Reading the future

By Jen McShane
Collegian Staff
February 28, 2007

As I sit in my Literature classes, I often wonder about the novels and short stories that we read. I notice how much of what we read is older stories, many written even a century or two ago. We read literature written by authors like Shakespeare, Poe and Whitman. Reading great novels and poems by authors such as these always gets me wondering about what makes a novel great or gets it included in a literature class, and further gets me thinking: what will be read from today’s authors? One hundred years from now, what will kids be reading in a literature class?

After reading some bestseller lists, I came up with books like the Harry Potter series, The Notebook, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, The Da Vinci Code, Wicked and The Secret Life of Bees. I then went on to examine authors who appeared on The New York Times Best-Seller list. Authors who repeatedly came up in recent years include J.K Rowling, Nicholas Sparks, Mitch Albom, Jodi Picoult and James Patterson. Taking a look at these books and authors, I have determined that many of these books have thrilling plots. Many of the above books have exciting and “edge of your seat” mysterious elements. Take a look at Harry Potter; the mysteries and twists keep people reading. However, is Rowling’s writing talent a contemporary comparison to The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne?

If the answer to the above question is “yes,” then I believe that we can expect to see the Harry Potter series as required reading 100 years in the future. But for what grades, as readers from third grade to adults are delving into these books? Judging from the idea that many bestsellers today are “edge of your seat” stories that can be easy to read and understand, can we expect that literature classes in the future may be easier to comprehend? How many times have we, as students, groaned over the language in the “great” Othello? Troublesome language isn’t the only issue. What of the depth of this new literature? For example, we learn in the novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven that all people affect other people no matter how long or short the interaction. But is there a deeper meaning to the lessons learned? I believe that The Five People You Meet in Heaven will eventually also make a required reading list.

So, as for the future of literature, it is my belief that books will become more enjoyable to read, as well as more understandable. However, we also need to be careful that any books assigned to read must be age appropriate. Literature today is becoming racier and shows no sign that things will get better with society becoming more dehumanized. Sex makes an appearance or mention in The Da Vinci Code, The Notebook and many of the Picoult books. Let’s keep an eye on The New York Times Best-Seller list to see what else may eventually be taught in an Olney classroom.

mcshanej2@lasalle.edu