Young Generation Losing Interest In English Literature

In an age when the SMS language is fast becoming the lingua franca of the youth, it’s no
surprise that the young generation is losing its interest in English literature. It’s a pity that they
use cash advance and spend thousands of dollars on cellulite removal surgeries than to
purchase a good book appealing to their intellectual faculties.

One cannot deny the fact that the lure of well-paid jobs in areas such as management and
computers is attracting the crème de la crème amongst the student community from perusing
higher studies in English literature. The scene has changed dramatically over the last two
decades. There was a time, when bright students used to pick up English literature over other
subjects. But with the advent of the emergence of areas which provide lucrative jobs and bright
careers, many good students have started preferring Technology or Medicine to English
Literature. Moreover, a marked shrinkage has been observed in the space provided for literature
in magazines and newspapers in recent times.

Cultural values and interest in literature are intertwined to one another. One cannot thrive
without the other. In an age when the cultural values are changing so fast, we cannot expect the
interest of the young generation to stay at the same level. The quality of interest for the subject
has also deteriorated over the years with the passion for the subject decreasing at an alarmingly
fast pace. This has also been observed in the modern times that fewer people have the literary
sensibility to appreciate the beauty of the English literary works of the greats such as
Shakespeare, Wordsworth or Eliot.

Though many reasons could be attributed to the young generation losing interest in English
literature, one of the most poignant amongst them could be linked to the various experiences of
a person during the formative years of his life. Interest in English literature cannot be taught, it
must be cultivated amongst the youth. Interest in English literature or any literary subject is a
direct outcome of assimilation of values in someone’s personality. In earlier days, the
experiences of students during their formative years of life were chiseled into shape either by
their parents or teachers. But in the modern world, these values or experiences are being given
a shape through TV channels, movies, ads, magazines etc. which are also cultural in nature.
Hence, the teaching methods of the teachers which play a very insignificant role in this regard
cannot be blamed for the young generation losing its interest in English literature.

However, commercialization of education has taken its toll on the quality output of the students.
With the focus shifting on infrastructure development of the institute rather than on recruiting
quality faculty, the education system has deteriorated over the years. With their business policy
of “maximum work and minimum pay”, the quality of education has really taken a beating in
recent years. One example of such a phenomenon is the proliferation of the management
institutes across the country which often fail to deliver what they promise.

In earlier days, teachers were a treasure trove of knowledge and they communicated with their
students in such an interesting way that the students fell in love with the subject and pursued
their literary studies with enthusiasm. But, in recent years such lack of quality teachers has
resulted in the young generation losing interest in English literature.

Today, the need of the hour is to produce quality literary and art works along with cinema and
creative writing. Many people after the Second World War started to believe that perhaps it was
the end of poetry or fiction, but they were proved dead wrong in the ensuing years. What we
need to do at this point of time is to focus on the early experiences of the formative years of a
student’s life and inculcate an active and enthusiastic participation in literature. That’s the only
way to stop the young generation from losing interest in English literature.

Literature often has a deep impact on the emotional, intellectual and spiritual aspects of a
student’s personality. By the time a student is in college, most of his aptitude has already been
chiseled into shape. What we can do at this stage is to ensure a congenial environment for their
literary buds to bloom. This way, we can revive the enthusiasm in the young generation losing
its interest in English literature.

Today, technology is playing an important role in making accessible some of the great literary
works through the internet. Statistics show that there has been an increasing interest in the
purchase of books on some e-commerce sites such as amazon.com and e-bay.com which
confirms that books are not getting confined to the archives of the libraries and are being made
available to the masses at large. However, one should be aware of the quibid scams and not
buy their books just from any site. You should always check the certificate info of the website
before purchasing anything from there. Read here to know more on this topic. However, we
need to be selective with choosing the books for a good read during the weekends and should
always try to get our hands on quality works rather than the mass produced junk.

To conclude, though the young generation is losing interest in English literature, we need to
cultivate a sense of appreciation of great literary works during their formative years to buck the
trend and bring them back to mainstream literature.