Hawthorne's wife, daughter reburied

Associated Press ^ | Mon Jun 26, 2006 | KEN MAGUIRE

[Military family member]

Sorry, I have a Master in English Literature and am ABD in American Literature, and I cannot stand Melville. I would place Huckleberry Finn far above Moby Dick in terms of the Great Amerrican Novel

[Tax-chick]

LOL! I've read a lot of classic literature in my 30's, so I might like Hawthorne now. I don't understand why anyone would think these books would interest 13-year-olds; they certainly weren't the author's intended audience!

[linda_22003]

I vote on the survey responders being "idiots". There is a good reason that book has lasted so long.

[bkepley]

--I vote on the survey responders being "idiots". There is a good reason that book has lasted so long.--

Could have something to do with the tale of a killer White Whale.

[Borges]

They represent two different traditions (Romanticism, Realism). And the Twain novel is hamstrung by a weak ending. How can you not like something as lyrical and as funny as Moby Dick?

[cloud8]

You're cool. Sometimes for one reason or another (e.g., copyright) a server will block a link if it gets too many hits. Try here:
http://www.tqnyc.org/NYC051575/cam_0587.jpg

[cloud8]

> Living a life -- having a marriage and children -- makes a world of difference in one's perceptions and observations of Hester Prynne and the choices she makes.

So true!

What else was on your syllabus?

[Kozy]

Moby Dick has little narrative, it is descriptive and full of symbolism and compelling reasons to ask questions and think. the questions that Melville puts forth in this book are ones that can not be asked in public. Relate the book to the time and censorship of the era.
If your survey was done by a leftist university group they would not approve of this book, too many questions about God and man and his like in God's world.

[Kozy]

That was said tongue in cheek. If PETA thought about it long enough, they would raise the issue and the ACLU would join ranks and a great book is banned.

[Kozy]

Sorry, no in the same league. Melville reached for the stars and created a truly great novel, the best in American literature and one of the top three in the world.

[bkepley]

The funniest thing about all this is how much Melville enjoyed Hawthorne but I guess there's no accounting for taste.

[Kozy]

I read it in junior year in high school as we explore American literature. I went to a Jesuit HS that taught the humanities and liberal arts. We explored the writings, the authors and the times that they were written. The novels and poems were placed in their time to analyze. Yes as a 16 year old I could enjoy great literature and helped me look beyond the words as to what the author was saying. You could not and will not get this type of instruction in public schools, then or now.

[linda_22003]

Well, now I have to ask: what, would you say, are the other two? :)

[Old Professer]

Humans do the dumbest things; reuniting skeletons? To what end?

[Borges]

I don't think you can even reduce Moby Dick politically. I had a Trotskyite Professor who loved it. It's like the best of Shakespeare if you look hard enough you'll find whatever you're looking for.

[Kozy]

Iliad and Shakespeare. Upper division Greek student at my school, read it in the original Greek. I had only one year and opted for the sciences for junior and senior years. I have an understanding problem with Shakespeare. I should take a Shakespeare course to analyze his works so I can appreciate them.

The Great Gatsby and the Scarlett Letter are excellent. We read Paton's Cry the Beloved Country and Too Late Phalarope. This was in the 60's before I even knew what South Africa was enduring. Also Out of Darkness.

I'll read Poe and Jack London.

As a kid I read all the Freddy the Pig books. The first country detective. I read civil war novels to understand what we went through as a nature.

What I was exposed to by my dad and my high school was a wide range of books, authors and ideas. Now ideas have to be an elevator pitch of 60 seconds. no one has the time to read and enjoy beautiful books.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

I *just* re-read "The Scarlet Letter" in a college senior-level English class -- American Fiction. I was STUNNED at the difference in my personal perception of the story as an adult.

I also just recently reread it. I agree. This type of story is wasted at the junior high school level.

Here's a link for anyone who would like to reread it:

Click here or here.

[swmobuffalo]

"Humans do the dumbest things; reuniting skeletons? To what end?"

A sense of what is right, better closure for the remaining family etc.

An example: my father is buried in Iowa (long story), ALL of his side of the family is buried in one cemetery in Missouri. When my mother dies, I plan to have both of them brought back to Missouri and buried in the same cemetery. You have no idea how hard it is not to be able to visit my father's gravesite.

[AmishDude]

Not to mention "Portrait of the Artist as a Whiny Twit".

[AmishDude]

You can't tease like that. If you say Moby Dick is among the three best novels in the world, what are the other two?

I'd probably vote for Don Quixote.