Appleman ch1

This chapter outlines what the author will discuss throughout the text. She justifies her books aim in this first chapter, clearly stating why literary theory should be taught in the classroom. As i read this chapter I could only think of how to make literary theory relevant and redaily accessible to my students. Appleman brought up a good point about the real life issues students face and how students could ever view literary theory as useful. The task of making it relevant is certainly not an easy one but with research and dedication, I believe a teacher can successfully pull it off. But one of my main queries is the fact that literary theory, although a fairly new phenomena, is just now being introduced into secondary classrooms. I am a fifth year college undergraduate student and my first encounter with literary theory was my fourth year in college. Students should be introduced with literary theory in middle school, just a breif introductory thing, nothing exhaustive. With this background it will be easier for students to transition once they are in highschool in learning about different theories and applying it to their reading and ultimately their lives.