MUST READ: Books for Young JWs - a Required Reading List

by Oubliette 20 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Oubliette

  I've been contemplating a list of works of fiction that should be read by every young Jehovah's Witness, (12 - 18 years old). The goal is to plant seeds of truth and critical thinking skills which could ultimately invoking cognitive dissonance and help them wake up to The Truth About "The Truth" (TTATT).

  My idea is an adaptation of Steven Hassan's approach of not attacking a cult members beliefs directly, but rather indirectly by getting them to look at other similar belief systems and social structures, in this case fictional ones that mirror many of the destructive, oppressive features of Jehovah's Witnesses.

  These are books that are well-written works addressing the issues of dystopian societies where individualism and independent thought are prohibited. Many of them are currently on the "Recommended/Required Reading Lists" of middle and high schools in the United States. So it would be possible to get them into a young JW's hands without raising any obvious Red-Flags.

  Here, in order of publication date, is my preliminary list:

  • Brave New World - Aldous Huxley1932
  • Anthem - Ayn Rand(1938)
  • Animal Farm - George Orwell(1948)
  • Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell(1949)
  • Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury(1953)
  • The Crucible - Arthur Miller (1953)
  • The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood(1985)
  • The Giver - Lois Lowry(1993)

  Please feel free to offer your comments on which books you feel are most appropriate in this regard and why you think so.

  Also, if you have any titles you think should also be on the list, make your recommendations known!

  Oubliette
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  breakfast of champions

  The Origin of the Brunists - Robert Coover
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  Tylinbrando
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  jgnat

  So grim. Pick some light classics, too.

  Dr. Seuss

  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett

  Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

  Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

  A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket (Daniel Handler)

  There's another, but I'm not recalling it.

  http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/plucky-heroines?page=1
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  betterdaze

  The Bear That Wasn't
  Though appearing as a children's book, this story takes a critical and satirical look at aspects of society. It revolves around the concept of people believing a repeated idea even though it may not be true. People have a tendency to shift their views if a concept is hammered into them over and over again, like the bear being told he is a "silly man who needs a shave and wears a fur coat". The bear eventually succumbs to this mistaken assumption, believing he is a man even though he had previously known otherwise, just as humans shift their views on a topic because of repetitive information, or because 'they all say it is true, therefore it must be'. Yet, in the end, the bear, who is cold in winter, reverts back to what he really is - a bear - and finds shelter in a cave. This idea covers the concept of people never changing due to outside influence. Though a person may change for someone else, when placed in a difficult position, they revert back to old habits - just like the bear hibernating. Whether something's fact or fiction, it is what it is and doesn't change - no matter how many people believe otherwise.
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Bear-Wasnt-Dover-Childrens-Classics/dp/0486466191
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  jgnat

  You are Special by Max Lucado
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  betterdaze

  Finding Fish: A Memoir

  Baby Boy Fisher was raised in institutions from the moment of his birth in prison to a single mother. He ultimately came to live with a foster family, where he endured near-constant verbal and physical abuse. In his mid-teens he escaped and enlisted in the navy, where he became a man of the world, raised by the family he created for himself.
  
  Finding Fish shows how, out of this unlikely mix of deprivation and hope, an artist was born -- first as the child who painted the feelings his words dared not speak, then as a poet and storyteller who would eventually become one of Hollywood's most sought-after screenwriters.
  
  A tumultuous and ultimately gratifying tale of self-discovery written in Fisher's gritty yet melodic literary voice, Finding Fish is an unforgettable reading experience.
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  jgnat

  I found it! Matilda by Roald Dahl.
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  Giordano

  Great subject! I read these at around 16 they never left my mind during my stint as a JW and helped to get me out of the WT world by age 23.

  The Source by James Michener is an engaging read: It provides a good story and a chance to understand the passage of time. Archaeologists digging at the tell at Makor uncover artifacts from each layer, which then serve as the basis for a chapter exploring the lives of the people involved with that artifact. The book follows the story of the Family of Ur from a Stone Age family whose wife begins to believe that there is a supernatural force, which slowly leads us to the beginnings of monotheism. The descendants are not aware of the ancient antecedents revealed to the reader by the all-knowing writer as the story progresses through the Davidic kingdom, Hellenistic times, Roman times, etc. The site is continually inhabited until the end of the Crusades when it is destroyed by the victorious Mameluks (as happened to many actual cities after 1291) and is not rebuilt by the Ottomans.

  Walter M. Miller's acclaimed SF classic A Canticle for Leibowitz opens with the accidental excavation of a holy artifact: a creased, brittle memo scrawled by the hand of the blessed Saint Leibowitz, that reads: "Pound pastrami, can kraut, six bagels--bring home for Emma." To the Brothers of Saint Leibowitz, this sacred shopping list penned by an obscure, 20th-century engineer is a symbol of hope from the distant past......

  Earth Abides is a 1949 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer George R. Stewart. It tells the story of the fall of civilization from deadly disease and its rebirth. Beginning in the United States in the 1940s, it deals with Isherwood "Ish" Williams, Emma, and the community they founded. The survivors live off the remains of the old world, while learning to adapt to the new. Along the way they are forced to make tough decisions and choose what kind of civilization they will rebuild.
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  Mad Sweeney

  The Magic of Reality - Richard Dawkins