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/lit/ - Literature

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File: 158 KB, 323x500, thesecretagent.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1238238 No.1238238 [Reply] [Original]

Good evening /lit/,
My English teacher has assigned us to read a from the New York Times' list of 100 greatest modern novels. He calls this "Cultural Development" because he assumes that we've never touched a book in our lives. I'm not really in the mood for a modern novel and I'm actually in the mood for some Russian lit, but whatever.

tl;dr I'm thinking about reading The Secret Agent. Is this book worth my time /lit/?

>> No.1238244

Tell your instructor he's an anglo-worshipping scumbag for forcing his students to work off that list. Then go read McInerney's 'Bright Lights Big City' for the project.

>> No.1238249

The secret agent is more fun if you're not into lit. If you *are* into lit try heart of darkness instead.

>> No.1238250

>>1238244
>school of resentment.
The western canon has value. Fuck you and your politicization of literature.

>> No.1238251

>>1238238

Read Ulysses and never look back.

>> No.1238258

>>1238244

Most English teachers aren't especially well-read.

Re-read The Grapes of Wrath, or any of the three Faulkner novels on the list. You'll still be discovering things on your second or third read.

>> No.1238260

At least you have a choice in what you get to read.

>> No.1238262
File: 176 KB, 500x356, JosephONeill.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1238262

>>1238250
I used to be like you. Too bad the world can't keep you in a womb-like torpor forever huh?

The future of writing belongs to the global village. Enjoy watching your insecure posturing grow increasingly less relevant to your generation.

>> No.1238274

>>1238262
>I used to be like you.

You used to appreciate literature on merit of craftsmanship? There's a difference between saying "the western canon has value" and "WEST IS BEST." The under-representation of international authors in Western literary circles doesn't de-value books written by western authors, and attempting the inverse doesn't solve the problem you're clearly so incensed about.

Would you sneer at Russians for revering Pushkin and Bulgakov?

>> No.1238289

>>1238238
>>1238258

Prospective English teacher here, cut these guys some slack. They're fighting the good fight at least. Even if one is a complete illiterate (and trust me, I KNOW--I've seen these people first hand in my classes) they do what they do for students like you.

Also, politicization of literature is the cancer killing humanities. I'm all for more world lit, but not at the expense of essential authors like Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, etc. These dudes are more than "dead white men."

>> No.1238301
File: 25 KB, 478x468, 1245840777009.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1238301

>>1238274

>> No.1238424

bamp

>> No.1238470

>>1238289
English teachers deserve no credit. They don't have my interests at heart: if they did, I'd be able to tuck every English credit ever under my belt already and be done with it, since it is obvious that I'm already capable.

I don't care if they're idealistic enough to believe that they will ever make a positive impact: they are worthless and pointless.

>> No.1238476

>>1238470

no u r

>> No.1238479

>>1238470

boy you sure are an arrogant little turd, aren't you?

>> No.1238480

>>1238470

umad

>> No.1238485

>>1238470

hello baby boy. would you kindly slurp the viscous cum right out of my big fat balls. thank you.

>> No.1238491

>>1238251
Read Ulysses and never look back.

>> No.1238519

>>1238470
>BAAAAAAWWWWWW why do I have to take English BAAAWWWWWW

You seem to enjoy the subject. Try striking up a lit-oriented combo with the AP teacher or something; I'm sure they'd love it.

No reason to be so mad, bro.

>> No.1238523
File: 46 KB, 490x334, combos.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
1238523

>>1238519
*combo = convo

>> No.1238551

>>1238519
I can not count the amount of lectures I used to give teachers while I was bored during lunch/after school.

I'm serious. It got so that I'd walk into the eng/hist wing and pace from the entrance of the hall to the end, and then choose a classroom, mostly at random. I'd walk in (for a while, on a teacher who didn't know me, until they all knew me) and say, "Hi, I'm Anon, what's up?"

They never had anything worth saying. I knew the English subject better than any of them. I got bored of simply ranting at them sometimes, and so I'd pick some part of their curriculum that I thought was retarded (Lord of the Flies, for instance), and then proceed to pick it apart. I won all of the arguments.

Look, I know teachers. I know them inside out: I would be a teacher, were I stupid enough to believe that it is actually the job of a helper. But their only purpose is that of a preforming jail warden, who entertains the inmates to the point that they forget their imprisonment momentarily.

>> No.1238560

Nobody answered OP's question. Yes, "The Secret Agent" is a good / interesting novel, and will give you interesting themes and whatnot to write about. (Terrorism! The ethical treatment of the retarded!)

I mean, it was filmed by Hitchcock, and then later there's another terrible film version of it by Christopher Hampton. So it's got a good plot and it's readable, at least. I liked it in 10th grade, but I read it on my own, just because it looked interesting.

>> No.1238563

>>1238491

If he reads Ulysses he's never read again... and never look back.

>> No.1238569

>>1238551

Look man, I think you're simply too young to make claims like that. Teachers are busy people, you may have "won all the arguments" simply by being argumentative. They probably had better things to do with their time than convince you Lord of the Flies was good.

I respect your enthusiasm and I like that you're an independent thinker, but I just don't think you're old enough or have enough experience with teaching to have any fucking clue what you're talking about.

>> No.1238581

>>1238551

you sound totally insufferable.

>> No.1238609

>>1238581
Good.

>> No.1238634

>>1238238
Non butthurt troll here. It's written by Joseph Conrad so it's probably worth reading.

>> No.1238961

>>1238551

Dude you sound like a complete cunt. Seriously, take a step back and think about whether or not ANYONE enjoys talking to you.

And the Secret Agent is a very important book, even if it isn't /lit/core. It's the first truly in-depth look at the mindset of a terrorist. It may be the anarchist bomb chuckers of 100 years ago, but it has a SHITTON of relevance today. DEFINITELY worth the read.

>> No.1239235

>>1238551
Here's the thing: you say 'lectures' rather than 'conversations'. To my ears, that means a stoned-as-fuck student with delusions as to how deep their own prose is stumbling into the English room and complaining that good literature isn't relevant today because they younger audience doesn't get it and there's not enough action or some bullshit.

Maybe you should try having a conversation rather than an argument. Y'see, when you're overly hostile, people just want to end it and leave so that they don't have to deal with you pulling points out of your ass every ten seconds. Not to mention you're on 4chan, meaning you've obviously got the Caulfield Complex.

Here's a tip: have a nice, civil conversation with an English teacher. They may not have the same depth you have on a few books, but they do have a wonderful general knowledge of a lot more, and can discuss them. And then, maybe, you'll learn to stop being such a little cunt and actually listen to other peoples' opinions. Because if you're actually going into literary studies during college, rather than being an arrogant little Arby's worker with a distaste for all those he considers his intellectual lessers, you are in for a rude surprise when your ass gets tossed out of a discussion for being a little bitch.

>> No.1239714

The Secret Agent is a great book, man. I suggest it.