The works we read in this class range from classics written before Christ to works written only a few years ago. These older works have been passed down from generation to generation, and over time we have discovered countless life-enhancing technologies that have radically changed how and even how long we live. I find it very difficult to imagine what life was like 2,400 years ago, and yet a play from that era continues to remain very relevant to our lives. It emerges from this work that modern society still has a lot in common with past civilizations. We still face the same problems today that we have faced for over two millennia. Members of the population have difficulty communicating, they lie to each other, steal from each other and are quick to judge others. Literature has captured the fundamental human experience, our ups and downs, our joys and our sorrows, our love and our hatred. Literature shows the problems we still face, but it also contains many solutions we can apply to advance our civilization. Family is our introduction to the world and the people in it. Through these experiences and interactions, we learn to communicate and interact with the rest of the world, and it is during this time that we form our first view of the world. What we experience in our childhood is something we carry with us forever, and our experiences, good or bad, will impact our performance as adults. In our childhood, we first observe the difference in the way men and women, and more importantly, people in general communicate. Like the narrator of “Boys and Girls,” a girl approaching early adolescence, trying to figure out what her place was in the world. S...... middle of paper......forever, and we have to decide; will we come together or fall apart. Works Cited Munroe, Alice. “Boys and girls”. The Norton Introduction to Literature, Eleventh Shorter Edition. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton. 2013. 137-147. Print.O'Connor, Flannery. “A good man is hard to find.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, Eleventh Shorter Edition. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton. 2013. 422-433. Print.Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice. Ed. Alvin B. Kernan. 2nd revised edition. New York: Signet Classic, 1998. Print. Sophocles. “Oedipus the King. » The Norton Introduction to Literature, Eleventh Shorter Edition. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton. 2013. 1737-1776. Print.Updike, John. “A&P.” The Norton Introduction to Literature, Eleventh Shorter Edition. Ed. Kelly J. Mays. New York: W. W. Norton. 2013. 148-153. Print.