Earlier this spring I made some observations about Emily Brontë and encouraged us to toss out youth as a barrier to the pursuit of any endeavor.

I have now read Wuthering Heights and want to make just two simple observations.

1. Emily’s writing is beautiful. I am sure this was partly a product of the times in which she lived. The way they spoke and wrote is very different from the way we speak and write. Even though most of you speak English as your primary language, her English is different. Let me offer an example, even though I know I could have found a better sample with a bit more time. This excerpt is from Chapter VI. The narrator is the servant Nelly:

Heathcliff bore his degradation pretty well at first, because Cathy taught him what she learnt, and worked or played with him in the fields. They both promised fair to grow up as rude as savages; the young master being entirely negligent how they behaved, and what they did, so they kept clear of him. He would not even have seen after their going to church on Sundays, only Joseph and the curate reprimanded his carelessness when they absented themselves; and that reminded him to order Heathcliff a flogging, and Catherine a fast from dinner or supper. But it was one of their chief amusements to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all day, and the after punishment grew a mere thing to laugh at. The curate might set as many chapters as he pleased for Catherine to get by heart, and Joseph might thrash Heathcliff till his arm ached; they forgot everything the minute they were together again: at least the minute they had contrived some naughty plan of revenge; and many a time I’ve cried to myself to watch them growing more reckless daily, and I not daring to speak a syllable, for fear of losing the small power I still retained over the unfriended creatures.

I do not write or speak like that. The impact of the language on me is to transport me into that older world. The language itself helps with the setting of the book in northern England in the early 1800s. It also gives me a great appreciation for the beauty of our language.

2. Reading old books is healthy. I tend to read a wide variety of books from the latest business works to the English classics.  I find myself wondering how modern readers, especially younger readers weaned on a diet of text messages and hashtags, will be able to read and understand. I will admit that this could just be a concern from an older person, but I suspect that the wisdom of the ages may become virtually inaccessible to all but specialists who may devote their lives to such writings. It is a language and reading comprehension concern I have. I take it as a challenge to read some of these great books to see how well I can read and understand and to find out what all the fuss is about. I usually finish the old book completely understanding what all the fuss is about. I just wonder if we are losing our ability to do this. Where will we be in fifty years’ time in our ability to read and understand the classics?

Before I read Jane Eyre by Emily’s sister Charlotte, I just wanted to make these observations. It is a good thing to stretch ourselves with both the older language and with the themes explored by these classics of English literature. I am sure all of these same points apply to the classics of each language, and I find many of these same benefits when I read English translations of great books that were originally written in other languages.

Feel free to use the comments to make an observations of your own. What classics have made an impact on you?

]]> https://forwardstory.com/2017/06/a-couple-of-wuthering-observations/feed/ 0 https://forwardstory.com/quotes/cicero-on-garden-library/ https://forwardstory.com/quotes/cicero-on-garden-library/#respond Wed, 02 Nov 2016 13:56:18 +0000 Mark L. Casey http://forwardstory.com/?post_type=quote&p=2119 If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. ~ Marcus Tullius Cicero (106 BC – 43 BC) ]]> https://forwardstory.com/quotes/cicero-on-garden-library/feed/ 0 https://forwardstory.com/2016/06/important-book-for-parents-of-teens/ https://forwardstory.com/2016/06/important-book-for-parents-of-teens/#respond Fri, 03 Jun 2016 19:08:19 +0000 Mark L. Casey http://forwardstory.com/?p=2065 How does that teenage brain work?

At Forward Story we are always interested in information that relates to the way our bodies work and the way families work. I have discovered a book that deals with both. The book is The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist’s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults

It’s a shame this book was not available when we were raising our teenagers. It might have made the whole experience even more enjoyable for both them and us. Having listened to an interview with Dr. Jensen, who is herself the mother of teenage sons, I believe this book can truly help you if you are a parent, or a grandparent of teens. Also, if you work with teens as a teacher, counselor, or mentor, I think you will be able to produce value from it as well.

If you read the book, please share with us what you think about it:

Saturday is a good day to recap the activity from our Twitter feed from the past week. Not sure what Twitter is all about? That’s OK. Neither are we (or at least it remains somewhat mysterious to us). There is no denying, however, that there is some very valuable information shared on Twitter. That is what this weekly feature is all about. Click the links below to check out the good stuff. Here are my Top Tweets from this past week, great for retweeting (whatever that is). If you missed these, follow Forward Story on Twitter.

By the way, if you are wondering what the @ and # signs are all about, these are Twitter’s way to identify the Twitter handle (@) for the person who tweeted (for example, ours is @forward_story) and to allow for an indexing or categorization of the tweet by using one or more hashtags (#). Feel free to ignore these and just follow the link for the content we are sharing with you.

Here are a few recipes from people we trust:

Mark_Sisson ‏@Mark_Sisson Cool Down with Some Salted Watermelon Ice: http://ow.ly/OEz7X

Danielle Walker ‏@againstallgrain Autumn in a Bowl: Spiced Pumpkin Granola #paleo #glutenfree #againstallgrain http://grainfree.ly/1GoeKxx

Civilized Caveman ‏@CookingCaveman Pumpkin Pie smoothie, so easy and so delicious. #paleo #primal #smoothie #recipes http://pinterest.com/pin/64950419602936550/

Maria Emmerich ‏@MariaEmmerich Homemade Almond Milk http://buff.ly/1KeeLbA #LCHF #keto #lowcarb

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Farmers’ Market Locator

Mark_Sisson ‏@Mark_Sisson An Easy Way to Find Your Local Farmers Market. http://ow.ly/OEyoG

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 Some great information related to health:

Why You Can’t Medicate Your Way Out Of Poor Diet & Lifestyle Choices by @TerryWahls http://mbg.io/6Rqa0Lf

Sara Gottfried, MD ‏@DrGottfried The right and left nostril may help you get back to sleep after waking in the middle of the night. Watch as I… http://fb.me/3X4tKU9pl

Experience Life ‏@ExperienceLife 2 simple stretches to loosen early-morning body stiffness this weekend http://j.mp/1wYFlM1 #stretching #exercise #bettermornings

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Free Books for Kids from B&N

Susan Adcox ‏@grandparent Great for the grandkids! RT @aboutdotcom: How to get free books from Barnes and Noble this Summer http://abt.cm/1fmoVtK

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Parents and Grandparents

Susan Adcox ‏@grandparent Amen! RT @thegrandestlove: Grandchildren can bring love and second chances with adult children http://ow.ly/OKZmd

Saturday is a good day to recap the activity from our Twitter feed from the past week. Not sure what Twitter is all about? That’s OK. Neither are we (or at least it remains somewhat mysterious to us). There is no denying, however, that there is some very valuable information shared on Twitter. That is what this weekly feature is all about. Click the links below to check out the good stuff. Here are my Top Tweets from this past week, great for retweeting (whatever that is). If you missed these, follow Forward Story on Twitter.

By the way, if you are wondering what the @ and # signs are all about, these are Twitter’s way to identify the Twitter handle (@) for the person who tweeted (for example, ours is @forward_story) and to allow for an indexing or categorization of the tweet by using one or more hashtags (#). Feel free to ignore these and just follow the link for the content we are sharing with you.

Here are a few recipes from people we trust:

Danielle Walker ?@againstallgrain Cashew Milk Recipe #paleo #glutenfree #againstallgrain http://grainfree.ly/1Iz2v4V

Civilized Caveman ?@CookingCaveman Fluffy Blueberry pancakes that are going to change your life. http://civilizedcavemancooking.com/recipes/breakfast/gluten-free-pancakes/

Maria Emmerich ?@MariaEmmerich Sunflower Seed Crackers http://buff.ly/1SmO99w #LCHF #keto #lowcarb

JJ Virgin ?@jjvirgin Add a dash of #lemon juice, a pinch of #salt, and some #seasoning to your EVOO for the perfect #salad #dressing. RT

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Cooking

Mark Hyman, M.D. ?@markhymanmd Take back your kitchen & embrace the act of cooking #realfood. http://buff.ly/1GLoIuh

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 Some great information related to health:

Experience Life ?@ExperienceLife Full-Spectrum Eating: 5 Tips for getting more Phytonutrients from @fxmed http://j.mp/1AnP0zI #nutrition #health #phytonutrients

Sara Gottfried, MD ?@DrGottfried Morning Yoga Time It’s almost the weekend… Dr’s orders: Try to do this neck release 8x per day — it helps so… http://fb.me/7ltP3srhC

Health Wire ?@MyHealthWire The “Fab Five” of Fermented Foods @CavemanDoctor http://www.myhealthwire.com/news/diet-nutrition/1079/ #probiotics

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We all need recreation and nature

Michael Hyatt ?@MichaelHyatt Today’s New Post: 9 Reasons You Need More Fishing in Your Life. Read here: http://mhyatt.us/1IololA

My aunt, Susan Adcox, discusses Nature Deficit: Susan Adcox ?@grandparent I’m a podcaster! Listen to my advice for grandparents about giving advice @RoundAboutChat: http://traffic.libsyn.com/parentingroundabout/PR_Round3_052015.mp3

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Learn to Program

Khan Academy ?@khanacademy Learn programming with us in our #SummerOfScripting. We’ll send you weekly emails & contests! http://khan.co/1Ty3uWe

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Books to make your summer more entertaining and enlightening

10 weird but wonderful book recommendations from the super successful by @entrylevelrebel http://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/10-weird-but-wonderful-book-recommendations-from-the-super-successful.html via @Inc

For Kindle and the hardcover versions, please visit Amazon here: Forward Story: Write the Future You Desire

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 Forward Story: Write the Future You Desire