity,
and their hubris brought the cost
of the innocence I lost.
I really, really loathe Teachers With Agendas.
And I did then, for reading Capote’s brilliantly squalid work, I realized that my world was changed. I got kinda mad.
And if reading this, you care,
there’s something I should mention.
Thumbtack to chair to derriere,
and some worthwhile detention.
I LOVE this! Yes.
Andrew, so sorry you were traumatized. I didn’t read IN COLD BLOOD until long after I had reached adulthood. I can see why the book was upsetting to you as a fifteen-year-old. Now you can choose any book you like!
Thank you for this.
For me, it’s not just what books did I miss, but what books do I need to reread because I missed their message or their magic. In high school, I did not know Christ, so my worldview and personal maturity were in the dark. I could not read the hopeless or the gruesome or the filthy, so I shut my eyes tight, vomited out what the teachers were looking for, and missed, oh, so much.
He is alive and I am saved.
Blessed be His name.
Amen and Amen!
I’ve been an avid reader all my life, but the words of Mortimer Adler have changed how I approach books. He said, “In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through you.”
I now read more slowly, more thoughtfully and intentionally.
Such great words, Barbara! Nothing in the journey of book reading is more aggravating than rushing through a story where you don’t care in the least about any character or plot point. I’m sorry to say, I have read those books more than I should have just to see how the author resolved the ending. Not surprisingly, I rarely found the endings satisfying. Then, I promptly tossed the book aside and looked for another.
Now, when I daydream about the characters and plot and wish I could hurry back to the book when I must take a break, I know the story has touched me deeply.
Interesting, Tamela. I just read a middle school history book my grandson asked me to read. It was Runner Woods by Gary Paulsen. It was unique in how the author told the story about a boy running through the woods for his safety. The book discussed the Red Coats and integrated historical facts throughout the pages without making it read like a history book. Very unique.
Thanks for the recommendation. Sounds like the author worked hard on the story, research, and craft!
I never heard of “The Jungle” before, but I plan to read it now!
Always wonderful to add a great book to the pile!
There are a lot of classics I haven’t read and would like to find time for: the adventures of huckleberry finn, Moby dick, a tale of two cities, and the list goes on……..
My husband bought a copy of MOBY DICK recently and is hoping to tackle the story soon. I read it in high school and probably won’t revisit it now. 🙂
Between bouncing around from public school to home school to private Christian school to public school, I missed quite a few classics. I read more classics in public school than anywhere else but have added a few since becoming an adult. I missed both Where the Red Fern Grows and To Kill a Mockingbird and read them both as an adult. Too much weeping was involved in reading the first, but To Kill A Mockingbird was amazing. Beautifully written but not pretentious and just so thoughtful without being slow or boring.
Thank you Tamela Hancock,
My trilogy, which is almost finished, deals with the discrimination of women in the 50s and 60s, the Native American treatment by our federal government and states up through the 70s, and the horrendous prejudice of blacks during the 50s and 60s. Being involved in all 3 while a growing up, fighting for women’s rights as a scientist, for American Indians in the 60s and 70s, and involved in the civil rights movement of the late 50s and 60s I believe I have much to share. Compassion and understanding of the plight of those who have suffered by not having the liberties stated in the Constitution is hard for many Americans to acknowledge. I agree that learning history as it really was can hopefully bring wisdom to those not aware.
My brother and I found and devoured many books that were part of a literary Classics collection. Some went over our young teen heads but Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame lit a fire to learn French and France and France became a major part of my first book.
I read the Count of Monte Cristo this year. It’s a long book but worth it in the end. My daughter’s junior honors class read Outliers, so I read some of the chapters, also. It’s non-fiction and was published long after I finished school, but it led to some great conversations. I think everyone should read this one. Come to think of it, she had to return it before I finished. I should find another copy and finish it.
If I could have designed my own middle school and high school history curriculum I would have filled it with historical fiction and field trips!
I only discovered the value of these gems as an adult when I found Charlotte Mason and homeschooled my son with the Sonlight curriculum, a literature based program.
I wish I had read The Hiding Place in addition to Anne Frank’s Diary. Not only would I have seen what God can do in the “valley of the shadow of death,” I would have experienced the power of humanity driven by love.