Prose Critical Lens

Prose points out that many authors try to use literary works to teach values and that she is skeptical of this method. I support Prose’s practice of using literary works to teach values. Two examples of novels that Prose said were used to teach values Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. In these Examples Prose shows that many English classes focus on the values of the author rather than the literary work itself.

When classes learn about Huckleberry Finn it is not read for the enjoyment of reading. It is used to teach students about racism and explain how Mark Twain could possibly be called a racist. But if you were to treat the whole book as a racist book you would miss the entire point of his story. Back when I read this book in class last year, much of the discussions I had with others was based on whether or not the book is considered to be racist.

Another Example is the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. This novel was written 100 years ago when the authors values were different then they are now. This book was used to see how people treated mentally ill people. If you were to just focus

Even in the books we are assigned, beautiful texts, are undermined in the effort that teachers (don’t) put into teaching them. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is another great novel that I enjoy personally, and when my English III Honors teacher just told us to turn in our projects on the first day, I was a bit surprised. After all the emphasis on knowing your novel practically inside out, turning in an assignment and having a test a week later isn’t my version of teaching. Especially when after that not much else is said about the