If everyone is right, is everyone wrong?

So there's something I have to get off my chest.

I get that you don't like to analyze what you read. I really do, but let me say that if you don't like to think about what you are reading, maybe you should consider switching majors (again). This is Literary Studies, not Story Time. How can you expect to study something without analysis?

I get that you didn't like anything you read in high school. I really do, but preference shouldn't exclude you from analyzing texts. Life and literature isn't about reading only what you like. The classics are chosen for a reason. Yes, you might not agree (we'll get into that in the next paragraph) but, hell what are we supposed to teach? Texts that have been acknowledged for centuries, by generations or texts that top the New York Best Seller this month? Both have their place in literature but, the texts that have stood the test of time, I feel have a valid place to be in our learning institutions.

Now.......let's get into the big issue. You say, "I find every point valid, why do we have to prove anything?" THIS STATEMENT ALONE SHOULD GET YOU KICKED OUT OF LIT. STUDIES, IF NOT THE UNIVERSITY! Oh my goodness. Isn't pulling evidence to support your viewpoint the crux of what we do???? The very reason I got into Lit Studies is because I enjoy arguing (As you can probably tell). Going back to my first point, if you aren't analyzing what you are reading, then you don't have a viewpoint do you? So let's imagine you read Moby Dick. Let's say you actually think about it. Is it about whaling? Is it about society? Is it about Christianity? Is it about male homosocial bonds (I had to throw that in)? When you say that every point is valid, then why can't the literal reading be good enough? Nothing more. Why can't I think that it's about the sea being a metaphor for a whorehouse? Or the state of mental institutions? Or the plight of the New Hampshire muskrat? You want to know why......because some viewpoints are not valid. Just because YOU think that every viewpoint is valid, 1. doesn't mean that they all are, 2. doesn't mean we should accept it. Before I accept something, before I even want to entertain the thought, I want textual evidence. I want you to explain why you think this way, what clues brought you to this treasure trove of ideas?

Now, my final point. What the hell do you think you are going to do as a college professor if you do not like to analyze what you read, if your reading only comes from a specific genre, if you believe every viewpoint is valid and therefore doesn't need to be argued? To me that means that I can read a book, show up to your class, talk about how the purple elephants that are in the dream sequence are cute, and then walk out with an A. That sounds fantastic to the college student side of me right now who's working her tail off to graduate with honors, but seriously. What service is that doing to literature and to your students, of whom you say you want to change their lives?

Wow, I feel better.

Sorry, I know this was not very nice but, I don't tolerate belligerent ignorance well.