Nicki and I discovered a lil' gem while flipping through Slaughterhouse Five. We found some quotes that are constantly leeched and hardly ever given proper credit. For example, I'm sure you've seen the occasional 'hipster' (ugh) bring out the "everything was beautiful and nothing hurt" quote in some sort of attempt to one-up everyone. Yes, we all love to tweet these interesting and scholarly things, but I think it's a little weird to equate knowledge with the amount of classic books we can quote.
Think about it, I mean, if someone around 20 years old told you they've never read The Catcher in the Rye, what would be your reaction? It's just a little silly that there's an expectation to be familiar with certain books, and if you're not, you're deemed an idiot or something. Is reading Shakespeare is a prerequisite to having a brain? I have a feeling Mrs. K might think so. But anyway.
What do you guys think? Does reading Vonnegut, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Bukowski, Salinger, etc. make someone smarter? Or does at least seem that way? I can quote a lot of Salinger, maybe Bukowski, but not much Hemingway, and I have an awful math grade. I'd probably date a guy that knows more Beastie Boys lyrics than he does Shakespeare sonnets. But this is all just my opinion. What about yours?
I agree. Anyone can read a book and even quote parts of it but it doesn't mean that they are any smarter for reading it. It's easy to read a book but really get nothing out of it. I have a hard time remembering specific quotes so when people are able to do that I am usually impressed, but I don't think this necessarily makes them smarter... maybe just better at memorizing things.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about "keep calm and carry on". I always say that phrase without ever knowing where it was from. When I found out it was used to motivate British soldiers in the war I was like WHAAAATT?! Pretty cool how these "modern" colloquialisms show their roots unexpectedly.
ReplyDelete