Many people don’t understand the point of reading books about the Holocaust and Greek mythology. Why would they need to know that stuff? For Holocaust books, people either don’t care or just think that because it happened once that it won’t happen again and for Greek mythology they just believe that there’s no point because it’s not real.
Literature plays a big part in school life and after you graduate. Not only because it was hammered into people’s lives due to school, but you also need to be literate to read and speak. Literature is much more than speaking and reading. It tells us about people’s cultures and their traditions. In the case of Greek mythology it dives into the history and culture of the Greeks, which holds significance for cultures that we don’t see anymore.
With stories and books based on the Holocaust, many people believe that they are too graphic to be shown to children. Maus, a holocaust book by author Art Speigelman, is banned in many states due to its violent nature and the swastika in the front. It was published in 1986 and banned in (most notably) 2015 in Russia. It is banned in multiple states in America as well. Many people disagree with the ban on Maus because it offers perspective on the Holocaust. Night, by author Elie Wiesel was also banned as part of a massive book banning. Children state that there is no point in reading them if they’re banned in certain states. That’s not true. By reading and analyzing those books, we learn much more information about what really happened. It helps us understand the tragedies mankind has done and makes sure people don’t commit those atrocities again.
In an interview with Mr. Wells, he states,” We don’t have to relegate any topic to a certain subject. Here in history we look at art, we look at music, we look at historical mathematicians… I don’t think we need to classify and segregate certain topics and certain genres to certain curriculum… I think they should be something we examine from lots of different things.”
Overall, literature in all forms should be taught. It helps with learning about different forms of culture and writing, which could help in college courses. It’s also important to learn history so it doesn’t accidentally repeat itself.
