In high school, there are always going to be those students who love English class, the students who hate it, and the students who could care less. Many people may like and dislike different parts of the class, such as poetry, grammar, writing, and literature. Literature is even used to help teach all of the other subcategories of the class. Reading novels, and close reading certain quotations are used to help teach students certain writing styles, grammar techniques, diction, themes and lessons, and even more. The aspect of literature that makes it worth studying is definitely going to depend on the type of student. The purpose of literature can range from, teaching, learning, enjoyability, culture and tradition, internal or emotional growth, …show more content…
With the numerous allusions and nautical terms, the average high school student cannot read the story fluently. It causes disinterest when it may take twice as long to read an assigned set of chapters for homework because the student has to look up every other term in order to understand the plot and events of the chapter. Melville turns a simple description of a character into a confusing paragraph compacted with allusions. He describes the character, Claggart, as “[having a notable face]; the features all except the chin cleanly cut as those on a Greek medallion; yet the chin, beardless as Tecumseh's, had something of strange proturberant heaviness in its make that recalled the prints of the Rev. Dr. Titus Oates, the historic deponent with the clerical drawl in the time of Charles II and the fraud of the alleged Popish Plot. It served Claggart in his office that his eye could cast a tutoring glance. His brow was of the sort phrenologically associated with more than average intellect” (Melville 27). With a total of six allusions, a high school reader is going to end up being confused and annoyed. Other than the allusions being a problem, the theme also does not seem to market to high school students. Although the theme good versus evil is present in many works of literature, including Billy Budd, it is not relatable to high school students. …show more content…
It would show an immense raise in the grades of those who lack motivation and seem to dislike literature. When something is relatable, it is more understandable, so students will be able to comprehend the subject at hand and have a thicker grasp on it. Making the class and literature choices more relatable will provide extensive participation and improvement in the high school students. This is why teachers should put more thought in this area when deciding what is worth studying in high