Analyzing "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift this week has reminded me that reading older texts can actually be fun. For as long as I can remember, I've held a ridiculous belief that older authors, such as Shakespeare, and even more modern ones, like F. Scott Fitzgerald, only wrote on musty, stale topics, things that interested their audience at the time and only at that time. However, my high school English classes have busted that myth for me as I eagerly devoured all the assigned literature.
Shakespeare's "punny" humor and subtle jokes made me laugh-out-loud in class; Fitzgerald's symbolism and deep thematic elements in The Great Gatsby made me fall in love with the atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties, the emotion Gatsby had for his fragile Daisy, and, most importantly, the tormented author himself; Jonathan Swift's dark satire and ironic language not only amused me, but exposed me to a time in Ireland where there was no hope, no food, and no help coming from anywhere. (Also, I especially love the sentence where Swift discusses the mothers of England could compete by seeing who could "bring the fattest child to the market". The mere idea of raising and selling children like animals frightened yet entertained me enormously.)
These authors are all long gone, but have left behind a legacy and a stack of essays, novels, and/or plays that are still well-loved and read today. They're still read because they each touch on still relevant human truths, whether on friendships, love, politics, or just life in general.



 (<-- How I feel about reading)