William P answers “I have long thought of this book as one of...”

Adam asked this question about One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest:

I have long thought of this book as one of my favorites, but noticed some heavy racist and misogynistic undertones when I re-read it. Much of this was left out of the film. Does old fashioned sexism sully an otherwise great work of literature?

William P Judging literature by current normative standards is like expecting Shakespeare to employ current analogies.

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Peter Popper Shakespeare's works are constantly reinterpreted through a modern lens. How exactly is literature supposed to be judged if the reader isn't allowed to ...more
Sep 24, 2020 01:40AM

Lillian It's really, really not William. Not at all. Basic human decency isn't a modern invention. We can criticize the implications of a piece of literature ...more
Feb 08, 2021 07:08AM

Dane Hm yeah that’s why when we read Macbeth in 2021 we are only allowed to strictly interpret it as a work about James I
Aug 05, 2021 08:19AM

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

by Ken Kesey

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