Many classic works of literature have survived the test of time and far more can be learned from them then what
was taught in your high school English classes. The 10 novels below, written a lifetime ago, are still relevant in
the 21st century. In a time
of selfies, complaints over how many Instagram likes you have, and valuing our
phone screens over personal eye contact, it cannot hurt to go back to
basics.
10. "Peter Pan" by J. M. Barrie. A story about the adventures of Peter Pan
who lives on the small island of Neverland and never grows up. Throughout college, we all have those days
where we resent growing older.
Unfortunately, college is not Neverland.
9. "Around the World in Eighty
Days" by Jules Verne. Phileas Fogg has a $1.6 million wager that he can
circumnavigate the world in 80 days. If
you feel inspired to embark on a similar journey, check out some OU Study Abroad
programs.
8. "The Odyssey" by Homer. Saying
this work is old school, is quite the understatement. With Bound By Tradition being our OU
Homecoming theme this year, it captures the epic’s most central theme of homecoming. Follow Odysseus on his 10-year journey that has an eerie resemblance to
surviving college. Odysseus has to face temptation
(studying or Wine Wednesday), an evil Cyclops (midterm week) and even has to
defeat suitors who are trying to remarry his wife (frat boys).
7. "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller. Set during the middle of WWII, this
novel follows Captain John Yossarian, and the other airmen in his division, as
they attempt to keep their sanity in order to fulfill service requirements so
they can return home. The phrase “Catch-22” now refers to an unsolvable
puzzle, or as I like to call it, Winter Finals Week.
6. "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel
Hawthorne. Taking place during time of the Puritans in Boston in the 17th century, this novel follows Hester Prynne, a woman who has a child after her
husband has been lost at sea for two years.
The people force her to embroider the letter ‘A’ on all her wardrobe for
adulterer. Times have changed and
sorority girls now wear letters with no shame at all, but sometimes people
still harshly judge on the association and not the person. And like Hester, you don’t know everything
about a person’s life just by the clothes that they wear.
5. "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Wrapped in beautiful rhetoric, Gatsby’s end goal is a better life for
himself, to win back the girl of his desires and throw the biggest parties
anyone has ever seen. He is an
inspiration for all OU fraternities. I wonder how many Jay Gatsby’s there will be for Halloween this
year?
4. "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens. “It was the best of times (Norman), it was the worst of times
(Stillwater).”
3. "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. In 1815, Edmund Dantes
had the world at his fingertips. He was about to receive a grand raise,
become the captain of a ship and get married. However, after being betrayed by his friends he is arrested and sent to
prison. While in jail, he meets someone
who gives him the greatest gift anyone can receive, an education. Something to keep in mind while OU keeps
jacking up the price of tuition.
2. "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. On
a more serious note, sometimes it is hard to swallow when a child can comprehend
the racial injustices and horrors of this world, and adults cannot. With
today’s events in Syria and Ferguson, Missouri you hope somewhere there is an
Atticus Finch who will fight for innocence lost.
1. "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. Lizzie
Bennet is pretty much the modern independent college woman. She is sassy, does what she wants and
refuses to compromise. It is hard to
believe that this novel was published in 1813, when women had virtually no
independence. Over 200 years
later, her story is still the outline for most romantic comedies. Girl meets boy, girl hates boy, and then they
fall in love.
