In her essay, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read," Francine Prose is critical both of the quality of the literature being taught in high school classrooms (see her discussion of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and To Kill a Mockingbird) and the practice of using literary works to teach values.
Based on your own experiences, how valid are her criticisms?
Her criticisms are pretty valid. I remember thinking while reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" "Why are we reading this in eleventh grade?" I feel like we read that book for its cultural purposes, not because it is good literature. She was also right when criticizing "To Kill a Mockingbird." It is true that the moral standpoints of the characters are obvious, and when we read that book it was meant to teach the value of equality and treating people as people. One should not have to read a book just because it is written by a gay, black, lesbian, or asian. There is too much emphasis on being politically correct in today's society. Books need not be used to teach a value. They convey a message or emotion. Literature is an art just like painting. We don't try to make the Mona Lisa teach us to be a better person. We appreciate it for what it is.
ReplyDeleteFrancine Prose believes that the literature being taught in high school classrooms is boring, not useful, and irrelevant. She backs this up by comparing teachers who teach "I Know why the Caged Bird Sings" to unexperienced doctors teaching medical students. I think her criticisms are both valid and invalid. I agree with her criticisms about literature and racism. Prose feels that in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn, the book is about the racism of the time period, not about Finn, the main character who is dealing with the racism. I believe that a lot of the books we read in English are solely about racism and I think it would be nice for a change. I think Prose's criticisms about how English teachers are at fault for the students hatred in reading are invalid. A teacher can only steer students one way or the other, not make decisions for their students. Prose also has opinions of how the practice of using literary works is being used to teach values. Prose believes that literature in schools is being used as a "springboard" into talking about values, not studying the literature for its values. I do not agree with this, though, because English is not about learning values, it is about studying literature. Stephanie Vitarelli
ReplyDeleteI think the some of the author's arguments are valid, yet some invalid. I agree with what she said about what students are learning from some of these books (To Kill a Mockingbird, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings). I for one hated doing endless characterizations on these books and analyzing the events rather than the literature.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I disagree with the statement she made about Angelou's writing in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings". She said her analogies and similes were not an acceptable example to students of good use of the English language. I found her similes enjoyable, flowing, and sometimes funny.
Alex Aponte
While Prose does make several legitimate points in criticizing the simplistic approach taken in teaching literature, I think that her negative comments on the sophistication of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings were unmerited. Caged Bird was not written to be the most incredible example of what can be done with the English language but for its political and social sentiments, which Maya Angelou effectively conveys. Her extensive analogies and choice of diction reflect her experiences in the best way she could express them, and I had no difficulty in imagining her experiences from the perspective she was writing from; it is, after all, Maya Angelou's autobiography, and any alterations of her writing could change the connotations and intricate web that comprise another's perspective. I do agree, however, with Prose that the general quality of what we read in English class is too much a mix of classic, high-quality pieces and things chosen solely because of the ease with which their universally-accepted messages are taught. The number of pieces dealing only with racism in the South seems slightly ridiculous considering our geographic location and the time in which we live. Also, I do find that, at least in freshman year, we were missing the essence of the books in our attempts to relate them to our own lives. Overall, I do think that in both arguments, Prose proves her points very well and in general I do agree with her, especially in the second point.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Schwartz
ReplyDeleteI feel like Prose makes many good criticisms and some iffy ones. In the classroom of a high school english class, teachers are to teach what is on the curriculum. Both of these books mentioned, I know Why the Caged Bird Sings and To Kill a Mockingbird, both happen to be on that curriculum. Prose believes that when it comes to Caged Bird the lesson plans are not good lesson plans and that teachers should not be teaching students how to compare characters and how to feel about them; she thinks students should think of their own feelings about characters and be able to express those feelings rather than feeling what the curriculum is telling them to feel. She also thinks that teaching the Caged Bird book to students is just a way for the lazy teachers to show students Oprah and act as the "audience" for Maya, she does not see any REAL purpose in reading the book. This book to Prose also has writing that is not correct and not good to teach. I personally am with Prose on her criticisms on this book and feel like it was another book about racism, like all the others we have read in past schooling but the only difference here is that we learned about the writer, more than the actual writing.
When it comes to To Kill a Mockingbird, Prose basically states the the book is very simple, and we can all read the book and know what happens and what is going on before something actually takes place. This book is just another reason to discuss race, and issues that most books spark discussion about. I agree, that this book is simple and there is not much too it.
Francine Prose is very critical of the high school reading syllabus, feeling that high schools have chosen their curriculum based on reading complexity, and analyzing the text instead of good content and enjoyable reading. I would prefer reading books on the free reading list, choosing books that interest us. Reading for pleasure instead of analyzing for imagery and syntax would've instilled a sort of reading culture in myself. Instead we have to read a book one chapter a time looking for repetition, and the deeper meaning. I would've liked to read Tale of Two Cities for the plot.
ReplyDeleteEvery Book i have read in my advanced english classes, either honors or AP so far have been classical, or based on civil rights. Since 7th grade every year we read a book about how an African American child grew up in the Jim Crow south. While yes it was good literature and we need to be learning about these events it seems a little redundant. Having said that I believe that Francine Prose's points are valid, and would like for them to be considered by english teachers for the future.
-Patrick Yager
For the most part, Prose's critiques on the quality of literature-in my opinion- are entirely false. She believes that the similes in I Know Why the Cage Bird Sings do not have depth, freshness, accuracy. Yet, even though I was not a big fan of the book, most of her similes were different and unusual, and tended to have meaning. Prose then continues about how much simpler and blatant the writing in Cage Bird can be, but those similes and metaphors in the book are not there to confuse, they are there to show the true meaning of what she experienced growing up. Later, Prose states that students don't know how to analyze every line closely in a book or a piece of writing, but if the writing in"Cage Bird" was so unnecessarily complicated, how do we not know how to read into writing? Prose also bashes the teaching methods used for these writings, and for the most part, I agree with her. When we read these books in class, we have talked more about the authors race and experiences then the actual writing in the book. She makes the point of how students are not reading books of upper-echelon complexity, which is true to some extent. Relating the books we read to the everyday life denies the students experiences of the people in the book, she goes on to say. Although that statement is true for previous grades, I don't believe we have compared much of "Cage Bird" to modern life. Overall, I believe Prose is over exemplifying the issues of the teaching of literature in high schools today.
ReplyDeleteI honestly think that her criticisms are to harsh. For one, she is a college professor. Obviously she is going to have much higher expectations than a high school teacher. Secondly, in school it is true we're suppose to learn criteria that we will use later in life, but like math (other than simple 2+2) you aren't going to dissect lines upon lines of writings. Unless of course your profession calls for it. If you go into a profession that does, then obviously you yourself (not your high school class) will take classes that help you do what you have to do. Thirdly, high school is the time where values and morals need to be ripened, that way when you go off into the world you know exactly what you want and what you want to steer away from. I mean, I do see the validity in her argument (thank-you Mrs.Cardo), and I do agree that we should read different works of literature so we can, at the very least, appreciate fine art, but it's not something I deem very important.
ReplyDelete-Berrios period 4
I both agree and disagree with Francine Prose. Her argument of that what students are being taught incorrectly is true in that what we are being taught does not necessarily teach students about literature as much as it does life lessons. Although the material gets students to think, the pieces do not necessarily exemplify good or proper writing. However, the main reason I disagree with prose is the woman has never taught a day in her life, although she knows a lot about good writing and is a writer herself, she does not seem to understand the needs of a curriculum. School teachers have to meet certain needs for various reasons such as state testing, school themes, as well as busy lives (I'd know, both my parents teach). She makes good points, but they are uneducated.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading "I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read" by Francine Prose, I do understand her arguments for the quality of literature and how it is taught in high school classrooms. As a student, I can see where she is coming from and I think her criticisms are valid but, it maybe be because I have become accustomed to how we discuss and learn about the books we read in class that I don't always agree with her. Yes I do see her point that we should be reading more challenging or complex books with deeper meanings but I feel that, at least in my high school, that the way we dissect the books we read is complex and the meanings do seem meaningful and deep. I can see where Prose is coming from in her arguments, they make perfect sense and I would say yes, sometimes it would be nicer if the books were more relatable and if in some cases we were actually taught about some of the books better instead of them being "dumbed down", it would be nice. But, me personally, I enjoy the way we learns things, and maybe at times a switch of pace would be nice as well.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Prose's criticism of the quality of literature is somewhat valid. While some books read in highschool are poor in quality (personally, i found Whirligig, and Black boy to be especially horrible) others are fairly complex and well written (the scarlet letter). Her criticism of using literacy works to teach values however, is extremely accurate. while she does go alittle overboard in insulting the workings of a typical english class, her basic ideas are accurate. Using books to teach values causes students to lose interest in the stories themselves. not only do many students simply not want to read about race and ethnical issues (again), but after reading they are expected to connect the story to their own lives in some way, and as a result they cannot actually appreciate the story itself, merely their interpretation of it as it relates to themselves. Even if a book is well written, if the story itself is not interesting to a student they will never fully appreciate it or learn to love literature.
ReplyDeleteFrancine Prose has very strong opinions in her criticizing essay, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read." She explores ideas that mock classic literature (such as I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and To Kill a Mockingbird) claiming that these books contain "trash" and are "taught for reasons that have nothing to do with how well a book is written." My personal experience leads me to believe that her criticisms are understandable and somewhat relatable but are not completely true. These works do in-fact teach students important values which can later be used in life - which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Prose argues, claiming that the sole reason of teaching these literary works is to teach values, rather then to explore and understand high level writing of serious literature. However, in my experience both Angelou and Lee are strong, serious authors whose writing conveys important themes and techniques. Based on my own experiences, to say that the english curriculum contains "missed opportunities and misinformation" is harsh and not entirely truthful.
ReplyDeleteI think that her that her criticisms are not valid, especially in regards to use of literary works to teach values. I believe that a student is more likely to connect with and learn values from an author like Maya Angelou that is still currently alive because it allows them to connect to her in a way they can not connect with various other authors that Prose mentioned. I think that the quality of the literature is also better than she makes it out to be. I think that if the literature was more complicated, harder to read and of better quality as Prose puts it, many students would not even bother to read them. If the novels were to challenging and they did not enjoy or connect to them, many students would chose to look up online what the book was about or rent the movie on the book. I think that Prose did not have a very valid argument.
ReplyDelete~Megan Bernth
Kate Lewis
ReplyDeleteI think some of Francine Prose criticisms are valid. For example when she writes, "High school even more than college is where literary tastes and allegiances are formed." If we are reading books we dislike and forced to read in high school, than chances are we won't want to read or enjoy reading when we get older. I agree with her that some of the books we read shouldn't be used to teach us. She writes, "to hold up this book as a paradigm of memoir, of thought, of literature, is akin to inviting doctors convicted of malpractice to instruct our medical students." Two examples are I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and To Kill a Mockingbird. Both of these books are written the way we are taught not to write. I also agree that only some books should be taking out of the high school english curriculum because some have historic importance
I feel that the views of Francine Prose have some truth to them, but overall, are too harsh. In the essay "I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read," Prose repeatedly states how the reading lists of high schools around the country are outdated and not beneficial for young adults to absorb. She says how lessons and characters are oversimplified. I think that the quality of the literature is hit or miss depending on the specific book being discussed. To judge a vast selection of common classics with words such as "tasteless" is completely ridiculous. As far as the use of these works of literature to teach values, I side with Prose. Although lessons can be learned from the story of other characters, students are not likely to incorporate what they have learned from books into their everyday lives just because they talked about something in english class. Lastly, I believe that to an extent, students are being forced to interpret these works in a certain way, and the individual exploration of novels is fading with the overuse of homework, classwork, and projects.
ReplyDelete- Nick Monaco
Francine Prose criticizes both the book I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and the teaching methods used by English teachers.
ReplyDeleteSome of her criticisms are valid, such as the use of Maya Angelou's memoir as an easy racial analysis. I agree with Prose that English teachers can simply and easily use the autobiography to ask obvious questions about Angelou's hardships growing up as a young black girl in the South.
Another criticism posed by Prose is that Maya Angelou is an inept writer, and forcing students to read her book is "akin to inviting doctors convicted of malpractice to instruct our medical students." I think this is an invalid statement because although Maya may use unorthodox writing techniques, such as piling many mixed metaphors in one paragraph, she, as an author, is not guilty of any sort of malpractice or literary crime.
Hannah Pell
ReplyDeleteIn I know why the caged bird sings Maya Angelou is faced with many hardships and in her auto biography she describes them as "if growing up is painful for the Southern black girl. Being aware of her displacement is rust on the razor that threatens the throat." However in i know why the caged bird cannot read by Francine Prose, has that same quote but describes the book as being good for a lazy and uninspired teacher who can conduct such a simple class, such as if the students were the as the audience for Angelou's time on the Oprah Show, as Prose would put it. But in English class we have learned that Maya is this great person that has gone through this horrible life and has risen above it all and is a hero in the Black community. In Prose's essay she is somewhat mocking how everyone perceives her has being some kind of survivor, but there are always worst cases out there; such as the invisible children of Uganda, they are of the same race and I consider them more of a survivor then Maya Angelou.
Brandon Brule-
ReplyDeleteI somewhat believe that (although somewhat extreme) her advise on literary teachings is true. In my experience, most English classes brand certain grades with themes and genres that they believe are appropriate. Teaching racial equality to teenagers that are more ethnically diverse than ever about the harshness of the South and segregation is a feeble attempt at a "new lesson." Also, the ever present "struggle" of the author or a character in their novel is a topic revisited again and again, time after time, novel after novel.
Lauren Hill
ReplyDeleteIn her essay, Prose is very critical of both what is taught in high school and how it is taught. I think her criticisms are valid, but there's two sides to every story. Most of the literature taught in high school is taught because of its message, not based on its literary content. Prose is right when she points that out. Prose also states that most great works of literature aren't taught in high school because they are too complicated, and usually the books high schoolers read consist of a good guy and a bad guy, nothing in between. This is true also, but throughout her piece she generalizes a lot of this information.
I think that using literary works to teach values isn't a bad thing like Prose makes it seem like. Putting a good moral lesson inside of a book and having a student analyze it isn't bad. Even though high school students really start to get into literature while in high school, why can't we start reading real literature in college, or even outside of college? So overall, Prose does make some good points, but in the essay she really over-generalizes and that diminishes the meaning of what she says.
Lian McGarity
ReplyDeleteHer criticisms are somewhat valid. Both books, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and To Kill a Mockingbird, we read pertained to racism and the experiences of being colored in a pro white society. In class, discussions arose about the issues of how the characters dealt with their lives and situations they were forced into. In this way we focused on the cultural aspects of the novel that the author was portraying. But, we also talked about the use of language and style of the author's writing. We examined the diction and other aspects such as figurative language, etc. Every writer has different style and their own unique abilities to capture a reader's attention.
Prose brings up an interesting point about the choice of literature in high school classrooms. For the most part, I like the literature in the classroom. I loved To Kill a Mockingbird in particular. The way it is read is what I don't always like though, being forced to read something in a certain period of time and taking a quiz isn't something I enjoy but it isn't the teachers fault because they have to make sure we read it somehow. But the point she brought up about replacing English class with an ethics class that has made its way out of the school curriculum. I feel that many of my English classes have spent a lot of time talking about racism and other controversial topics like that, but I don't think it's a bad thing. It's good for students to discuss issues as a class and get insights from them through literature and develop opinions in a controlled environment. Overall, I feel the literature is fine but Prose is definitely right about the way it is taught and presented in the classroom; although she mocks most of it I think some parts of the way literature is presented is good but other parts need to be fixed.
ReplyDelete~Hayley Bester
Francine Prose argues that all the assigned readings being taught in American English classrooms are useless in educating the young. She states that these books are dreary and have little value to teenagers. Rather than promoting the young to read, it repels them from any sort of literature. Prose said how many of the assigned readings are focused about WHO wrote them rather than the writing itself. I agree that many of the books I have read throughout high school are authors from the Jim Crow south experiencing the struggles of prejudice, segregation, and their everyday battles to avoid it. I feel that every author I read about comes from a specific race or ethnic group that is judged in society. I always feel that the moral of the book is to accept them. I agree with Prose that many of the books I read are very obvious themes that don't involve reading in between the lines or critically thinking about what the message in the story is. Rather than having the students be exposed to different writers, teachers' curriculum is stuck with Shakespeare and Hawthorne, writing that means nothing to a typical high school student. Although many of these books have taught me vital morals for life, I still believe that classrooms should be opened up to a wider array of reading choices.
ReplyDeletePosted By Alex Tanzman:
ReplyDeleteThe validity of Francine Prose's criticisms on high school literary works and how they are used to teach values is questionable. She claims that the books being read in high school class room are a "waste" and have little value to teenagers. She believes that the books have a focus on who wrote them, rather than there content and also that life values cannot be taught through literature. During my high school experiences in reading and exploring literature, I would have to strongly disagree with her criticism. First of all, her views are very biased and do not represent all high school students in any way. She talks about her sons who read the weaker works of Steinbeck and assumes every other high school follows this road. She then ventures on saying that she does not hear anyone saying that we are producing a becoming a nation of avid reader of serious literature. This is a very ambiguous view; she does not fully elaborate on what an "avid reader" is or exactly what serious literature is. We do not hear of the US increasing in these areas, but do we hear of any other nation following her expectations? This lead me into another aspect of her argument which I find irritating - she has unnecessary use of rhetorical questions and sarcasm. She is so repetitive in her cases and we begin to understand the her point after the first few examples but she continues attacking well respected writers with sarcasm. I feel that her view that literature is too simple (good vs bad) and can not teach values efficiently is wrong. During my reading of To Kill a Mocking Bird, Scarlet Letter, Anthem, The Tale of Two Cities, Black Boy, and I Know why the Caged Bird sings i have learned many values that pertain to the individual in society. As a high school student, I would opt for simple characters rather than complex characters I would not understand. I feel as high schoolers, we are able to explore the deeper meanings behind the authors writing rather than just the "good and bad" that Prose claims only exists. We use critical thinking skills and debate with each other to find what the author is saying; we do not just accept the simple answers that Prose assumes we all do.
My own experience leads me to believe that Francine Prose's first statement, about the level or quality of literature being taught, isn't completely accurate. Many high school students read, "To Kill a Mockingbird" in their first year of high school. It serves as an example and transition as much as it's used for its actual value. Later that year the curriculum includes writing by both Shakespeare and Homer who are two Authors that Prose admires. Meaning students are getting enough higher-level writing; they're just also receiving books like "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" that has a sense of realism that a distant Homer can't provide. So when Francine Prose criticizes the quality of high school literature she's not completely right, because high school literature is varied so that it can touch both topics of Homer and Maya Angelou.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Francine Prose’s position on how current high school literature teaches values is interesting. I never thought of it like that but it makes sense. Personally I haven’t pondered on an author’s diction or syntax till last year in an honors class, yet I’ve been doing the “morel of the story” since elementary school. I agree with what Prose is saying because an author’s DDIST is just as important as the values the author stresses. In conclusion, Prose’s statement about the connection between High school literature and values being taught in the classroom is unarguably true
The essay "I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read" is only valid to some extent. I agree with Prose that our high school reading lists are always repetitive and contain the same type of books year to year. However our librarians and teachers chose these books for a reason. I don't think that as a 9th grader I understood how to tell what "great writing" was, and according to Prose that's what English class reading should be about. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jayne Eyre and Black Boy might not be the most beautifully written books but it is the message and the way the books make you look at life differently is the reasons these books are chosen for our reading lists.
ReplyDeleteJohn Potter here -
ReplyDeleteProse is very critical in areas; most of the time she is spot on. She tells about how the person who wrote the story matters more than the story itself, in which she is correct. Although, she is wrong when she says that adolescents are going to use incorrect grammar if the books they read use incorrect grammar. She is very harsh on some of the books; I think that they should definitely be given more credit. The literature is necessary in our classrooms and do help us shape our values later on.
In her essay, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read", Francine Prose touches on important points and develops logical criticisms of modern high school reading lists. While Prose makes many valid criticisms, her critical analysis overlooks many teachable aspects in books like "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and "Too Kill a Mockingbird". For example, despite definitively "good" and "bad" characters, "To Kill a Mockingbird" is valuable in that it uses diverse characterization to emphasize racism from new perspectives. The moderate simplicity of Harper Lee's classic makes the novel an ideal book to teach to high school freshmen who are just learning to analyze literature. Most fourteen year olds could not handle the complexity of medical school, similarly, young teens needs to start with books that contain easily understood messages when first learning to critically analyze literature. As a freshmen, I enjoyed "To Kill a Mockingbird", and while looking back it may have been a simple text, the novel still contained many teachable aspects essential to my growing knowledge of how to critically read texts. Thus, while there are a number of books that do not deserve to be on high school lists, the classic works criticized by Prose (especially those of Lee and Steinbeck), are essential works in the development of adolescent literary knowledge.
ReplyDeleteWhile Francine Prose's criticisms may be strong, they are only valid in a few ways. Her criticisms are ignorant; I strongly disliked how she cruelly criticized great classic works of literature like To Kill A Mockingbird. She rebutted the use of classic literature because of how they teach values in the classroom, but isn't that what we all want to achieve when we read a book; to learn morals and take from the story a lesson for our own lives? Also, if we did end up teaching more complex, famous, and overall "better" literature, it would only confuse students. Prose suggests that even high school freshmen should read these tough novels, which would, in reality, be chaos. She even rebuts her own solution when she says, "my suspicion as to why such texts are not used... is because they're complicated," which is exactly the reason why they're not taught. Overall, I think Prose's argument is strong; she did a lot of research to support her claim, but she is to harsh in judging classic works of literature.
ReplyDeleteProse criticisms are saying how High School english classes are now assigning readings that are both boring and uninteresting to student. This lack of interest is creating a generation of people who would rather watch a movie or play a game then enjoy a good piece of literature. Also how students are being taught is a problem Prose has with High School English. Teachers making student read dumbed down books so that students can make connections to them easier or literary lessons can be learned more clearly is what is making the youth of today not want to become active readers. I agree with these points as in the last few years i have also found that I do not have the same interest in books that i used to in my earlier years. The forcing of class readings, books that i have little interest in and then having to dissect and analyze everything within the writing is a good reason to not want to continue to read. Reading should be fun and interesting and not feel like a job or mandatory.
ReplyDelete"I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read" by Francis Prose is a somewhat valid interpretation of literature taught in high schools. Many of the topics of English class discussions have to do with specific issues such as racism in "To Kill a Mockingbird" and coming of age during tough times in "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings." I agree that the actual way the author wrote a book is not discussed enough, and personal issues are discussed too much. However, these personal issue discussions make the literature more interesting and easier to understand, since they can be related to personal experiences or even current events. With books like "The Scarlet Letter," there is not much to relate to, since high school students usually don't experience such intense accounts of public humiliation or religiously-affiliated events. Since that book is such a difficult read, the language and diction should be more closely analyzed and talked about; this would develop high school students into better readers and writers. I also disagree with how "the question is no longer what the writer has written but rather who the writer is." I think reading literature from a diverse group of people from different races, religions, and cultures only add to the entertainment readers can obtain. If every writer was a cookie-cutter adult with nothing unique about them, every piece of literature would be the same. Overall, I agree with many points Francis Prose is making, but at the same time she is being a little harsh. If she put herself in the shoes of a high school student during current times, she would better understand that the works we are being taught and discuss in class could be much worse.
ReplyDeleteFrancine Prose thinks that high school literature is pointless, useless, and isn’t improving the student’s skills. I think her criticisms are mostly valid, but also invalid. In her essay “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read,” she stated that the quality of reading in high schools isn’t the best it could be. She criticizes the books “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” saying that they are too simple with poor use of language and simple characters. I think they are valid because I agree that there are common themes between the books and simple characters. Most students don’t take much out of the books, but others do. They are invalid because I think these books, even though similar, are conveying important messages. -Bridget Stucklen
ReplyDeleteAfter reading I Know why the Caged Bird Cannot Read by Prose made me understand her point of view on how highschool teachers teach literature but I don't agree with everything she said. I do agree that the english classes you take in highschool you're made to read certain books such as, Whirligig and Blackboy, that I, for one, would never pick to read on my own. If I wanted to read up on slavery and how kids that lived during segregated times I could do that on my own, I expect to learn literature and why authors write a certain way and their technique. It doesn't interest me to analyze books that all have the same concept, a large majority of that is slavery and racism. Prose had a strong argument and had strong opinions and I like the fact that she named several books that are read throughout highschool, and then named books that we could read instead. She critized how teachers are lazy and how students now a day don't know how to analyze a book and read good literature, but to an extent shes write. Teachers do take alot of time into their work but because of the students not being so interested in the books that they're made to read in class that makes them lazy.
ReplyDeleteProse's criticisms are valid in only a couple of ways. She claims that it is a bad thing that the books high schools read teach values. This, however, is a good thing because it can give you a new and better view on life. If high schools required the reading of harder books, this would only make people not understand what is going on. Her idea would be good in a perfect world but students would not be able to understand these tough novels.
ReplyDeleteFrancine Prose according to how I look at things, has both valid and invalid criticisms. I agree with her when she is talking about how both "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" and "To Kill A Mockingbird" and how the people writing the memoir is more important then the story itself. I feel like this is agreeable because obviously without the person there would be no story, but other then that, it gives people the chance to learn more about them and see how they felt weather its research or watching something based on them; for example how Maya Angelou made a guest appearance on Oprah. Despite what I agree with I also disagree with the fact that Prose says how the books high school students read don't analyze the characters or show good use of literary elements. I disagree with this because I feel like most of the books give good background and descriptions of the main characters and the others involved in the story, and since I recently learned about DDIST, it now comes to me involuntarily, and I tend to notice many occasions where they appear in the text.
ReplyDeleteArielle Garcia
In her piece, "I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read", Francine Prose talks about high school reading lists. She makes criticisms about the books "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" and "To Kill a Mockingbird". I think the books convey important messages, so I believe she is invalid in that point. She does not really give the books enough credit in my opinion. The literature is necessary in our classrooms, and do help us form our values later on in life. I do agree that books we read in school out very similar each year though, and I think that high school reading lists should be more open do different books. I don’t like being forced to read certain books, but I don’t enjoy most of the books we do read. They just don’t interest me. I like to read books that I want to read, and not have to read, because reading should be fun.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Prose's criticisms are valid. In her piece, she says that the content and quality of the literature students read is sacrificed to allow for a certain theme to be present on high school reading lists. One of the prominent themes being racism, struggle, and growing up in the south which is present in popular high school english books such as To Kill a Mocking Bird and I know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I agree with her. Every year we are forced to read a book about an African-American's struggle as they grow up in the segregated south and I, along with many others, hate it. We hate it to such a point that we give up reading the books all together and revert to online summaries to pass reading quizzes. Maybe a change in pace from these types of books would jumpstart an interest in the literature students read during English class. A change in genre, topic, or maybe reading books that were written more recently than forty years ago would do some good. Prose's argument is valid and is backed up by the facts present in her essay and the first hand accounts of high school english students.
ReplyDelete-kyle rubin
In her essay "I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read," Francine Prose makes a dig at both "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" and "To Kill a Mockingbird." She states her strong opinions about the way English is taught in highschools and the type of literature being read in the classroom. She is extremely critical, pointing out reasons why she believes that teenagers do not enjoy literature. She places this blame on highschool teachers and their choice in literature. Based on my experiences in a highschool English classroom I understand some of the points that she is making. One of her arguments which i can relate to is the fact that English teachers always try to connect the feelings of the characters to the feelings of the students. This is often hard for us to do and doesn't really help us to understand what we are reading. I do not agree that we should look more into the literature and the structure of writing because I believe that books are for enjoyment not for analyzing. -Claudia Purkis
ReplyDeleteIn the reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read Francine Prose has a lot of criticisms. Based on my own experiences I believe that Proses criticisms are not valid. I believe this because Prose didn't experience reading in school like we do today. Prose saw reading a different way then we do today. Prose believes that you should read certain books of her choose and to understand them to the fullest. I think she is not valid and should try to see that we have much different lives than she had as a child and that reading today might not be as enjoyable as the past for a high school student.
ReplyDeleteI agree with some ideas of Prose but disagree on other points. I agree with the idea that some teachers stress the ideas of the book rather than the actual content of the writing. They may use the books as just a way to back up their opinions or standings on a subject or topic. The issues of racism and prejudice are supported by these books. However, I do not agree that we shouldn't read books such as "How to Kill a Mockingbird" or "I Know Why the Cadged Bird Sings" because they do help us understand the issues in a situation we can relate to. That is my opinion of Prose's arguments.
ReplyDeleteI feel that she made a valid point. As a student I think we should read something more relevant to our current time period. Also when I read I am not looking for new values, I don’t read to change who I am. When reading, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” I thought how the story was boring because it was like the other racism books before it. Though when she says the teachers are at fault that isn’t true. It’s hard to get new books in some school because it cost too much money. Also Prose does not show what she is going to do with the matter. She is just complaining and not doing anything. I also agree with focusing on the language and sentence structure more then the story. I do not think it is right that she is also trying to force her love for books onto other people. I believe that reading these repetitive books will not help me for the future and I will not benefit from reading them. Although the writing skills I will learn in English will stay with me for life.-Melissa Stangel
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Francine Prose’s argument or issue of the lack of quality literature being taught in high school classrooms. She argues that very simple-minded poor quality books are being taught such as specifically mentioned, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, and To Kill a Mockingbird. I feel as though she is accurate in saying this and I agree that these books and others chosen to be part of the curriculum are low-level and simplistic. These stories and others such as The Maze, Whirligig, and Anthem are un-realistic stories in that the characters are inaccurately portrayed to fit the theme of the story. They are also un-relatable and we are inconveniently often told to compare them to our own life. These stories are also not preparing us for the serious interpretation and discussion of high level literature we are most likely going to be studying in college.
ReplyDeleteAs for her issue with the way that the literature is being presented I would have to agree to a certain level. She discusses in her essay how moral values are often taught through the literature we read. As a freshmen and sophomore I definitely felt this way, one of the big examples of this being the discussion of empathy in To Kill a Mocking Bird. However now in 11th grade advanced English the level at which we have to read, annotate, and interpret pieces of literature has definitely increased. Overall I agree with Francine Prose in that books should be picked and discussed not through their theme’s and moral values but for what is actually in the books.
Francine Prose has many opinions about the literature taught is schools. But the thing is they are only that, opinions. While I disagree with almost all of her points there is one thing that holds some leverage. We do have to take the author's background into consideration when discussing the values represented in the book, but really and truly we should look to the characters actions and words as though they were not fictional. Her criticism of Maya Angelou's work is erroneous. Prose has no right to say Angelou should not be taught in schools just because she does not like her work. As for changing what is read in the classrooms, that is a pipe dream and an unneeded one at that. I am a veracious reader, personally, and I believe the books I have read in both middle and high school are what turned me into that.
ReplyDeleteRachel Rienecker