Worst liberal/left wing book that you forced to read in High School or College?

My Squash ^ | 10/31/02 | Burkeman1

[Burkeman1]

Everyone has their horror story about some PC or Left Wing book they were forced to read in High School or College. My worst book was in High School. It was "The Fixer" by Bernard Malamud. It was the tale of a Russian Jew being falsley accused of the rape and murder of a Christian Russian girl just before the Communist coup of Russia. He was innocent of the crime and the book details his time in prison and the torments he was subjucted too. OF Course during his time in prison he becomes a Marxist and hopes for revolution! The entire book was one giant communist propaganda piece. Since I had already read Solzenitsyn by that time and questioned the book in class I was told to shut up by the teacher. I did- to my shame- and got my "A".

What is the worst piece of Left wing crap that you were forced to read in school?

[ChadGore]

Re:"The amazing thing is that I managed to retain the ability to think for myself after surviving 12 years of public school brainwashing. "

Free Republic should have awards for surviving conservatives like you !

[zook]

You're right on about "Catcher." One actually feels "stupider" after reading that book. Now, on the other hand, I actually liked "Franny & Zooey," but I can't exactly say why. Maybe because it was short.

[ventana]

Thanks, plus, I mean isn't the idea of art and the artist that they capture in their art a special understanding of the human condition in a given time beyond that of ordinary people,even of philosophers. That is, finally, what makes them artists, isn't it? Not to get too "pointy headed" about. V's wife.

[vikingchick]

"The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. Did anybody else have to read that little gem EVERY SINGLE YEAR?

LOL. Yes, yes. Along with "The Lady or the Tiger?"

[BlazingArizona]

Nobody has mentioned Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver. When I saw the title of this thread, this book immediately popped into my mind.

I still have my college copy. Though "Soul" summarized the lefty sentiment of the time, Cleaver did a 180 later in life and ended up as a born-again.

[vikingchick]

The World According to Garp by John Irving. Read in an American Lit class. Sick and twisted, but readable. Flashback: The professor wore Birkenstocks. He remarked that he had met Irving, and he was the best-looking author he had ever met.

I was also instructed to read Only Cowgirls Sing the Blues The Crying of Lot 49 and Lolita. The choice of Lolita--(well-written, clever, extremely deviant) is interesting, because Nabokov wasn't American, so why was it assigned for American Lit???

These are the things I ponder late at night.

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

Worst liberal/left wing book that you were forced to read in High School or College?

A short story by William Faulkner. I can't remember (and I can't find) the title. But I remember thinking at the time: They call this LITERATURE? It was the most disgusting thing I had ever read. Even to this day.

[gatechie]

I have to list an entire course. My English teacher for Early American literature was a blatant Feminazi. Every book we read for the course was about a turn of the century woman from upper class circles that committed suicide at the end of the book. The themes were all about how the oppression of women in our culture drives intelligent women, who are persecuted by upper class men, to kill themselves rather than endure the humiliation of the (stupid) male dominated America.

She gave me an "F" on every paper because I chose to take the what's wrong with this picture analysis on every assignment. I had to write every one of them over and regurgitate her liberal worship of women. But she knew my real thoughts from those "F" versions. I threw out the passing papers and saved the failing ones!

[vikingchick]

Do you remember anything about the plot? Maybe one of our literature detectives can find it. :)

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

The Bluest Eye by Morrison

This was a book assigned by my very liberal English 102 teacher. This book is all about incest, child abuse, and racial posturing. I found it to be a very offensive book, especially when you consider that it was assigned to a bunch of impressionable freshmen college students.

The Bluest Eye is the second most repulsive thing I have ever read (the first is a Faulkner short story). I couldn't finish it -- didn't want to. Stopped reading once it became clear that incest was happening or about to. That's not my idea of entertainment.

[AnAmericanMother]

My problem with the Hornblower series (although they are jolly good reads!) is that Forrester makes Hornblower a 20th century man, with 20th century angst, set adrift in the early 19th century. While to external observation he appears to be a child of the Georgian era, internally he's a walking anachronism, expressing himself in 20th century terms. He sounds like Freud when he ought to sound like Samuel Johnson.

For REAL contemporary British sea adventure in the days of sail, read anything by Captain Frederick Marryat: "The King's Own", "Mr. Midshipman Easy", "Masterman Ready". My personal favorite is "Mr. Midshipman Easy". . . . no question there but that Capt. Marryat is a dyed in the wool conservative of the old school! Jack Easy's father is a liberal, and he is shown up for the fool he is (and dies a horrible death but not much lamented). Capt. Marryat sailed with the REAL model for Hornblower - Lord Cochrane and survived 50 sea battles. When he describes a battle it's for real!

[AnAmericanMother]

Ooooh! I bet I know one of the books you read . . . I had to read it too! The Awakening by Kate Chopin. What a fool woman.

I'm already working on inoculating my daughter against the idiot Feminazis. Seems to be working fairly well - she picks up on agendas in books pretty quickly. She had a wide choice of summer reading, including that stupid Chopin book, but she read The Iliad, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Daughter of Time (historical mystery by Josephine Tey - I don't agree with the conclusion but it's still a whacking good read), and a book they were all assigned as a requirement, Into Thin Air by a fellow named Krakauer who was on the failed Everest expedition. The last book formed the basis of a very interesting and wide ranging discussion about the ambitions of man and the danger of Nature. She goes to an excellent Christian school that demands academic excellence and doesn't waste much time on PC nonsense.

[A_perfect_lady]

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I recently read a very good article by John McWhorter where he systematically examines the inconsistencies and outright lies that are abundant in Maya Angelou's literature.

Oh, please tell me where you found it? I love reading McWhorter!

[Spyder]

Oh, please tell me where you found it? I love reading McWhorter!

I'm not the person you asked, but I'm pretty darn good with a search engine... How's this? Saint Maya

[dyed_in_the_wool]

Noam Chomsky actually wrote some of the most insightful books about the development of human language capability. Very enlightening and non-political for those who are interested in the topic.

You realize he only knows one language, don't you?

[jackbill]

I was fortunate to grow up long before the era of political correctness. Additionally, my college experience was in engineering school, which didn't leave much time for such crap.

As I said, I was fortunate. However, I would have relished arguing with some of the mental cripples on the left at present day universities.

[Vermont Lt]

I grew up in Mass. Everything was lib crap. I discovered cliff notes in my older sister's closet. Some kids get turned onto drugs--I got turned on to Cliff notes. I am sad to say that I got through most of High School and almost all of college without reading an assigned book. Sad because I waited years before reading some of the classics (Twain, Melville, etc.) Too boring for a 15 year old kid.

On the other hand, I always had a book, usually history or current events sitting on my nightstand. Still do. It is never too late to start!

[dyed_in_the_wool]

I hate to say it, but Platos Republic. So many students have focused on the illogical Plato instead of the Greek-era Renaissance man Aristotle. Plato's Republic was a nice fantasy, but it has no logical proof in the real world.

Then you obviously didn't understand it. Or worse, it was not properly contextualized for you.
Check out his Epistle VII and get a better grasp of the pragmatism his political philosophy ultimately took.
The Republic is largely the proof of the existence of a soul, using the state as an example. The political views in it are untenable. The Laws is much closer to a pure Platonic political philosophy.
As for Aristotle, he DID tutor Philip of Macedon's son Alexander who became a pretty noteworthy conquerer...

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

A short story by William Faulkner. I can't remember (and I can't find) the title. But I remember thinking at the time: They call this LITERATURE? It was the most disgusting thing I had ever read. Even to this day.

Do you remember anything about the plot? Maybe one of our literature detectives can find it. :)

I just found it. I typed the following words into google -- "William Faulkner" "short story" manure -- and it popped right up: Barn Burning.