Students groan as their teacher hands out copies of The Scarlet Letter. A student asks, “Should we read this, Mrs. Smith?” Another student chimes in: "Yes, it's boring!" In response, Ms. Smith says, “Of course we do. It's a classic! The Scarlet Letter is a wonderful canonical piece of literature. I would disappoint you if I didn't expose you to all this!” “But what is canon? What does it mean?!" Jane, one of the best students in the class, comments. “Well, you know, it's in canon. Everyone reads The Scarlet Letter,” the teacher says in response. Janie retorts, “What makes it canon?” “People say the book should be taught in schools. This is what makes it a respectable and canonical novel. “Who are these people? Why do they decide?" This back and forth conversation between the teacher and her students continues until, finally, Mrs. Smith exclaims, "Read the first chapter and write down your initial thoughts." The above hypothetical situation often occurs in schools. Teachers are bombarded with students questioning their reading lists, but some are unable to provide adequate reasons for emphasizing certain texts over others. Saying we study a piece of literature because it is “canonical,” as Ms. Smith said, doesn't give students much justification for their learning. Unfortunately, the term “canonical literature” isn't used in everyday conversation, so most people don't know it or have very different definitions of it. My definition differs slightly from Ms. Smith's; I find that canonical literature refers to work that is typically highly regarded in an academic sense, or, in a scholarly context, to work that is best suited to historical and historical study and admiration. thematic. Aca......middle of paper......for being over dramatic with too many plot holes. Now, African American writers often praise it, like Alice Walker, who says this is the most important book you'll ever read. Schools use Their Eyes Were Watching God as an example of African American women's past freedom struggles; it's even seen as a timeless piece about the relationship between a man and a woman, even though Janie has had many of those relationships. Originally, the book was written about the culture of the time, just as popular fiction is usually written based on the culture around it. At some point, Their Eyes Were Watching God became a popular novel, just as, at some point, The Third Girl from the Left will be a literary novel because of its timelessness as a commentary/insight into the journey to self-acceptance of one's identity sexual and because of his different levels of independence.