--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's an absurd error to put modern…" description: "\"It's an absurd error to put modern English literature in the curriculum. You should read contemporary literature for pleasure or not at all. You should..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/rebecca-west-1248_absurd_it-s-an-absurd-error-to-put-modern-engli_2796176.jpg" --- # It's an absurd error to put modern English literature in… ![“It's an absurd error to put modern English literature in the curriculum. You should read contemporary literature for pleasure or not at all. You shouldn't be taught to monkey with it.” quote by Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/rebecca-west-1248_absurd_it-s-an-absurd-error-to-put-modern-engli_2796176.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/rebecca-west-1248_absurd_it-s-an-absurd-error-to-put-modern-engli_2796176.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9a4/rebecca-west-1248_absurd_it-s-an-absurd-error-to-put-modern-engli_2796176.jpg) > “It's an absurd error to put modern English literature in the curriculum. You should read contemporary literature for pleasure or not at all. You shouldn't be taught to monkey with it.” [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern literature should be read for enjoyment, not forced into academic study. **In simple terms:** Read contemporary works for pleasure. Key Takeaway Enjoy modern literature freely. Themes literature education pleasure Mood thoughtful critical Type educational philosophical When to use this quote - school curriculum - personal reading - literary clubs Key Concepts autonomy critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - Should schools teach literature for enjoyment? - What value does modern literature hold? A Different Perspective Excluding modern works may limit critical exposure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Contemporary literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contemporary-literature/) [Curriculum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/curriculum/) [English Lit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-lit/) [English literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-literature/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Modern english](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-english/) [Monkeys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monkeys/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) ## Related quotes > [“I wished I could take every course in the curriculum and read every book in the library. 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About 80 percent of what I read is contemporary literature for adults. The other 20 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/i-read-a-couple-of-books-a-week-about-80-percent-of-what-i-read-is/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [The 'beach read' has become such a ubiquitous concept in contemporary literature that we assume it has always been around. In fact, the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dean/the-beach-read-has-become-such-a-ubiquitous-concept-in-contemporary/) [Michelle Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dean/) ## More by Rebecca West > [I see the main problem of my life, and indeed anybody's life, as the balancing of competitive freedoms ... a sense of mutual obligations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/i-see-the-main-problem-of-my-life-and-indeed-anybody-s-life-as-the/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“There is, of course, no reason for the existence of the male sex except that sometimes one needs help with moving the piano.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/there-is-of-course-no-reason-for-the-existence-of-the-male-sex-except/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [“At the top of a hill our automobile stuck in a snowdrift. 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I often have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/if-there-is-a-god-i-don-t-think-he-would-demand-that-anyone-bow-down/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [Any authentic work of art must start an argument between the artist and his audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/any-authentic-work-of-art-must-start-an-argument-between-the-artist/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [... there has never been a period in history when there have been necessary killings which has not been instantly followed by a period…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/there-has-never-been-a-period-in-history-when-there-have-been/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) [Explore all 264 Rebecca West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. 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