Does anyone else find literature depressing?

[sadida]

is it just me or are pretty much all literature books depressing?
Especially Spanish literature (from the books i've done so far in school anyway). It's like all spanish authors were psychologically affected by all those civil wars.
what are the most depressing lit books you've studied?

for me that would be: the glass menagerie (actually a play)
and La lluvia amarilla ( about an old man all alone in a decaying , abandoned village, whose wife killed herself. Fun times.)
and El coronel no tiene quien le escriba ( also an old man- war vet- and his wife who are basically so poor they're starving to death.)

[Lady_Yui]

There are so many different stories/books considered 'Literature'. Yes, I think that some of it is depressing, but to categorize 'literature' into depressing would not be right. Many pieces of literature are not depressing in the least, it just depends which ones you read.

The Color Purple is pretty depressing so far, even though I haven't finished it yet. I know there are others that I have read that are, but I can't think of them right now.

[gunslingergirl_]

well some like edgar allen poe but its more dark romantism but it is kinda depressing for me though.

[Asriel]

Not a lot to me.I've read deep depressing books before but i'm into reading that kinda stiff anyway.But i've also read a lot of books that weren't very depressing.It just depends on what you read or what type of book it is.

[sadida]

i was talking from my experience with the lit books i've done in school. some may argue that it just reflects real life tho.

[Elphaba]

the only books that i read are ones that i find interesting so no they are not depressing
it does depend on what kind of book you are reading.

[Hideki Motosuwa.]

is it just me or are pretty much all literature books depressing?
Especially Spanish literature (from the books i've done so far in school anyway). It's like all spanish authors were psychologically affected by all those civil wars.
what are the most depressing lit books you've studied?

for me that would be: the glass menagerie (actually a play)
and La lluvia amarilla ( about an old man all alone in a decaying , abandoned village, whose wife killed herself. Fun times.)
and El coronel no tiene quien le escriba ( also an old man- war vet- and his wife who are basically so poor they're starving to death.)

I read alot of literature books back in middle school, but don't remember them! Yes, I did read the Glass Menagerie last year and I do agree it's quite depressing, but not all literature is sad! That Edgar Aleen Poe guy wrote some pretty deep stuff, and we recently watched a documentary on him in English class. Man, the Tell tale heart(I think that's what its' called) is kind of crazy, I mean, dismembering the man and placing him under the fllorboards lol!(I know it's not funny, but I'm sorry, i just laughed for some reason!)

[Momokachan]

My current "Book of the Moment" is The Kite Runner. While it was terribly sad for most of the book, it had a very uplifting ending.

And I don't think that all literature is depressing. I know a lot of really good books that made me laugh, and a lot that made me cry. Case in point, Harry Potter. I won't spoil anything, on the off-chance that someone here hasn't finished the series, but I laughed and cried with the seventh book. Another one was The Last Battle, from the Narnia series. It was a fantastic book, right up until the end, when you find out that

 

everyone actually died at the beginning of the sixth book or something.

It kind of pissed me off that Lewis would do that, since I connected so much to those characters, but it happens.

[gunslingergirl_]

oh yeah there was a book that i read that made me depresed. it was called the woman with 17 different personalitites. now that was sad. her story was so sad, but it was a good book.

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

Most depressing literature book- Flowers for Algernon.

Most depressing book - Stone Fox.

[Leorina]

Literature has something called "Theme." Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work--whew, that was a mouthful.

What authors like to do with their stories is make a point. In Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck focuses on the all too real themes of "the predatory nature of human existence" and "the impossibility of the American Dream."

The Predatory Nature of Human Existence: In the book, we discover a human truth: oppression does not only come from the hands of the strong. It suggests that the most visible kind of strength, the kind used to oppress others, is itself born of weakness.

In short, it is the way of the world to eradicate the weak. If a weak person survives this, they, in turn, search out for those weaker than they.
You could view it as a never-ending chain reaction.

The Impossibility of the American Dream: The citizens in America will most likely agree with this, but then again, the dream of a perfect life where we have control over our work and relaxation is worldwide, if not universal.

Cold, hard truth is: there is no such thing in this world, as Crooks said.

For George and Lennie, migrant ranch workers in the 1930s, such a safe place was hoped to be found in a plot of land that belonged to themselves alone. In the end, that dream

 

died along with Lennie.

To wrap this up: literature may seem depressing because the authors take reality and fiction, bind it together, and make a story that people can relate to, understand, and possibly discover a truth that, while depressing, may help them understand the way the world is.

[Manhattan_Project_2000]

ALSO... If you want some non-depressing literature, look no further then Horatio Alger!

http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/a#a168

Horatio Alger! More proof that anything is literature if it's old enough!

[Isaac]

No. I don't find them depressing at all.

[Wio]

I don't know any recommended school literature that isn't depressing. At the same time, only a handful of them have something uplifting in them.

[MissChelly]

I don't find ALL literature depressing... the latest book I've read (for the third time, I believe?) is Richard Matheson's I Am Legend... so much better than the movie... and a lot more depressing. lol

[King_Shadow89]

There are so many different stories/books considered 'Literature'. Yes, I think that some of it is depressing, but to categorize 'literature' into depressing would not be right. Many pieces of literature are not depressing in the least, it just depends which ones you read.

The Color Purple is pretty depressing so far, even though I haven't finished it yet. I know there are others that I have read that are, but I can't think of them right now.

I have to agree with you on all of this

[sadida]

thanks for all your contributions!
oh, i forgot one- Animal Farm...that was also depressing.