In light of the last few weeks of political strife happening in our country, I have been getting a lot of social media posts discussing how “reading is political”. This is a statement that I fully believe in.
These posts often include a quote pulled from an Orwell novel or other well-known literary pieces. Most of these are blatantly political pieces like Animal Farm, a novel focused on authoritarianism. I think it is important to note that more classics have some sort of political aspect at their core, even if you don’t realize it. Classics feature messages that still ring true today, even when they have been published for 100s of years. In times like these, reading “classic literature” is a way to learn from our past, but also better understand our future.
“Reading is, by its very nature, a political act; it cannot be separated from daily politics or societal concerns”
https://bookriot.com/reading-political-act/
In 2025, I got into reading classics voluntarily. Many students are used to classics being pushed in any standard English class. I had to read The Outsiders, Othello, Candide, and Jane Eyre in middle school and high school. This “forced exposure” can create a disdain in students for a category of books connected to assigned readings. I am a lifelong reader, and took classes like AP Literature and English 110 because I was genuinely interested in reading. A big step to approaching reading, especially more difficult texts like classics, is to change your mindset.
I took ENG 110: English Literature and Its Historical Contexts in my junior year because it combined a history class and an English class. We read texts like Beowulf, Bisclavret, Oroonoko, and Dracula. The class focused on the historical (and often political) contexts that authors were experiencing when writing their stories. Our readings spanned the entire history of England, and we learned how classics can be used as propaganda tools but also as reactionary pieces to the world happening around the author.
I completed a project in the class where I read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and completed a research analysis on the historical contexts of the 1790s-1810s influencing Austen and her characters. I got to learn firsthand the marriage laws that drive the story plotline. Austen novels are not known to be “politically focused”, but when looking deeper, we can see how Austen was reacting and explaining the England around her. We see contrast between the landed gentry and nobility, wealth issues, societal expectations, and a woman’s place in Regency England. The wartime events in England when Austen was growing up also seep into the story with an emphasis on military characters, like Wickham.
Part of my project was making an online book club and an Instagram page dedicated to the book. In 2025, after my project was completed for a month or so, I decided to restart my book club. I realized people often don’t read classics out of fear that they are hard to understand or too long. I wanted to create a community where people could feel comfortable asking questions and read with support. Classics can seem out of reach, but they didn’t need to be.
“Even the ability to read is deeply political. Throughout history, literacy has been a tool of both oppression and liberation”
https://csusmchronicle.com/24133/opinion/reading-is-political-why-the-media-we-consume-matters/
There has been discourse on “Booktok”, the section of TikTok where creators discuss book-related topics, of “anti-intellectualism”. A lot of people say reading only classics “makes you an intellectual” as opposed to reading romance books, which is “anti-intellectual”. I don’t agree with this idea. Hngisreading on TikTok made a really good video on this. Reading classics does not make you a superior person to others. Expanding your knowledge or genres is a way to learn and grow. Edenarchives also did a really good video about the discourse.
Reading, of course, is a form of escapism. But I think the issue comes with isolation. Only seeking out media that perpetuates one voice or message is harmful to your thinking. Reading is an important tool to become more empathetic and well-rounded. We can learn about different cultures and people from their written experiences. Learning how to be in someone else’s mind like a book character allows you to understand how someone thinks and realize why they think that way. One of my favorite examples of this is with Snow in The Ballad of Sonbirds and Snakes. We get to be the mind of a villain and see his disdain for the districts and how he has been taught to think about them.
Classic literature is a window into a certain period of time. 2026 has been a lot. I think classics are a tool to not only understand the past, but also understand the present. The news can be scary right now, but hiding isn’t always the answer. Reading books like 1984 by George Orwell or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is important during a time like this. They can help us see things in a new light. But reading books like The Great Gatsby or Pride and Prejudice is also crucial. There is a skill to being able to pick up more subtle political contexts in a novel. Social issues also lead into political issues.
Use your love of reading as a tool to learn. Today’s political climate is hectic and scary. Abuse of power is nothing new. Isolation will fix nothing. If you feel powerless, get educated in some way. Reading classics that reflect what’s going on in the US right now can be a way to cope, but more importantly, grow. While you’re at it, go buy a copy of your classic of choice from a Minnesota bookstore. Use a website like Bookshop.org to help support these businesses during the fallout of the shutdowns.