Instilling honor through literature

20 May 2010

By Cindy Rollins

Last month we learned that we are failing to give our boys a reason to learn. We learned that boys are motivated by honor and that our society has left them without hope. We also learned that one antidote to the problem may be using great literature to motivate our sons to pursue honor. But what books should they read? I recently asked a group of longtime homeschooling mothers, women I highly respect, what books they recommend0.. The following is what I gleaned from raising my own sons and also their suggestions. I have broken the list down into three parts: fiction, poetry, and biographies. With a few additions, this would be a fine list for girls also. But we have seen our girls motivated, more motivated than ever before. It is our boys who are struggling.

Noticeably missing from the list are books I would classify as victorian moralism. The group of women I surveyed almost unanimously agreed that moralism is antithetical to real heart change.

A friend Chris puts it this way, “Moralism looks good on the outside, which makes mothers feel more comfortable with their children: if they look good on the outside, I must be doing things right. It is just another kind of legalism. But in a world out of control and chaotic, one is always willing to sell their liberty for tyranny that will bring order. It’s an old, old story.” Our goal is not to produce self-righteous prigs like our old friend Eustace Scrubbs before he met the dragon in The Voyage of Dawn Treader but rather to motivate our sons by the examples of true heart change whether that heart change is in the real man Stonewall Jackson or the fictional mouse Reepicheep. When we read of these sorts of characters we don’t feel smug and good; we feel challenged and even ashamed.

We question our own motives and behaviors. In the best cases, we repent.

Fiction

  1. Men of Iron, Otto of the Silver Hand, others by Howard Pyle
  2. The White Company, by Arthur Conan Doyle (Sir Gerhard and Sir Nigel. Not as well-known as his Sherlock Holmes books, but for illustrating honor they cannot be beat.)
  3. The 39 Steps etc., by John Buchan (all Richard Hannay books. People often love 39 Steps but don’t realize there are at least 3 sequels. Greenmantle is next followed by our family favorite Mr Standfast.)
  4. The Scottish Chiefs, by Jane Porter; In Freedom’s Cause, by G.A. Henty and others dealing with Scottish liberty.
  5. Black Fox of Lorne, by Marguerite de Angeli
  6. Sugar Creek Gang, by Paul Hutchens (I highly recommend seeking out the originals rather than the updates.)
  7. C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, The Space Trilogy, The Screwtape Letters. (Don’t forget The Abolition of Man, by Lewis, that describes in depth our dilemma.)
  8. Little Britches series by Ralph Moody “Son, there is no question but what the thing you have done today deserves severe punishment. You might have killed yourself or the horse, but much worse than that, you have injured your own character. A man’s character is like his house. If he tears boards off his house and burns them to keep himself warm and comfortable, his house soon becomes a ruin. If he tells lies to be able to do the things he shouldn’t do but wants to, his character will soon become a ruin. A man with a ruined character is a shame on the face of the earth.” That is just a small taste of the riches available to your sons in Ralph Moody’s books.
  9. Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling (Kipling is a among the best authors for boys. Try Jungle Book, Just so Stories and Stalky and Co.)
  10. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Middle English author unknown), J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings (Don’t miss Tolkien’s Farmer Giles of Ham.)
  11. Ivanhoe and others by Walter Scott
  12. Redwall series, by Brian Jacques
  13. The Princess & Curdie, and others by George MacDonald
  14. The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
  15. Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen (Don’t underestimate the power of this book for boys. They naturally like Mr Darcy.)
  16. Rolf and the Viking Bow, by Allen French (French is an author worth searching out.)
  17. The Marsh King, by Walter Hodges
  18. G.A. Henty (In spite of the fact that Henty is formulaic fiction; he does manage to tell the kind of stories boys love. Some of his books are even good literature. At least read a few Henty’s: The Boy Knight, In Freedom’s Cause, etc.)
  19. The Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder. (This is NOT a feminine series. The hero is Pa. Is there a better book for boys than Farmer Boy?)
  20. Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe

Biographies

  1. Man Called Peter, by Catherine Marshall
  2. Quiet Strength, by Tony Dungy ( Great book for the athletes in the house.)
  3. Endurance Alfred Lansing
  4. Childhood of Famous Americans (COFA) books for younger boys (Our favorites are William Penn, Francis Marion, Stonewall Jackson, Lou Gehrig)
  5. Leaders in Action series edited by George Grant (Our favorites are Carry a Big Stick (Teddy Roosevelt) and Never Give In (Winston Churchill)
  6. Of Courage Undaunted, by James Daughtery
  7. Christian biographies such as Borden of Yale, Jim Elliot, Eric Liddell, Hudson Taylor
  8. Mornings on Horseback, and other books by David McCullough

Poetry

  1. Idylls of the King, by Tennyson
  2. If, by Rudyard Kipling
  3. Opportunity, by Edward Sill
  4. The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Tennyson
  5. The Leak in the Dike, by Cary
  6. Casabianca, by Hemans
  7. The Village Blacksmith, by Tennyson
  8. Horatius at the Bridge, by MacCaulay

Cindy Rollins, who resides in Hixson with her husband and children, is a homeschooling mom of nine. Visit her blog at <www.dominionfamily.blogspot.com>. E-mail Cindy at dominionfamily@gmail.com.

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