Lesson #4

So, for this week I found more quotes on enjoying life and general life lessons.
Without further ado:

1) This is a quote I came across when I was reading "The Moonstone" by Wilkie Collins. It's from Robinson Crusoe, a book that the narrator finds comfort in:

Can you read this? Click image to enlarge.

So: Fear of Danger is more terrifying than the Danger itself....I definitely think there's some truth to this and its relevant to every day life. How many times do we stop in our tracks and refuse to do something because we don't want to put ourselves in danger: at that point in time, we are more afraid of how we feel in danger than the actual danger. To give a (soft) example: in swimming, one of the most dreaded events is the 200 butterfly. In my own experience, as well as the experience of others I've found that I'm more nervous and anxious before the event just thinking about swimming the event. So in this case, the fear of danger---the fear of being in pain and swimming something I don't want to----outweighs the swim itself. I've had to swim it often enough to know what it's not that bad and I can do it, but before each swim I still get nervous just thinking about it. (Wish me good luck---I'm swimming it this Saturday!)

NOTE: the word "Burthen" is an archaic form of "Burden"

2) So this next quote is more about being happy in life, though it may sometimes be at the expense of another:

Context isn't super important here, you just need to understand what he's saying. And think about it----taking the term "neighbor" as a general term meaning "those around you"------how often do you tease and poke fun at those around you? With my own friends, its something we do regularly (though we make sure not to be really hurtful, so some of our teasing is along the lines of "Haha, you're so much like (insert least favorite literary character here)". Don't laugh at me, it can be hilarious if you know what you're talking about)

With my friends that don't have great understanding of lit characters, our teasing jousts are more "normal".....So know think about your own friends and how you guys interact and make fun of each other. Even think about the people you and your friends make fun of (your enemies? Frienemies? Which ever)......in those cases, you are "making sport of your neighbors" and "laughing at them in your turn". 

3) Finally, one short one more, just because I thought it was funny. Context here is a little more important: A precious Indian stone has just been stolen from a house, and we don't know who did it (we're pretty sure as to why). The butler is the narrator here and is telling about what they did the morning they found out the diamond was gone:

I don't think this needs much explanation: its pretty self explanatory: EVERYONE LOVES FOOD. Breakfast is supposedly the most important meal of the day and food is comforting. So in the event of a robbery (especially in England) BREAKFAST IS IMPORTANT

That's it!

PLAN FOR NEXT WEEK:

So next week I'm going to delve into the humor of classic lit more than the relevance....a lot of it will need a context explanation, but some of it you will be able to find amusing on your own.

Until then,

Claire

Lesson #1

As this is the first post, I'm going to begin with a very general topic. As I said in my introductory post, I'm endeavoring to show that classic lit isn't obsolete---it has real life applications and can be interesting and even (dare I say it) exciting (crazy idea, right?!!). Without further ado, here are some tips from classic lit on

Living an Enjoyable Life

Our first quote with regard to "Living an Enjoyable Life" is from Mansfield Park, a novel by one of my favorite authors, Jane Austen. 

Alright, so breaking this down a bit, we find there are two parts: the first, "Run mad as often as you choose" tells the reader to enjoy their life (the extent to which is up to your own discretion), and the second half is more cautionary. The piece, "...but do not faint" warns the reader against going overboard, having too much fun, or being too wild. In Austen's time, an overabundance of fun resulted in a tired and broke individual, with a bad reputation of wildness that prevented them from finding work and thus climbing out of their debt. In today's time, the situation isn't as drastic, as we seem to care less reputation, so a new job would be more easily found. Today, if someone were to have "too much fun" and become burdened with debt, the results are still devastating---a large amount of debt can ultimately result in extreme poverty. In both today's modern consequences and Austen's time, the results of having "too much fun", the "faint" as the quote puts it, leave the individual in an uncomfortable, if not miserable state.

In researching this topic and finding the above quote, I stumbled across another one of my favorites, and after finding that it didn't fit any of the categories I wanted to address, decided I'd include it in this post. This particular quote addresses how we speak, and how others speak. This quote really struck me; I found it relevant to many real life situations and so here it is:

Just think about that for a minute. Let it process for a bit..........Alright, if you're done processing, here's what I thought about it: Think about what happens when a politician or celebrity says something that is offensive or surprising (in a bad way). (Think of events such as this and this) The incident gets blown up and is all over the news, radio, TV, etc. As Collins points out, our words become "giants". However, when we say something to our credit, the media shrugs as if to say, "Yeah, I guess that was nice. But its not juicy, its not important, its not BIG. Can you get me something more.....scandalous?". Collins' lesson here is to watch what you say---think before you speak---so that you aren't hurt by the giants you create.

I hope these "lessons" were helpful for you; I tried to find a few really basic, general, and yet thought provoking quotes to ease into this. Next week, I'm planning on talking about how classic lit is relevant with regard to virtues, vices, and other characteristics. I have a few quotes already picked out and I'm sure I can find a few more. If, at any time, you think of a suggestion for me---something you want me to find, something you want me to relate to real life or explain, PLEASE comment it somewhere or email me. That'd be great :) I'm doing this to help you and to come to a greater realization of the importance of classic lit. Hopefully, others will see this and help make classic lit interesting for their friends and students as well.

Thanks and Enjoy!

Claire