Why Do I Read Classics?

“Why would you want to read Kepler’s On the Heavenly Sphere’s that’s old an antiquated book when you don’t want to read a new math textbook?” My boyfriend, who’s a physics and math major and actually likes reading math textbooks in his spare time, asked this of me, a high school English teacher major, this morning as we were walking to class. I tried to joke about them not having as much prestige, but that wasn’t a very good answer. Why do I read St. Augustine’s The City of God? All 900 pages of it have been rather painful. As my boyfriend then pointed out, I could read Fahrenheit 451, which he predicts I will love, in an hour. That is the time it would take me to read only one ninth of The City of God, and a boring 100 pages at that.

            It reminds me of when I was visiting a high school for my beginning field experience class with the rest of the students in the class. While I was there, couple of other girls and I went into a classroom, where the instructor was teaching Catcher in the Rye. The other three girls had all read it in high school as well. While I read prolifically, in high school as well as college, I hadn’t read Catcher in the Rye.

The girl opposite me with perfectly straight hair, wearing a slick black jacket said, “Oh really? I thought everyone read Catcher in the Rye in high school.”

The other two girls slightly nodded in agreement.

She continued, “I couldn’t imagine a high school where they didn’t read Catcher in the Rye.”

“We read other books instead.” I smiled.

She grinned as though it was painful. “I guess.”

Later when I didn’t know the main character she said the name like I had asked, “What does H20 stand for?” “Water.” She scanned me up and down and slightly shook her head.

She is the perfect example of what I call a book snob. Book snobs believe if you haven’t read Fahrenheit 451, then you can’t say you read books at all. If you don’t remember every moment of Romeo and Juliet detail by detail, you didn’t really read Shakespeare. If you forget any character, plot point, or the author, you don’t REALLY read books.

How does this tie into why I read the classics? Well it’s not because I’m a book snob. I love reading for the sake of reading, not because of any imagined prestige it gives me. Nor do I so that I can sneer at those who haven’t accomplished everything I have. I read the classics so that I know whether I think they are as good as everyone says they are and whether they should join my future home library. Everyone says Aristotle is so smart, but they don’t know that his book about politics is about as insightful as a piece of mulch. His book on Rhetoric is classic-worthy, in my opinion though. Everyone raves about Pride and Prejudice. It was ok, but it wasn’t as great as that other book Wuthering Heights.* I don’t say this to put down people who like those books. Whoever likes them can. In fact, they should love them unapologetically.  We all enjoy different books. But let’s agree not to judge people for their choice in reading material or memories of them like book snobs do.

*Case in point, I couldn’t remember what Wuthering Heights was called, but that doesn't mean I didn't read it.

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