Character Education through Literature

CHARACTER EDUCATION THROUGH LITERATURE Literature and its Relationship to Character Formation By Chas. E. Soelberg, Principal Hawthorne School We are essentially the sum total of our responses to situations. We cannot avoid meeting situations, but we can, through careful guidance, select, to a certain degree, at least the type of situations we are going to encounter; and the nature of the situation has a great deal to do with the response that is made. This, in my judgment, is liter- ature's greatest contribution to character development. The habitual reading of properly selected literature, for the primary reason of im- mediate enjoyment, furnishes wholesome, vicarious situations that can- not possibly be acquired in any other way, and which must call forth desirable response. Life is so short and our means so limited that if we were to depend solely upon actual experiences and situations for our development we would be at a great loss. But through the medium of literature we can spend an evening in a real heart to heart talk with the great men and women of the ages, as well as with those of modern times. We have the privilege of studying the beauties of nature and the lessons she teaches us through the eyes of experts in this particular field. Our attention is called to the beauties of the commonplace, and to the things that would otherwise have gone unheeded. It is said of President Roosevelt that he could walk for an hour or two into the country and be able to write a book upon the things nature had taught him in this short time. To do this one must know nature, and to know nature will inevitably produce a love for her. To love humanity, in my judgment, is to know humanity. This brings in the second great field that is exposed to the readers of literature, "human nature." Literature is the heart of man speaking to the hearts of others. It is psychology and philosophy set to the music of the soul, and is valuable only to the extent that it calls forth a similar response from us. Take, for example, Silas Marnet. What a psychological effect upon the soul of the adolescent boy or girl the elements of gratitude, envy, jealousy, vengeance, shame, pity, love and tenderness, must have, if read voluntarily, and for the sole purpose of enjoyment. Goethe's "Sorrows of Werther" is filled with fundamental and psychological truths. In the climax, after describing a girl who has been driven to despair, he says, "Shame upon him who can look on calmly and exclaim, 'The foolish girl! She should have waited; she should have allowed time to wear off the impression; her despair would have been softened, and she would have found another lover to comfort her.' "One might as well say, 'The fool, to die from a fever!. Why did he not wait until his strength was restored, till his blood be-

43 6 IMPROVEMENT ERA came calm? All would then have gone well, and he would have been alive now.'" The author shows very plainly in the above quotation that the human mind works under certain laws just as truly as does the physical body. In Pippa Passes, the author shows the power of unconscious suggestion. Browning's The Ring and The Book, is an application of the laws of appreciation. Munsterberg's On The Wit- ness Stand shows that it is not always possible to tell the truth even when an honest effort is made to do so. Our ideals are our beacon lights; they are to the soul what the lighthouse is to the pilot of a ship on a dark and stormy night. But as our once cherished ideals are realized, higher and nobler ones must be created. Thorvaldsen, the famous Danish sculptor, emphasized this very forcefully, at the time of unveiling his masterpiece, Christ. It is said that he wept as he gazed upon hisi wonderful piece of art, and, when asked why he wept, replied, "My genius is failing, this is the first of my works that I have ever been satisfied with." One's ideals should be in advance of his achievements. Literature, as Smith says, "Can always keep before us the vision of the ideal." Its characters are idealistic, and in this respect are ever a challenge to the best that is within us. I It would not be amiss, then, to say: "A knowledge and love of nature, and human nature, as given to us from the heart of the choicest literary authors, would be a very potent factor in the moulding of our character?" Would it tend to make habitual one's disposition to choose those modes of behavior which must do honor to human dignity? My answer would be, "Yes." Other things being equal, the strength of a given situation, and its corresponding response, is in direct preparation to the frequency with which it occurs. Accepting this as a justification, I should try to make the reading of properly selected literature habitual, especially with the adolescent children, because at this age the average child has much leisure time, which, if properly used, will be the most profitable period; but, if not properly used, may be the most damnable period for character development in the child's life, due to the physiological and psychological changes the child is undergoing. There are a few fundamentals that should guide in the method of teaching literature. It is my opinion that the primary objective in reading should be for immediate and genuine satisfaction of the pupils. Secondary to this is the problem of leading these pupils into habits of reading, and developing in them tastes for literature of a wholesome character. If literature is to give immediate satisfaction, the books selected must satisfy the varied interests of the children. This does not mean that the teacher should cater to the whims of the pupils, but children will readily find genuine interest in a great variety of types of literature, if they are only made acquainted with that variety of reading. The teacher must expect a variety of interpretations, be- cause, as Philips says, "An interpretation must be felt, and not accepted as authority without inner appreciation." This inner appreciation is

CHARACTER EDUCATION 43 7 limited, very largely, by the individual's intellectual and emotional development. Hence our own interpretation of "Hamlet" might have been very much different at different periods of our life; yet each in- terpretation being the proper one at that time. "Literature," says Carlyle, "is the innermost part of a man's soul speaking, and differs altogether from what is uttered by the outermost." I think therein lies the success or failure of teaching literature in our schools and organizations. If we try to appreciate what is said by the innermost part of man from an outer interpretation, we are sure to fail. Salt Lake City A Dream (Allegorical) Year after year, in garden fair, A woman worked with utmost care Rearing and gathering fragrant flowers, From rise of sun, until twilight hours Proclaimed the end of day. Like many who passed the garden by, I saw the woman and wondered why She should be given a task so light, While others must toil from morn till night, To earn their daily bread. And, she reading my questioning eyes, Unlatched the gate, — "Come, realize The beauty of my work," said she, As she opened the portal wide for me To enter her domain. I marveled much at the wondrous place, And more as I studied the woman's face; Tho' glorified by a joy most rare, It bore the deep imprint of care Upon the lofty brow. In her wake, I followed silently, Save when she addressed a word to me: "In this garden there is much work to do," Said she, "that is all unknown to you. Who dwell not here each day." Not from menial tasks did the woman turn, Nor the smallest detail did she spurn, To aid her garden to yield it's best, Tho' oft her hands a sharp thorn pressed, That rent the tender flesh. I wakened, I had dreaming been, How good God is, I thought, and then I asked Him to give unto me The power to crown with dignity, My work, whate'er that work might me. Provo, Utah. GRACE INGLES FROST.