This document summarizes and analyzes how classic literature is still relevant to modern life and events. It provides examples from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner that relate to modern celebrity scandals like the breakup of Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal or the accusations against Kim Kardashian's marriage. The document argues that while the media landscape has changed, themes of human nature, relationships, and social scandals remain constant across time periods.
1. Allie Dixon
Professor Richardson
English 230
November 12, 2011
Literature and Modern Day Life
Classic literature is unexpectedly related to everyday situations in the modern day world.
There are images within past novels and poems that are relative to the way in which people live
their lives today. There are always passages in texts that remind people of modern day images.
These texts can be closely related to many pop culture images and ideas.
There are many connections between past texts and modern day events, ideas and
scandals. Texts like Sir Gawain and The Green Knight translated by Simon Armitage and The
Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg are both stories that have
connections to the present. When reading both these stories, there are several passages that jump
out and remind the reader of situations that have occurred recently. These modern situations can
be found all over the Internet, magazines and television.
When a scandal occurs in today’s society, it is hard for someone not to hear about it. It is
made into a huge ordeal in which it means it is nearly impossible to miss out on. A quote from
Sir Gawain and The Green Knight presents an image that can be related to a recent event. “Then
the lady departed, leaving him alone,/for the man had amused her as much as he could”
(Armitage ll.1870-1871). This passage from the poem relates to a recent break up in the celebrity
world. A split between Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal occurred, as Witherspoon could
not see the couple getting married. These two, distinctly different time periods, relate in a way
2. that connects the past with the future. Topics that were relevant when these stories were written
are still present today.
The split between couples is nothing new as it has occurred in both the present and past.
Another idea that has been present in both modern and past times is the idea of self-identity and
the way in which people handle themselves. The recent fall out with Charlie Sheen can be related
to a passage in Hogg’s The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. “My life has
been of trouble and turmoil; of change and vicissitude; of anger and exultation; of sorrow and of
vengeance” (Hogg 81). There has always been a struggle for people to stay in control of
themselves; this is not a recent concept. Whether or not people learn from past literature or
modern day events, many of the lessons are the same.
There has always been a time when someone places blame or accuses someone of
something that they did not do. When something like this happens, things can get out of hand.
And with the media involved, this is something that is very relevant in modern times. A quote
from Hogg’s novel, The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, explains that not
everything goes as it should. “This to me was wholly incomprehensible. I could have freely
made oath to contrary of every particular. Yet the evidence was against me” (Hogg 150). This
passage from a text written nearly 200 years ago can be related to an event that happened within
the past month. The recent marriage/divorce of Kim Kardashian is very similar to the quote.
Many people have accused her of marriage just for the wedding and the money. As the viewers
and or readers, the true reasons for things are not always evident. Although the truth is not
always revealed, many people find a way to label the situation. As times change, there are many
situations that remain the same.
3. In today’s society these ideas come from media rather than novels. Many pop culture
ideas come out when reading these stories from the past. There is still truth to the novels that at
first seem to be outdated. Ideas that were relevant in the past are still relevant in modern day; the
way in which the information is received is the only difference.
4. Works Cited
Entertainment Weekly. 11 Mar 2011: Cover. Print.
http://art8amby.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/charlie-sheen-for-entertainment-weekly-
1145-march-11th-2011/>.
Hogg, James. The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner. London: Penguin
Classics, 2006. Print.
Sir Gawain And The Green Knight. Trans. Simon Armitage. New York, NY: W.W. Norton &
Company, Inc. 2007. Print.
Us Weekly. 14 Nov 2011: Cover. Print. <http://onlinepeoplemagazine.com/kim-kardashian-us-
weekly-magazine-november-2011/>.
Us Weekly. 16 Dec 2009: Cover. Print. <http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/reese-
leaves-jake-it-broke-his-heart-20091612>.
