Rachel - you bring up a point I hear often. I'll write this response as if I'm addressing you personally, but I'm not trying to attack you - rather I'm addressing the persona that you presented as you stated your point.... -
No, Dickens wasn't writing to us. But neither was he writing for the professors. As I understand it, his novels, or at least some of them, were published chapter by chapter in popular magazines for the mass market. Of course we have to keep in mind the class distinctions of the time kept the majority of the people in such circumstances that they could not read the "popular" magazines. But still Dickens' works are worth reading because they are relevant to the universal human experience. That was his talent. Many of us are only a few generations down the path from his time. Do you truly not feel the relevance of A Christmas Carol? Do you not value how he gave a voice to orphans like Oliver Twist? Why does it matter whether he was writing to you or not? He wrote, and he wrote well, and his works are valuable and always will be. His style and language is at times difficult, that's true, because of the passage of time. But the messages are still relevant. And it never killed anyone to enrich one's vocabulary or ability to read and understand complex sentences and long paragraphs. If you only want to eat at Taco Bell or stroll through the park, fine. But don't tell others who want to cook scallops ceviche or climb mountains that they're wasting their time. LLR Cheryl --- retc <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I think people forget that each writer writes > for their audience. A book > that was written 100 years ago may not appeal > to those living today. There > is still a lot we can learn from these books > and I think it is important to > give things a chance, but Dickens was not > writing with us in mind. Cheryl Share books, share fun! See: http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/cherylllr Have you told a friend today? http://bookcrossing.com/tellafriend Archives and email list settings: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookCrossing Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BookCrossing/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
