In looking over the book list for D-level literature, it seems that there are a few horror stories for this year. My question is - why? Why do we, as Christians, need to fill our minds with horror? It seems to me to be in direct opposition to Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things."

To be fair and honest, I will say that I have never read any of these particular books. (The (very) few horror books that were assigned to me in school have left scary images in my mind that I do not wish to pass on to my children, so I avoid them.) I looked at a couple of them at the bookstore last night, thinking that I might have the wrong idea about them, but, no, they just look scary. I know I can bump my child up to R-level for Literature; that's not my problem. I really would like to know why these types of books need to be read at all.

Thank you,

Hi Sue,
I'm assuming you are referring to Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These two stories are really amazing in how they mirror the futility of sin and help people to realize that man, in and of himself, is NOT all powerful. As Christians, we can examine the worldview in those stories and understand more about why we need God and His atoning work on the cross.

Frankenstein, in particular though, does have some really gory parts. Thus, while we wanted students to learn about worldview, we chose an abridged version that is quite mild. We actually have had a number of people questioning why we didn't do the unabridged version, and this is why. The real thing is pretty gory and many dialectic kids would walk away with bad images. Also, I previewed a large number of abridged versions before deciding upon the one we recommend, simply for the same reason.

We are very particular about the literature choices that we suggest, especially the primary ones. You might find it helpful to read "Tapestry Literary Studies: The Big Picture" on the Loom. It's under "General Resources" under the purple button.

Hope this helps!

Thank you, Dana. I appreciate your reply, and I will read the Loom document you suggested.

I was thinking that the reasoning behind these book choices would be as you said, but I will probably still skip them for my children. I will keep in mind the need to stress that worldview lesson though.

Again, thank you for your reply.

The other thing I would say is I would encourage you to read the full adult version of each of these books. They are nothing like the movies you may have seen or heard about. I can't remember any supper gory stuff in Frankenstein. Instead you find a monster who's read as I recall The Bible, Milton and maybe Goethe (it's been a long time so I'm not totally positive on that). When I read it the professor read it as literary criticism of the Rommantic movement. I remember more about long, dull sections in it than any sensationalistic sections.

Every parent will need to discern what is best for each child. I have one child who was really disturbed even by the version of Frankenstein chosen by TOG, but his sister was not. Then, when they read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it was the other way around. They concluded it had to do with how real and possible the story seemed to each of them. I chose to not have my ds finish Frankenstein, and will carefully consider these books for each child coming up. I was able to discuss the worldview issues even without him reading the whole thing, and I would plan to discuss it with each child even if they don't read it, with a summary of the plot given by me.

HTH,

I'm not having a problem with the literature books(Frankenstein is masterfully written and always been one of my favorites) but I was just reading In The Land of The Jaguar and was put off by the sarcastic, anti-christian, pro-evolutionary, pro-noble savage tone. I was hoping to find another source book to replace this one. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Jennifer