Margaret Atwood: Why Ontario Students Should Study Canadian Literature

Common Core is trading literature classics in favor of informational texts. This brings less creativity into the classroom. Common Core replaces 70% of literary classics with informational texts. Informational texts are helpful to students, but most students will not read non-fiction texts over fictional texts. The Common Core reading list includes: “Evolution of the Grocery Bag”, “Invasive Plant Inventory”, and “Recommended Levels of Insulation”.

We as young scholars can easily comprehend the importance of literature, but if our reach to success is limited to only one source of information then we would not be able to comprehend the full expansion of knowledge. The fictional novel Fahrenheit 451 written by Ray Bradbury expresses the critical aspects and values of reading books and that censoring out books including fiction limits the knowledge of a society. Although non-fiction adds additional preparation towards the understanding of information of the real world, fiction should absolutely be a primary part of the learning experience at least until college levels because it allows students to expand their imagination to spark creative ideas, does not limit their capability of expression through literature, and gives them a passion to reading. There are countless

A novel such as How to Read Literature like a Professor brings joy to the reader because it awakens the senses he or she has become numb to in reading. This novel brings fun and irony back into reading literature and makes the reader remember why literature is important. In the eyes of non-professors, books are just a way to keep records and entertain the few. This is true, however, in reality, books serve the eternal purpose to expand communication between humans and bring

Her full use of strong language diminishes pieces of literature’s worth and questions their true significance. She claims this in a critical tone by stating, “Like most parents who have, against all odds, preserved a lively and still evolving passion for good books, I find myself, each September, increasingly appalled by the dismal lists of texts that my sons are doomed to waste a school year reading”(Prose, 176). She uses words like dismal to describe the book choices students would have to read according to the curriculum of the educational system. By using words like dismal, she expresses her feeling of disappointment towards the curriculum. She

In the article, “Why Literature Matters” by Dana Gioia, he states that the decline of interest in literature—especially from young teens—will have a negative outcome in society. Notably, he informs the readers by utilizing strong vocabulary, as well as rhetorical appeals to persuade his audience that the decline in reading will have a negative outcome. This allows readers to comprehend his views and join his side of the argument. Gioia’s word choice assists in showing the magnitude of the text by stressing the meaning and importance of his argument.

Gerald Graff began his career as a teacher before becoming an author focused on critical theory. “Disliking Books at an Early Age” is one of his publications that focuses on the teaching of critical theory. Graff’s argument is that students should be introduced to theory early in academics because a pure reading experience is impossible. Every person brings their own experiences and questions to a text that influences it. Therefore, literary theory gives them a scholarly way to shape their readings and develop the level of “intellectualspeak” that colleges seem to require, which teaches them the skills needed to discuss literature and add to the scholarly conversation.

In this essay, "Why Literature Matters", author Dana Gioia sets up an argument about literature. Which she uses various ways to persuade her audience be in favor of her proposal; by showing statistic evidence, facts, and historical evidence, as well as some ironies, diction, and the appeals to reader's emotion.

Different types of literature open new doors through which students’ can explore the unknown and expand their knowledge of controversial topics. The great examples found in literature have been the subject of much debate, as school boards wrestle with whether children should be allowed to read such difficult, harsh topics, as said in the article “How Banning Books Marginalizes Children” (Source F). There are so many brilliant works of literature spanning a wide variety of genres and topics, and a single school board should not determine what students learn. No one is proposing that second graders read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but rather that we intentionally choose literature that will expand, rather than limit, children’s options and minds. Not only do these great works lay the groundwork for our future generation, but they also serve to diversify students’ writing and analysis skills.

Literature is frequently comprehended by most people as a mass of writings. In particular, it refers to those reckoned to have the aptitude of being inventive and rational, or which deploy languages which departed from the common usage. Global literature, on the other hand, has two different definitions where the first one explains it as the summation of all literatures of the world, including personal and nationalized work. The second definition is, global literature consists of the world’s classics, or the most sought after works that are read across time, ethnic and language borders in which they were produced and become the intercontinental patrimony of civilization. (Gafrik, 2009, p. 28)

Children and teens should be able to access literature “free of restrictions” (70). Censors of young adult literature “fail to see” the similarities between their “desires to suppress information” about sexuality, violence, and religion and the “successful attempts by dictators to control their countries’ population” (70). Countries who have tried to implement censorship are practicing control over their citizens, which is why Canada should not suppress the population from any literature. If children are told they are not able to read books they are interested in or curious about they will be deterred from pursuing leisurely reading which limits their intellectual

As a college student, Emily Vallowe wrote a literacy narrative with a play on words title: “Write or Wrong Identity.” In this work, she told the story of how she believed her confidence as a writer developed; however, she was becoming dubious as to her distinctiveness as an author. Although I have never been a self-proclaimed wordsmith as Ms. Vallowe obviously had been for years, I related to her journey. Not only did she grow up in Northern Virginia like I did, she never considered herself an inept writer—a possibility that I could not fathom about myself. Then, at some point, we both began to question our own ability and to question who we really were.

Literature is never written – or read – for entertainment alone. There is always another purpose. Discuss in relation to two books Reading a book can be entertaining; that does not mean however, that the book is written for entertainment alone. At least one alternative purpose always exists.

Like most famous authors that we look at, they have all passed on, but Margaret Atwood not only has set herself up a legacy, but also continues to do so. She is a most beloved wife, mother and author. She, to this day, has written more than forty books of fiction, essays, and poetry. She started her studies at the age of sixteen and finished some seven years later. Margaret Atwood is a very well known Canadian author that has won numerous awards for her works. Although Margaret Atwood was very much influenced by the era she lived in (post- modernism), she also however was very much influenced by the other eras as well.

Caleb Corkery is an Associate Professor of English who wrote “Literacy Narratives and Confidence Building in the Writing Classroom.” In his article, he discusses the positive and negative affects student writers have about writing literacy narratives. Correspondingly, in “Heroes, Rebels, and Victims: Student Identities in Literacy Narratives,” by Bronwyn Williams, who also is a professor of English, she conveys the idea that through literacy narratives, the writer can develop a sense of identity through their work. Through the comparison of Corkery and Williams’ articles about literacy narratives, and through my own literacy narrative writing experience, I do agree with these two authors’ assertions that writing these literacy narratives are

This quote brings about an interesting topic, American Literature and the significant changes throughout history encouraged many people to create change in literature. The literary arts became a powerful tool in communicating different worldviews and the integrating of historical moments in time. This movement created a unique blending of different races to integrate through literary arts causing many cultures to unite internationally. Literature encouraged intellectual American’s to be a part of the change in their communities. For many people, this movement triggered an internal need for social and cultural change.