Let me be the first to say that I loathe history. It was never my favorite subject, but American Literature has changed that opinion somewhat. So far, most everything I have read has been interesting and has kept my attention, which is hard for me with my Bipolar Type 1 and ADHD. Some of the stories and excerpts have that really caught my attention, I did a little more background reading on the subject. History, though, has never been fastinating to me, but how better to learn history than to read actual accounts and writings of the period? This is much more interesting to me than is someone else's version.
I had never actually read our Constitution or Lincoln's Gettysburg Address-now, I can appreciate these writings. In high school, 20+ years ago, I had to memorize and recite a portion of the Gettysburg Address, I did it perfectly, but I did not care to understand what it meant nor what it was saying. Wow, how things change!
I plan on keeping my American Literature textbook set and I plan on reading both volumes in their entirety as soon as I get the time. I also imagine that these volumes will be of use to my grandbabies when they get older. I remember looking at my Aunt Joan's American Literature textbooks before I could actually read, but rather pretending to read and looking at the pictures. The very first thing I learned to read out of that book was a drama by Emily Dickinson. I was probably in 3rd grade at the time. I had read the book "Helter Skelter" about the Charles Manson murders, by the time I finished 6th grade. I have always been an avid reader and this class has broadened my knowledge of history. I guess times change but history remains the same.
As of this writing my two favorite stories so far have been two of my all-time favorites: "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving and "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar A. Poe. The most memorable person that I have so far read about and did some research on was Sojourner Truth. She is such an inspiration!
History was a difficult subject for me, but I figured out that I could enjoy historical fiction just fine, but books lecturing on history, not so much! Literature therefore is definitely an indirect way of teaching history, and it’s a lot more personal and relatable. So I’m with you there. And it’s great you’ve found a way to appreciate history and enjoy it! Including the Constitution and Gettysburg Address :) I still have to do more research on those haha, and your story is encouraging.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the Legend of Sleepy Hollow too! I actually read it to my siblings in Virginia (on vacation) and then that night we watched the animated movie :D it was a lot of fun and the movie wrapped it all up nicely. I’ll have to read the Fall of the House of Usher though… thanks for sharing your favorites!