I remember exactly where I was sitting when my 9th grade English teacher handed out copies of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. The cover struck me as utterly without interest, printed in earth tones that could not appeal to someone who dressed in bright purple and hot pink.
The book changed the way I viewed the world. At the time, I was fending off heavy-handed efforts of "Young Life" members. Being one of 5 Jewish students in a Bible Belt high school of 1200 could get tiresome. BCA (Before Chinua Achebe), I gave my evangelical friends the benefit of the doubt, telling myself that they were just trying to help me in the only (misguided) way they knew. After, I knew that wasn't going to cut it.
The teacher concentrated on the damage done by the missionaries to the Igbo. What a shock - this guy had always seemed like such a wimp! Now he was championing the underdog. To this day, I give him credit for facing a classroom full of WASP students and criticizing the concept of mission work. Now, of course, I know that he did Achebe's masterpiece a disservice. Okonkwo was already far along the path of self-destruction before the White Man administered the coup de grace. But at the time, the lesson was powerful and heroic. And who is to say that the teacher didn't try to instill in us an appreciation for the literary value of the work that we were just to immature to grasp?
Things Fall Apart is the most painful book I have ever read. I read it every 7-10 years, at times when I feel drawn to it. The last time I read it was two years ago when I assigned it to an honors section of Comparative Religion. We studied the religions in the book; it is a great one for introducing indigenous religious African beliefs and practices. Rereading it this time, I caught myself warning Okonkwo before he took each disastrous step, as one does when watching a movie ("don't go through that door!").
This morning, along with the news of Achebe's death I read about the Common Core Standards Curriculum, scheduled to be put into effect in 46 out of 50 states. 70% of the reading material in English classes will be nonfiction, and classic literature (including Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird) will be eliminated. On the one hand, I did not read either of those until college. On the other, I read many other classics; I believe my teachers had much more leeway in choosing our reading material than teachers do these days (and yes, there was book burning, too).
My twelve-year-old is reading Tom Sawyer in school this year. Will that be eliminated in favor of vocational training? The number of older children and adults who do not read for pleasure is already staggering. It sounds like the Common Core Standards Curriculum is not likely to contribute to a society of literate, critical thinkers.
But back to my original thought: what book do you have a vivid physical memory of receiving? With whom have you shared it?
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