Django Wexler @djangowexler.bsky.social

But like ... why? To what end? This is art, not important facts. Why have simplified classics instead of just other books written at the appropriate level?

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Beth Winter @bwinter.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 30, 2024 at 08:25 UTC

Because knowing what the classics are about is an element of cultural literacy, even if your reading skills fail with originals. The British Council published simplified classics for ESL learners so that we don't stare uncomprehendingly as someone goes on about the green light or Birnam wood.

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Ed @notdred.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 19:50 UTC

If the only goal was teaching then there are plenty of books that exist for those purposes. But *these* stories are great, there’s a reason their popularity has persisted over time, it’s fine that more accessible versions of the canon exist, as they have for over a century.

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Lev Petrovitch @levpetrovitch.bsky.social [ View ] Jun 29, 2024 at 19:53 UTC

For people that do not want to read the stuff but want to pretend they did. My grandfather had a whole collection of those

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