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[Unregistered]

Well all I can say as an AP english student is that you must be a sadist as well as genuinly hate your students. Take some time off, read some books that actually are entertaining, then assign some. Remember, classicxs are classis because they are OLD, not always because they are good. I hate to break it too you but the mroe you do something the better you get. Therefore, the human race as a whole should be getting better at writing. Keeping this in mind, the older the books get, the worse they will become. As a general rule that is. There are a lot of books out there right now which are not only more entertaining but also teach a better lesson and don't cause the reader to want to burn their english teacher at the stake.

[Anonymous]

I am one of those "horrible" English teachers who assigns "Tess" in my A.P. English class. This is a wonderful and thought provoking work that must be looked at in the context of the time period in which it was written. Yes, it can be a challenge to mull over the descriptive style of authors of this time period. Note that you will find the same formal diction and description in Hawthorne, Dickens, etc. Certainly it can be dark and depressing--social commentaries often are, as it is difficult sometimes to look in the mirror and see ourselves (society) as we really are. Worth reading, but it must be read in the context of its time.