We were all forced to read books for our high school literature and English classes. I don't know about anyone else, but I was usually pretty quick to assume that the stories that were selected by the board of education would be boring and uninteresting. However, I was pleasantly surprised by a few books and short stories that I will never forget. I may have even read them again after I graduated. Below, I have come up with a list of my top five favorites that I was forced to read in high school, but now I am very grateful that I was introduced to them.
1. Dante's Inferno by Dante Alighieri
Inferno is part of Alighieri's Divine Comedy, where he describes the way Dante thinks of hell. In the story, Dante is led by the poet Virgil through the nine circles of hell. Each level of hell holds souls that are guilty of different earthly sins. The deeper into hell they go, the worse the sin gets. The souls held in Inferno are the ones that did not repent, or were not sorry for what they did in life. I found this book very entertaining because the way Dante decided to punish the sinners in each level always somehow related to the sin. For example, the wrathful fight and rip each other to pieces while waiting to cross the river Styx.
2. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
Although I liked this story, it was also very sad. Chris McCandless decided he had had enough of the world's greed and cruelty. So when he decided to live out in the Alaskan wild, he lived off of small animals and plants and lived in an old abandoned bus that he found. He lived there for about 100 days and lost weight to the point of being about 90 pounds. When he realized he was in trouble, he tried to cross the river he had first came over to get back to civilization, but the water was too high and the current was too strong. Disheartened, he returned to his bus, and left the following S.O.S. note:
"Attention Possible Visitors. S.O.S. I need your help. I am injured, near death, and too weak to hike out. I am all alone, this is no joke. In the name of God, please remain to save me. I am out collecting berries close by and shall return this evening. Thank you, Chris McCandless. August"
He was found in September. He had died of starvation.
3. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hester Prynne was found guilty of adultery and fell pregnant. In order to shame her, the village made her wear a Scarlet A on all of her dresses. They tried to get her to name her lover, but she refused and remained silent for a very long time. Turns out, the baby's father was a popular minister, whose guilt eventually took him over. Although Hester did something dishonorable, I still liked her character. She refused to conform to the strict puritan rules. They rejected her after all, even though she spent most of her life caring for the sick and the poor, and even took care of the child that she didn't ask for. She stayed in solitude, didn't go to church and managed to keep her head high with the scarlet A embroidered on her chest.
4. Annabelle Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe had some dark and macabre subject matter. This is one of my favorites though because it shows the softer side of Poe, even though the poem itself is deeply depressing. He talks of a young love he had with the beautiful Annabel Lee. But one day she becomes ill and passes away. He is so devoted to her, even in death, that he sleeps next to her sepulchre and yearns for her presence. Sad, I know, but it is beautifully written and pulls on the reader's heart strings.
5. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I love this story not only because it takes place in the Roarin' Twenties, but because of the story of forbidden love between the beautiful Daisy Buchanan and the mysterious Mr. Jay Gatsby. Once again, this book ends sadly, (a common theme among these stories), but the moral of the story really stuck with me. Gatsby was driven to be extremely wealthy to gain the love of Daisy. He through fabulous parties, was surrounded by many people, and could purchase anything he wanted. But he was a bitter, angry and lonely man on the inside. He gained his wealth in less than honorable ways (it is implied) and he became possessive of Daisy (who was married and was part of an "old money" family) eventually driving her away. (Although, I will say Daisy definitely was no angel in my opinion.) So at the time of his death Gatsby was still alone, with only one person to attend his funeral.
