Dead White European Males

The problem with most of the novels taught in high school is that they were all written by dead white European males intended for college English majors or 60-year-old men: Death of a Salesman, Our Town, Old Man and the Sea, Grapes of Wrath to name a few. Many English teachers pride themselves on being guardians of this canon of literature, but research reveals most students aren’t actually reading the assigned novels. They’re relying on SparkNotes and classroom discussions to get by. It is possible to teach literary analysis and use young adult novels that the students can relate to and will actually read.

Selections with literary depth would include The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. Themes of isolation, control, and nonconformity are explored as Jerry Renault, the protagonist, must weigh the costs of answering the question, “Do I dare disturb the Universe?” An easier read with as much heart as it has depth is A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck. Based on his life growing up in rural Vermont, Peck creates a true coming of age story that weaves the elements of the life cycle throughout.

If you’re looking for something that will sucker punch you, try Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Holden Caulfield is lost, wandering through New York City and wandering through life, looking for something to hold onto that will help him deal with his loss of innocence. It’s a rites of passage story that performs open heart surgery, allowing the reader to look closely at the inner workings of a troubled young man.

All three of these novels are dated, and perhaps all three of them are a part of a new canon of literature that resonates with younger readers, more so than Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter.