What Is a Classic and Why Is Literature
Important in Children’s Development?
by Gretchen King
A
father once approached me and said he would
really like his son to focus only on the classics. I
thought, “There are 56 titles in our Classic Starts
series, then what?” Classic literature such as Call of the
Wild, The Secret Garden, Black Beauty, The Man in the Iron
Mask, and others in this genre, are truly some of the most
captivating stories ever written, of that there is no doubt. I
encourage our students to read all the classics at some point
in their young lives. But with so many good books that are
available that do not fall within the category of books we
traditionally label as “the classics,” it made me ask myself
the question, what is a classic?
A colleague and I were discussing this and agreed that
each generation defines its own classics. Books such as the
Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, Wonder by R.J. Palacio,
and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate
DiCamillo do not fall within what we normally consider
“the classics,” yet they have become classics for their
generation. The Oxford Dictionary defines a classic as
“judged over a period of time to be of the highest quality
and outstanding of its kind.” Would Shakespeare consider
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens classic literature?
Maybe, maybe not. Would Euripides consider Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet on the same level as his Greek tragedy
Medea? Maybe, maybe not. I think one can see where I’m
going with this.
Further research brought me to an article on
an interesting website called nownovel.com,
which lists seven elements that they
believe are part of a classic
novel, and with most
of them I tend
to agree. These
elements include:
1) Memorable and diverse characters, that give us
insights into the lives and experiences of characters who
have interesting backgrounds, temperaments, motivations,
loves, and hates. When I think of this I think of Jo March in
Little Women. 2) Good style. The article strongly impresses
that for a book to be read, re-read and loved, the reading
experience needs to be smooth. A book that reads easily and
flows. 3) A fully realized setting such as Charles Dickens’
London or J.K. Rowling’s Hogwarts, both of which are
vivid. 4) Satisfying story structure and development – the
classics do not have plot holes. For me this means the
book makes sense. 5) Larger timeless themes and truths
that appeal to diverse audiences who can read and enjoy it
because classic books deal with larger, significant themes.
That article cited Harry Potter having been translated into
67 languages in part because its central themes (such as the
power of friendship and the courage required to stop “evil”)
are universal. 6) Classics make connections showing signs
of their literary and historical origins. I don’t know that I
necessarily agree with this, as I don’t think a novel that does
not connect with another novel historically is a deal breaker
as to whether it could qualify as a classic. And, finally, 7)
Classics leave room for interpretation. Telling the reader
what to think about the what and why of a story minimizes
the reader’s power to make their own meaning. 1
Obviously, these are just the writer’s opinion and are
certainly debatable in part or in whole, but the
general idea resonates that some of
the best books have some or
all of these qualities.
Yet all are not what
normally comes