Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1895-12-23
Course in Modern Novels.

a.
course in the college curriculum is APP
parently to go to one of the youngest
instructors in Yale.
The course itself is one of the most
unique ever given in Yale, and has
caused more comment than any other
given there in many years. The instruct
or offering it is DIR. Williams l.. Phelps,
and the course is in modern novels 1t is
probably the first of its kind ever offered
i an American university.
Its features are outlined by DIR. Phelps
as follows:
'"The object of the course is to get
members of the university to read novels
in a discriminating way. Most men
read anything. Generally the books are
not vile, but simply useless. Of course,
some young men read vicious books, but
most of them give their leisure to the
indiscriminate novel.
Everybody has noticed that in the
past few years the novel has come to
represent the best form of contemporary
litera ture. The best literary thought of
the day is going into it, and certainly
the men of Yale should put their time
into something that represents the best
thought.
''Let a novel, 'Trilby,' for instance,
come out. Ask a young man who has
read it whether he thinks it good, bad
OF Indifferent. Some young men will
say one, and some another thing. Ask
them why, and they can't tell you.
'"The great object of my course is to
read the modern novel as the most inn
pOrtant form of literary art, to study it
az we study poetry or the drama, to
trace in a novel the current tendencies
of thought The study of the novel
should be q study of the spirit of the
times, for the man who reads the novel
of the day keeps track not only of the
taste, but of the spirit and the tendencies
of the times
''In order that desirable form of ex-
preston may be cultivated by the stu
dents of the course, each member is
obliged to bring in a written review of
the novel read before the lecture is be-
gun, thus giving him not only training
in novel reading, but also in rhetoric and
composition, and | will state that stu
dents review must always be personal.
not impersonal; not synopsis, but real
criticism.
Perhaps the severest criticism which
has been made on the course was that of
a paper which said editorially that | was
not wise to teach modern novels when
there are SO many established classics.
To this | would answer that the novels
read in my course are not cOntrasted
with the classics, but with the cheap SEN
sational novels that the men would read
otherwise. There are d dozen courses in
Yale in classical literature. In fact,
offer several myself. People will read
many novels anyway, and should read
the best ones.
THE course is a recognition of the
dignity of the novel of today, and an
acknowledgment that he writer's of the
greatest earnestness and literary power
express themselves in that way at pres
ent. The dignity of the contemporary
novel should be upheld. Because work
is old is no conclusive reason why it is
better than the contemporary novel, 1t
is a common complaint that college grad,
yates cannot go out into the world and
discuss the literature of their own day.
They should certainly be able to do so.
Ito make this course as contempt.
raneous as possible, every author studied
will be a living writer, except Stevenson
and Tourgenieff, and in the case of the
former his recent death has brought his
works into such prominence that the eff
feet is the same as if he wer alive
The latter gives such faithful picture
of Russian life that he cannot be over
looked.
"As rule only one novel by each au-
thor will be read. The novel may not
necessarily be his best, but it will be the
most representative for the purposes of
the course. In the case of few au-
thors. however where it is necessary to
study their artistic growth. two or more
novels will be taken up. Where an au-
thor has an early and late" period,
such as Tolstoi or Bjornson, each period
will be studied.
Inc year 3 WOFh VIII COu6lSL Ol IulTLy
novels, and, although the course de-
mands much time on the part of the
members, no complaint has yet been
made The men say that they read
novels at odd times, and that this course
merely substitutes methodical or system
attic for deSultOry reading.
1.-THE order in which the novels are to
be read will be selected after careful de-
liberation. For example, 'Marcella,' "A
Modern Instance and Esther Waters
are to be read in succession, because
Nthey represent three kinds of realism.
They will be followed by "A Gentleman
of France and Treasure Island to
show the sharp contrast between the re-
aIistic novel and the historical romance
and the story of adventure"
The actual membership of the class
in modern novels is 258. the number be-
ing made up from junior and senior
classes. Besides these. there are about
fifty persons who are not in the course
who occupy chairs in the rear OF the
lecture room and are permitted to take
the course as visitors.
There will be examinations on the
novels read at Christmas and also next
June.
It is peculiar fact that the course is
being read not only over all America,
but also so far away as the Hawaiian
islands. Some of the boys who are IN
the course went home to Honolulu Tor
of novels home for the vacation. The
matter was discussed on the islands,
and as a result, two reading clubs were
formed there-Boston Herald.
Change of Scene at Home.
A change of air and scene is often pre-
scribed for invalids. In many cases it
is wise prescription, but in others the
journey entails expense which cannot be
borne without great sacrifice, and means
for the sufferer an unhappy isolation
among strangers and deprivation of the
home comforts and care which are neces-
sary to a sick persons peace and we'll
being. Homesick and disheartened. the
invalid returns from his sojourn among
strange scenes not benefited by the
change, and, alas! his return is too often
but coming home to die.
Happily, it is possible to secure many
of the advantages of a change without