The necessity of liking the classics

You need to like or appreciate the classics. At least for a time. This is particularly true while you're still in some type of schooling, particularly different schools.

These books that you likely had to read in your high school English class or your gen. ed. English class at college are there for a reason. They are important pieces of history. It could be because it was from a famous author at the time (oh so many), the author was different from the norm (I think of the slave narratives, such as Frederick Douglass), or the writing style or subject was unique (Woolf and Faulkner come to mind for me). Of course, there are many other reasons why these books are chosen to be read over and over. This also includes my high school reason of "We're only reading them for the 'symbolism' and 'hidden messages,' even though I can't find them at all." But many of the classics do have a story behind the story, which is less found today in contemporary and genre fiction (in my opinion, unless I'm still not picking up the hidden story).

But there are some classics I simply cannot stand. This coming semester where I will be reading upwards of 20 novels, there are some that I have read before in high school classes, including The Great Gatsby, The Scarlet Letter, and my dreaded The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Now, it would be good to read these books again now that my brain has grown to understand a bit more. But, I read Huck Finn already in a different college class, as well as in high school. The problem both times was that I had to read the book in a matter of days, and get past the dialect. Perhaps that was what cemented it into my memory as a book I wish never to read again.

I doubt that reading it again will change my opinion of it, but the others I may enjoy much more this time than the first time, as I strive to keep an open mind for any book I read.

So, what about you? Do you enjoy reading the classics? Why or why not? Is there a certain one you simply cannot stand?