Why Reading Classics: Classics Club October Meme

I think The Classics Club’s prompt for October meme is the basic thinking we ought to reflect when we decide to dedicate our times and efforts to read classics. But before coming to why I read classics, maybe we ought to describe ‘what is classics’ first. I believe the exact description of “classics” itself will vary among us, but I think it’s basically the same. These are what for me classics represent,

"A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say." ~Italo Calvino

“A true classic, as I should like to hear it defined, is an author who has enriched the human mind, increased its treasure, and caused it to advance a step; who has discovered some moral and not equivocal truth, or revealed some eternal passion in that heart where all seemed known and discovered; who has expressed his thought, observation, or invention, in no matter what form, only provided it be broad and great, refined and sensible, sane and beautiful in itself; who has spoken to all in his own peculiar style, a style which is found to be also that of the whole world, a style new without neologism, new and old, easily contemporary with all time.” ~Charles Sainte Beuve

For me personally,

Classics are books that hit at the heart of its readers; that their influence continue to resonate long after the book was published or the author passed away. Classics are books that continue to be read for generations, because what is in it is universal, even though times have changed. Classics also contain things that teach values worthy of being role models.

Now we come to this month’s prompt:

Why are you reading the classics?

Looking at ‘what is classics’ stands for me, I read classics because they speak about valuable things in life: humanity, love, friendship… ; because they show us the reality in human life: passion, kindness, hatred, poverty… I read classics because I can learn something from the past that I can use as a compass or barometer for the future; because the authors wrote it in their era but their works resonate until now. Or, I read classics merely because they were beautifully written, and I love them… :)

So, why are you reading classics, then?....

My Choices for Let’s Read Plays Reading Event

If you haven’t been informed yet, Let’s Read Plays is a yearlong event for reading classics plays that I will host together with Dessy, starting November 2012. For a whole year we will read play(s) based on different themes every month (you can find the theme list/schedule here.) Based on the schedule, I have made a plan for myself. These are plays I will read for the event:

Nov ’12 – Shakespeare Tragedy: Julius Caesar - with Melisa, Listra, Maria, Helvry
                                                  Antony and Cleopatra - with Listra, Dessy

Dec ’12 – Shakespeare Comedy: The Merchant of Venice - with Dessy

Jan ’13 – Freebie: King Lear 

Feb ’13 – Shakespeare History: Richard III - with Dessy, Melisa

Mar ’13 – Greek: Medea (Euripides)

Apr ’13 – Shakespeare Comedy: The Taming of The Shrew - with Dessy

May ’13 – Shakespeare Tragedy: Romeo and Juliet

Jun ’13 – Oscar Wilde: An Ideal Husband - with Dessy

Jul ’13 – Other Author: The Cherry Orchard (Anton Chekhov) - with Joon Ann

Aug ’13 – Shakespeare Comedy: Twelfth Night

Sep ’13 – Freebie: Saint Joan - Geoge Bernard Shaw

Oct ’13 – Shakespeare Tragedy: Hamlet - with Melisa

I might as well re-read A Midsummer Night’s Dream sometime during the event, or perhaps one of Wilde’s plays if I need to laugh a bit after a distressing reading… :)

What about you? Do you like to read plays? Why don’t you join us in Let’s Read Plays, and have fun in the yearlong event?

Weekend Quote 8: Gone With The Wind

Since I’m still reading Gone With The Wind, I hope I’m not boring you with another post about this book :)… I found this piece of quote from Part four. The Civil War has been over, yet the worst would still come. In this Part four I begin to see what Mitchell wanted to speak through her book. It was about the changing era that was following the war. In the middle of the uncertainty of the future, Mitchell showed us through her characters and their dialogues, that one must be brave to move along. One must not regret over the ideal life he once had, and dreams for living the same ideal in the future. One must work hard—although it is far from his ideal—to survive and to face the future.

This particular quote showed that spirit,

“It’s a poor person and a poor nation that sits down and cries because life isn’t precisely what they expected it to be.”

I think it helps us too right here, right now. The world is changing rapidly, and we know that the ideal life has long gone, so we must go on living, never dream about the past, but do our best for the future.

This Weekend Quote is hosted by Half-Filled Attic. Feel free to join. You can:

• Give the context of the quote
• Give your opinion whether you agree or disagree with it
• Share your experience related to the quote
• Share similar quotes you remember
• Or anything else. Just have fun with the quote.

Gone With The Wind Read Along: GIVEAWAY!

It’s already the last week of September. How did you all get going with Gone With The Wind? You can check the Update Posts page to see how others have progressed. Meanwhile, I want to remind you that every update posts you entered in the Update Posts page will be regarded as entries for my giveaway.

This giveaway is eligible for everyone who joins Gone With The Wind Read Along. The winner would be picked from Update Posts entries that you have entered during the read along. I have picked five authors from early 20^th century (just as Margaret Mitchell), whose books are offered for the prize:

Agatha Christie

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Ernest Hemingway

Virginia Woolf

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

• One winner can choose 1 (one) title from one of those authors from Amazon (for US residents) or from The Book Depository (for non US residents) at max. $10.
• Leave a comment mentioning how to contact you if you win (email/blog/twitter), and the book you’d like to have (you can change it later if you win; I’m just curious).
• I will pick and announce the winner on November 8^th 2012, so make sure you have added your update posts in the linky before that. Note: review post did not counted, as Bzee will host another giveaway for review posts at the end of this read along.
• The winner will have 48 hours to respond or I will pick a new winner.

Good luck!

Jack Merridew in Lord of The Flies

Jack Merrydew was the main antagonist in Lord of The Flies. He arrived at the isolated island as the head of a group of choir boys.

“Inside the floating cloak he was tall, thin, and bony; and his hair was red beneath the black cap. His face was crumpled and freckled, and ugly without silliness. Out of this face stared two light blue eyes, frustrated now, and turning, or ready to turn, to anger.”

From the beginning we could see that Jack was a leader. While all the other boys—in fear and without adult supervision—wandered confusedly around the island after the plane crash, Jack had managed to assemble his group orderly. All the boys listened to him, obeyed him. However, from the beginning also, I have sensed vaguely a kind of wicked passion in this boy. From above quote, Jack was pictured as being ‘frustrated and was going to be angry’, while it was still at the beginning, nothing had yet happened.

Without any reasonable reason, Jack already hated Piggy from the first time Piggy was involved in the conversation. In a harsh manner Jack howled Piggy to ‘shut up’ and called him Fatty. I could not understand, even now, why Jack hated Piggy so much from the beginning (and persisted till the end), while Piggy did nothing to him. Was it because Jack has a superior sense in him, that the shyness of Piggy was unbearable to him? I think so, and I think it is the same reason of most bullying cases everywhere.

[before] Jack - the head of choir boys

In his superiority, Jack never thought that there would be anyone else who was more capable than he to become the chief of the boys; there was there another sense of dominating, of controlling others, in spite of his leadership qualities. And when it turned out that the boys (except the choir boys) elected Ralph to be Chief, the rage was germinating in him.

I admit it that if you scrap his wicked qualities, Jack was actually a better leader than Ralph. Unlike Ralph who often confused and could not focus his mind, Jack was self-possessed, always knew what to do, and could make a quick decision when needed. Unfortunately, the rage that began to germinate in him, soon transformed him into a devil. I think, it’s all began when he failed to be chief. He needed to prove others that he was more capable than Ralph. He boasted that he could hunt and killed pigs easily, but when they really met a pig, Jack could not kill it.

“You cut a pig’s throat to let the blood out, otherwise you can’t eat the meat.” [Jack]

“Why didn’t you—?” [Ralph I guess...]

They knew very well why he hadn’t; because of the enormity of the knife descending and cutting into living flesh; because of the unbearable blood.

Next time there would be no mercy. He [Jack] looked around fiercely, daring them to contradict.

That scene reflected the point when ‘evil’ took over ‘kind’ in men’s soul. It was when Jack’s pride conquered him, that he dismissed his own conscience. Jack has surrendered to the evil’s hand… And after that Jack rapidly transformed into a barbarian. When you have let the evil overpower the kind in your soul, it is very difficult to have your conscience back. Things got worse because Jack had the leadership in him. Soon enough he gained other boys respect to join him by providing food and freedom, while Ralph kept prating about ‘keep the fire’ and ‘build a shelter’.

[After] Jack (right) - the head of a barbarian tribe
(left) is Ralph

In the end, it is not the skill of leadership that matters in a leader, but the conscience (and the persistency to keep it). Jack gained respect from others, obeyed by others, but to what point? He only led them to savagery. No, I would not proud of a chief like Jack.

That is my Character Thursday of this week, an analysis of book character of my choice, who is yours?... Just put your post URL in the linky below. Do you like to join us in discussing characters from books you read? See the details of Character Thursday first.

Part 3 of Gone With The Wind

Part 3 brought me to the worst of the war. Now the South suffered terrible lost from the Yankees. And when Scarlett has begun to enjoy her life once again, when she once again regained the life she have had enjoyed, Atlanta was suddenly in the big risk of being under siege by the Yankees. Most of the neighbours—so did Aunt Pitty—fled away to other cities, but what could Scarlett do with Melanie, whose laboring time was nearly approaching? Her first instinct was to leave everything and sought protection in her home, Tara. However, Ashley’s pleading at Christmas holiday kept haunting her, for she could not bear the thought that Ashley would be disappointed because Scarlett did not keep her promise. How selfish was this woman!

So, Scarlett stayed, alone with Prissy and the pregnant Melanie. And just when the situation was growing more frantically, when the doctor was busy with hundreds of wounded soldiers, and everybody took care of their own businesses, Melanie started to feel the laboring pain. There was only Scarlett and Prissy—the little slave—at home, and they just have to do everything they could to help delivering the baby. That was Scarlett’s turning point, I think, because from then on life would never become easy for her; and that event showed her real qualities: strong and brave.

Now Scarlett, in an urgent desire to flee to Tara, forced Rhett to find a carriage to bring her, Wade, Melanie and the baby, and Prissy. Rhett did it, brought the group out of the danger of Yankee’s capture, but abandoned them half way because he wanted to take part in the war. Scarlett hated Rhett for that, and with all her might she finally succeeded in bringing her group to Tara. Only to find everything was different from what she has looked forward to. Ellen was dead, and Gerald was ‘no longer himself’ after the shocks. And now…Scarlett did not have anyone else in this world to come to when she was in trouble. Now Tara belonged to her, and suddenly the burden had fallen on her shoulders.

Tara suffered terribly during those days, and every time, when Scarlett thought the worst was over, came another trial for Tara. Here both Scarlett’s and Melanie’s characters developed. The selfish Scarlett became harder; and her spoilt and childish manner was replaced with a firm business manner that she must hold to get respect from the blacks. On the other hand, Melanie showed her courage and strong determination despite her weaker physical health. I was a bit entertained to see the two women at Tara could now work hand in hand to protect and to provide life for all of them. Although, here and there Scarlett’s wicked thoughts often emerged towards Melanie, who she considered as just another mouth to feed. Oh Scarlett….what kind of heart did you possessed? I can tolerate selfishness, childishness, or other one’s bad habits, but not a cruelty. I can’t imagine how a well bred young woman (with Ellen always taught her to pray Rosary) could have such an iron heart? And I don’t understand either why Margaret Mitchell should create such an annoying character to be her main heroine! >,<

Anyway, Part 3 was topped with the arrival of two men from the war. The first one was Will Benteen, a wounded soldier who was rehabilitated at Tara (under the mercy of Melanie, but with a grudge from Scarlett—at least at first). However after having been recovered, Will was proved to be very valuable for Scarlett, for now she had someone (and a male too) to share the hardship of managing both the plantation and the house hold of Tara. The second one was…Ashley, who has been released from prison after the war—finally—came to an end. And this was where Part 3 was ended, left us with more curiosity of what will happen next in Part 4.

Let’s Read Plays Sign Up Post

Let’s Read Plays is a yearlong event of reading classics plays. From November 2012 to October 2013 we will read classics plays (as many as you wish) throughout the year, at least twelve plays for twelve month. Why plays? Well, for me, it’s to encourage myself to enjoy classics plays. I am an Indonesian reader, and here we never study literature either in school or in college. I read only one Shakespeare in my life (which I couldn’t really enjoy), and I think I should give him another try. So, when The Classics Club offered its members to host Shakespeare’s event, I volunteered to host—not only Shakespeare—but a yearlong classics plays event. Dessy, another blogger from Indonesia who share the same interest in plays [especially Oscar Wilde’s :) ], would be my co-host.

So….this would be our biggest challenge for a year! Two Indonesian readers whose first languages are not English, and who never studied English literature, would host the event for twelve month. But here we are…. :), we love challenge, we (try to) love plays, and most of all we love to read. So, here is the event…

Let’s Read Plays

We will read plays from Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, other authors and also Greek plays. As the host, Dessy and I have created a schedule with themes to read for every month (scroll down to the end of this post). For example, for the first month we will read Shakespeare’s tragedy, you can pick as many titles as you wish (at least 1) from Shakespeare’s tragedy collections, read and post the review(s). One or two of the months will be freebie month, when you can read any theme you want. Here is the complete list of the plays, we are gathering as many as possible titles for our reference, but you are free to add your own titles if it’s not included in the list, as long as it fits the theme.

There will be giveaway(s) along or at the end of the event, and there would also meme(s) related to plays or Shakespeare we will have during the event (might come with giveaways too!). If you are interested to participate in any ways (games, quizzes, giveaways, guest posts or anything) please let me know by filling this form. so that we can discuss it. We are looking forward to your active participation because this would be a yearlong event, and it will be good if we can have many different activities and hosts to bring more fun to the event!

You can sign up from today, just leave a comment with your name, blog name and URL! So come…let’s read plays!

List of Participants:
1. Bzee
2. Patty
3. Ao Bibliophile
4. Listra
5. Melissa (Avid Reader)
6. Melisa
7. Joon Ann
8. Risa
9. Arenel
10. Michelle
11. Rachel
12. A.S. Dewi
13. Helvry
14. severalfourmany
15. Katie
16. Sary
17. Hobby Buku

Signing Up after 15 Nov '12:
18. Althesia
19. Annette

20. Darjeeling
21. Ann
22. Cynthia