For those of you taking advanced literature courses in high school there are certain novels required to be read for class. I'm sure I'm not the only one who wonders "Why were these books chosen?". My list included the Grapes of Wrath, 1984, As I Lay Dying, and Their Eyes were Watching God to name a few. I admit, though being a book love myself, I can be quite bored or frustrated with many of our books. It was incredibly annoying to read through the southern drawl of As I Lay Dying and Grapes of Wrath. It was like translating from a foreign language. Perhaps you'd agree with some of these opinions.
But what I began to notice was an appreciation for these novels AFTER I'd read them. After Grapes of Wrath, even though I loathed reading it, I admired the family's courageous spirit and the messages throughout the story: don't always believe stories or a "land of milk and honey"....some people have no compassion for the destitute...
It was this end result that convinced me that reading these classics was not a waste of time. It made sense that these works were the greats of literature, because they combine the "moral of the story" from our childhood reading, the drama, and sometimes witty irony or other things the careful reader can notice.
Still, I think there should be a little more choice when it comes to AP Lit novels. There are some books I've read that have all the aspects of the AP novel (imagery, teachings, special plot elements) that are not considered classics or anything close to that category. Take the book "Diary" by Chuck Palaniuk for instance. That's a fairly new book that's quite entertaining. The book compiled the requirements of an AP lit book as well as including humor and mystery and an interesting story line. I'd like to see more of this when it comes to novel reading in school.
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