what makes a novel "a classic"?

what makes a novel "a classic?" discuss.

i believe that no one has to formally give a novel the title of being "a classic," it just assumes that title on its own. in my opinion, a classic novel is one that is read over and over again throughout the centuries, and is not one of the "dusty hidden books in the library shelves." classic novels are read so many times by different people, because they have a theme of importance which should be taught to the reader. also, many older novels have lessons which could be of importance in the future, or in our case, the present. shakespeare wrote macbeth in the early 1600s, and it is still being read today. this many be out of respect for shakespeare, or because macbeth teaches lessons of fear and lying. catcher in the rye is another book still read today, and holden in a character mentioned in many other stories today. in conclusion, a novel is a "classic" when it is taught and read years after it is written, and its themes and motifs are lessons that can be applied to life, even if it is 200 years after it was written. 

wuthering heights: my comments

to gab napoli:

gab i completely agree with your view about foster children. although no one in my family is adopted either, my parents do treat my friends just like their own children. when they are in my house, they know to just go get food and things for themselves, and talk to my mom just normally. one of my family friends adopted a baby from china, and they already had a 9 year old daughter and a 1 year old daughter. now, the baby has lived with them for four years, and is just as much a family member as any of the other children. i think that even if a child is adopted, they have the same rights to the family and usually are treated the same way as any other child. 

to talin:

this was one of the statements i considered blogging about, and i really like the perspective you came from. i thought it was really interesting how you stated that "technically, energy can't be created or destroyed. So when we "die", or should I say our bodies die," because i have never thought from that perspective before. i do think that a person comes back somehow, because i know of people that will think their friend or relative is guiding them, or sending them signals. there are many times, even on tv shows, that people try to "talk to" and connect with the deceased. this might be because they had a wise grandmother and they need advice, or they are missing their friend. it would be really cool but probably really scary for a person to "come back to life," but just as you said, it could happen. 

to jamie:

 in order to "not mention this person," i will just say 'he'. i chose the same question from the survey as you did, and i agree completely with what shelby said. i know how hard everything was after you and that person, because the two of you were also my two best friends. even though both of you are still my best friends, everyone has changed. and i can say that i have gone through the exact same thing with another person. you go from talking all the time to just ignoring each other in the hallways, or not talking for 4 months straight. but again, people change, and i think it's up to us to find out if that change is for better or for worse. 

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wuthering heights anticipation

when i was taking the survey, many of the questions i had never thought about were answered by a simple "true" or "false" statement. of course there is background to every scenario, but everything should be able to be answered as simple TRUE or FALSE. 

the statement that i felt the most connected to was a person's childhood friends are usually the most loyal. i think i might have laughed after reading this. although you may meet people when you are a child and just have that bond stay the same forever, that is not the case for everyone. especially as you grow up and meet new people, old flames can die out. i can say that i have lived through this experience, and even though at times it is hard to remember the past, i am more than happy to be in the present. 

the thing about these childhood friends was that there was always an extremely large amount of drama. from lies being told, talking behind backs, and alliances, one cannot stand to live with that forever. although there were countless good times, the shadows of the bad could slip in, ruining the fun. to say that i am not friends with anyone from my childhood would be a completely false statement. but the maturity of my friends today overrides the drama of elementary and beginning of middle school. don't get me wrong, not everyone was like this, of course. i am just trying to point out that these things do happen. 

the thing about being a child and the friends that you have, is that it goes in levels. when you are very young, you are friends with people who your parents are friends with. for example, when your mom and this person's mom get together for coffee, the children play together. as you grow up and enter kindergarten, you still mostly play with everyone in your class, and people around you. but as you grow up, you begin to fall in line with people who are like you, whether you are on the same sports teams, have the same personalities, or are just interested in the same hobbies. as these relationships start to flourish, strong friendships are formed. but once high school and middle school are added into the mix, things can change as people change. so although some might think their friends from childhood are the most loyal, i beg to differ. 

my comments to others.

shayna, 

i always love reading your blogs because they are always intense and make you think. first of all, i am so happy to hear that your sister is okay and healthy. but i completely agree with you about everything being written. i am a firm believer of how "everything happens for a reason," although i don't always know what the reason may be. for example, why are people who are struggling with money, the ones to lose their jobs, and the wealthier class are the ones who win the lottery or get the promotion. or why in a drunk driving accident, why does it happen that the drunk driver survives, and the people in the other car die? none of these things make sense to me, which is why it is interesting that i still believe that everything is written. however sometimes, when good things happen that lead to other good things, i do believe that there is something that keeps the good things rolling. but, whether or not it is an indescribable force or just "what happens, happens," i think that there is something guiding us through life. 

caylin, 

i really liked your story about the camp because i thought it was amazing that even at such a young age, society has taught us to be so discriminatory. (good for you for standing up for your friend!) but seriously, i am actually disgusted by the amount of segregation that is in america, or even in places as small as our school. no matter where you are, there are a thousand ways that someone can judge you. "your hair is the wrong color, your too tall, your clothes aren't 'in,' your house is too small, your skin is too dark." it is amazing how there are so many things that people can pick apart about each other, that no one spends the time to pick out the good assets anymore. why can't society teach us to go up to someone that you might not usually talk to, and compliment them on their shirt or their new haircut just because you like it? i think these are the lessons we should be taught by our parents and by the surrounding world; not lessons of hatred and bigotry. 

jamie,
my favorite part about all of your blogs is that you are not afraid to state the truth. whatever you are feeling, you just let out, and i saw that in this blog, too. i think my favorite part was how you questioned ignorance, and how it involved your surroundings. in truth, i believe that we are all ignorant of different types of people, religions, and cultures. one of my blogs discussed how it is important to have a background of different religions, just so you know what you are talking about. i also thought it was interesting how you said that you were not comfortable around the korean kids in your church, because you couldn't relate to them. even though this area is predominately caucasian, i think that people still have a hard time fitting in. people are harsh these days, which makes it even harder to fit it, and makes more people ignorant. i really like your opinions!

oh and your link was really interesting + i liked how you tied it into your topic

jill,
i completely agree with you about the reading thing with malcolm ( i have a post about it also ). not to rewrite what i stated in mine, but i truly do believe that reading is what saved malcolm. i also think it is amazing that he became so smart after reading and memorizing a dictionary. even though he had the time, that kind of memory and skill it takes to do that every day shows that malcolm always had the intelligence inside of him, it just needed a match to spark the flame.
also, you mentioned how music can help you relax or deviate stress. i completely agree! music is basically my savior, because there is always a song that can relate to how you are feeling. for me, it is the loud and sing-a-long music for those good moods, and the slower and softer music for times when i am feeling down or upset. music saves the soul and can mend any situation. really good job, i like how you describe malcolm's feelings from different angles.

rachel, 

i thought it was really interesting that you made this connection, because i had thought about how i don't really know anything about hillsdale. i have lived in the same house here for 12 years, and i still don't know any history about it. i mean demarest farms is right down the street, and marsha demarest + her husband live down the street, which tells me that the area used to be all farmland. that is hard to believe though. i did learn some facts from your link, and just like you, i didn't know that Hillsdale used to be part of Washington Township either. i really liked this blog and the connection that you made with malcolm x. 

[to be graded #5] malcolm x post 10: the environment you grow up in

in our small groups today, we had an in depth discussion about the end of malcolm, what everyone's opinions were, and any questions or comments they still had. the topic i decided i would write my last blog about was "how the environment you grow up in affects the type of person you become." this may seem abstract and controversial, but in plain sight it completely makes sense. for instance, look at malcolm's childhood. his dad was a preacher (hmm..foreshadow) who was beaten to death by the white "devils," but essentially died for his cause. his mother was claimed to be crazy, and the whites took her to the mental institution. so his parents' pasts basically shaped his future right off the bat. 

in my case, i believe that the environment you grow up in affects who you are, because of the studies that have been performed. this link connects to an article which discusses how our environment affects happiness. surveys were done, and many people are happy with their lives. however these were also the people who have close relationships with friends and family, may belong to a religious group, and enjoy their jobs. people who are not so happy may not have any of these bonds, or are suffering from low amounts of motivation and self confidence. 

growing up, my parents were always singing, dancing, reading, and playing with my sister and me. i think this is part of what made me grow up as a happy child with a positive outlook on life. my parents always taught me how important school was, and how i always needed to try my best. i was also raised with the idea of the significance and importance of family, religion, and friends- three things i still consider very important. i have come to the conclusion that the statement about the effects of your environment is true, because of all the surveys which have been taken, and my own experience with this idea. 

[to be graded #4] malcolm x post 9: sleeping under the stars

when malcolm talks about his journey on the Hajj, he references numerous times to how the Muslim customs which once seemed uncomfortable to him, were now everyday routines. 

"...and sleeping with eight or ten others on a mat in

the open. I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing

but the sky overhead I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim

brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land-every

color, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike-

all snored in the same language" (Haley 350).

when malcolm talks about sharing food and drinks with all the different men on the pilgrimage, he feels like a part of the "brotherhood." even though everyone were of different races and from different countries, they all found common ground when following Allah. 

when reading this, i realized another similarity between the Jewish and Muslim faiths. malcolm accounts of sleeping under the open sky, while being in the most sacred place in the world. Sukkot begins on the fifth day after Yom Kippur, which is the day of atonement. Sukkot pays tribute to the forty years of exile that the Jews had after escaping from Egypt (What is Sukkot?). on Sukkot, one of the traditions is for Jews to build a sukkah (pictured below).

"the sukkah represents the Clouds of Glory, which are representations of the Shechinah, which means Divine Presence" (Why do we build a Sukkah?). the rules for a sukkah are that it must have at least 2.5 walls, and be created so all or most of the roof shows the sky. this is because only the part under the sky is kosher, so it is more sacred. i have spent the night and had dinner in a sukkah, and i can tell you that it is a purely amazing experience. just like malcolm said it was amazing sleeping under the stars in a place with pure peace and love around him, being under the stars on a Jewish holiday is transforming. it is also amazing to think that all over the country and across the world, even in israel, people are all under the same night sky, full of prayer and hope. one day, i would love to go to israel, and meet those who live in a place so rich with history and tradition. however, for the time being, merely being able to connect because of the sky is just as astonishing. 

works cited:

Ellis-Christensen, Tricia. "What is Sukkot?" WiseGEEK: clear answers for common questions. 10 Mar. 2009 .

"Why do we build a Sukkah? - holidays sukkot the sukkah." Askmoses.com - Torah, Judaism and Jewish Info - Ask the Rabbi. 10 Mar. 2009 .

[to be graded #3] malcolm x post 8: importance of music in the past and present

especially in the mid section of the book, music was a very strong theme which guided malcolm through life in harlem and boston. he worked as a shoe shiner in theaters, and that is where his love of music, jazz, and the lindy hop dance began to grow. musical talents such as duke ellington, sonny greer, cootie williams, and eddie "cleanhead" vinson, inspired malcolm with their music. i think that it was this newfound interest in the musical and instrumental fields that kept malcolm off the streets some nights, and in the theaters to hear the bands peform, and to work. in harlem, the tour guide taught us how a man, charles mingus, was meeting duke ellington in his harlem apartment, and when he had asked for directions, duke told 

him to take the "a" train. by the time mingus had arrived at his apartment, he had potential song lyrics in his head, and when he met ellington, they created the song "Take the A Train." this shows how artists can be inspired by anything in the world surrounding them. for example, will.i.am wrote numerous songs during the election about President Obama, and how change was going to come. now, how does this relate to me?  although i am not a musician, i do write poems, which in a sense is the same roots as music. by writing about things that inspire me, or emotions that i am experiencing, i am just as much a musician as duke ellington or will.i.am. although i don't have the voice, i can "voice" my opinions and express my thoughts, just as any of these artists. 

in general, men's voices are generally heard more than a woman's, especially back then. however, do you think people in the 1960's would rather listen to a white woman's opinion, or a black man's? think about it. women were completely seen as inferior, because the men ruled the household, brought in the income, and was the backbone of the family. however, some people completely disregarded the existence of african americans. sadly, i would think that a woman might be heard more just because she is of the white race. however, since some men didn't even listen to their own wives, i even beg to differ my opinion. 

after coming up with that question, i decided to rese

arch it. i found an article from the boston globe, which actually related directly to the current election. as you can even see in this picture, people were polled as to whether they would rather vote for a black man, or a white woman, and to some, the results may be surprising - black man. think about it...who would you rather vote for? now pretend that you were living in the 1960's in malcolm's time. who do you think you would have voted for then?