A Work of Literary Merit

College Board likes to scare us a lot with fancy words and phrases. One of those phrases is included in the Q3 of the AP Literature and Composition exam: a work of literary merit. What does that mean? Perhaps the creator of the frightening exam wants us to question what we are reading and how hard we are pushing ourselves to read. Are we pushing ourselves to great extents? Or are we just going through our books without anything to reflect on? A work of literary merit is basically how well this book's meaning is, or how well you can reflect on it. You can reflect well on Pride and Prejudice, but not as well The Cat in the Hat. A work of literary merit has characters that develop along with a plot, perhaps has an epiphany, or goes on an adventure and finds out who they really are. A work of literary merit has deep meanings that can be analyzed in a sophisticated way. It also has symbols that lead to more developed meanings. These books sometimes deal with problems that society faces such as racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.

Though, the books like Hunger Games and The Fault in Our Stars are not works of literary merit because they are a part of pop culture. Not that pop culture isn’t captivating and one is able to analyze and reflect, but it does not have the sophisticated nature that someone on College Board wants to read when they are scoring an exam. Though it may have underlying messages that perhaps have to do with problems in society, such as the messages in Hunger Games about the government, it is seen as a book that is not up to value with other books such as Catch-22, that also satirizes the government, but in a better and more sophisticated way.

For my term one independent reading book, I read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book is a work of literary merit because it has a character that is going on an adventure and growing with the story. Though it is a popular book, it is not considered pop culture because it has a matureness to it. It is a book that goes through problems faced in society. The problems include racism, because Atticus is a lawyer for a black man that was accused of rape, and his children are facing punishment for what he is doing. Though they are white children, they are still feeling the effects of how people treat people who side with black people. It also has a slight message of sexism with the main character, Scout, because she is a little girl, but being called a girl might be the worst thing to be called in her time. Overall, this book is a work of literary merit because it shows mature themes without being too childish or immature, and it is easily reflective and analytical. Overall, College Board wants to see a book that is mature and makes the person that read it look sophisticated and knowledgeable.