To me, a story requires several elements to become a "classic", a story that endures time. I have identified six of them:
1. Interesting Characters Different from the Everyman with Intense Emotions and Profound Problems to Solve
Nobody likes reading about boring, average people with minor problems. Classic characters must be different from the average person and must be emotionally intense with great emotional baggage to carry. A combination of these two things usually results in interesting characters. In Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, for example, the two aristocratic lovers were in a captivating emotional state, caught between their love for one another and the fierce loyalty they are required to show their rival families. Their problem was how to deal with both requirements. Odysseus, from Homer's The Odyssey, was a Greek general in the Trojan War constantly in agony wanting to see his wife and son again after the brutal battle at Troy. His problem was a simple, yet profound one: how to get back home.
2. A Richly Imagined World
A classic story needs a well-described, imaginative world. Good characters can only be so entertaining in a boring world. In William Golding's Lord of the Flies, the island that the boys are stranded on is meticulously detailed, from its shelled cove to its red rock fortress to its lush green jungle. The life and society of the island is also well-described. The boys' leaders, food sources, games, shelter, customs and more are described so well that the reader can imagine living in this raw, primal world. This description makes the central plot of the story so much more interesting.
The world of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is also extremely well imagined. Tolkien has even thought of maps of his world, so the reader can follow along with the heroes' journey, and written folklore specific to the people of this land, such as the legend of the One Ring.
3. A Balance Between Originality and Familiarity
A friend of mine, Colton D., said this: "It is not fun to start to read a novel and have it feel like you had already read it." I believe he is absolutely right.
A classic story needs to feel new and original. Otherwise, it is lost to the piles of books that can be thrown into a single, generic and clichéd pile and left to rot. Take the legions of vampire stories swarming Canada and the U.S. right now, for example. They stick to a tried-and-true formula, with beautiful, blood-sucking creatures invading human society, and attempt to add enough twists to be original, but they're just not original enough to stand on their own as classics and endure through time.
However, if a story is too different, the reader can't relate to the story, so it isn't interesting to read, and its message isn't captured (see number 5). Some people's limit for originality and difference is different from others. My mother hates science fiction stories because she feels too removed from the action, as she cannot relate to the situations the characters are in. I, on the other hand, love science fiction. I enjoy reading about the unlikely adventures through time and space the characters embark on.
In this case, there is too much difference and originality to appeal to a broad audience - narrowing the amount of people who will read and like the story, and lowering its chances of becoming a classic. On that note, a classic must balance its originality with familiarity, so the reader can relate to it easily.
I think a good example of this is George Orwell's 1984. Published in 1949, it predicted the future of the year 1984. While set in the future, its themes were built around raw, powerful emotions that every human being can identify with, such as love, terror, hate, agony, passion, lust and depression. It also made many references to well-known topics such as Nazi Germany and Communist Russia, further cementing its familiarity.
4. Good Writing
Classic stories are authored by some of the best linguists of all time. These authors use descriptive and interesting words and are masters of sentence structure. Generally, their advanced use of language means that the novel will have a higher reading level. I'm no grammar or literary expert, so I can't provide a full dissection, but take this sample quote from Robinson Crusoe:
"It would have made a Stoick smile to have seen, me and my little Family sit down to Dinner; there was my Majesty the Prince and Lord of the whole Island; I had the Lives of all my Subjects at my absolute Command. I could hang, draw, give Liberty, and take it away, and no Rebels among my subjects."
(Daniel Defoe, Robinson Crusoe 125 Source: http://www.shmoop.com/robinson-crusoe/family-quotes.html)
Defoe communicates Crusoe's playful conceit through the phrase, "my Majesty the Prince and Lord of the whole Island". The simple word "little" in front of "Family" also indicates this playfulness. The "Family" Crusoe is talking about consists of his pets on the island. Crusoe sees himself as the ruler, being the head of the Family. Defoe explains this using a powerful, forceful tone created by words and phrases such as "absolute Command", "hang", and "no Rebels among my subjects". However, there is a distinct tinge of solitariness in the way his relationship with his Family is described as being a cold, master-servant relationship. Later in the book, the reader experiences a warm change in Crusoe's attitude towards family when he finds other people on the island and includes them in his Family. Perhaps his initial coldness is from being completely alone and devoid of human company.
So much information and so many ideas are communicated effectively in this single quote. Daniel Defoe is a quality writer, as are other authors of classic stories.
5. Deep Meaning and a Message Being Spread
Stories are meant to entertain, but often, they are also meant to have deep meaning and to spread a message. This is especially true of classics.
Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird has a strong message against prejudice displayed in many ways. (WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW!) Scout, daughter of the lawyer Atticus Finch, living in the town of Maycomb in 1930's Alabama, is forbidden by her Aunt Alexandra from playing with Walter Cunningham,
"...a poor boy whom Scout attends school with. This is because Aunt Alexandra sees Walter and his family as poor and beneath the Finches. In her words, '...they're good folks. But they're not our kind of folks.' Scout, on the other hand, doesn't care about how much money Walter has but about his potential to be a friend. She doesn't let irrelevant things like money cloud her judgment of people. This is related to Lee's message about prejudice showing how ridiculous it is to judge people in this way."
(Sadeer Nasser, "Novel Message of To Kill A Mockingbird", Streetdirectory.com Source: http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/106654/languages/novel_message_of_to_kill_a_mockingbird.html)
The message is also communicated through the trial of Tom Robinson, a central plot point of the story. Scout's father Atticus Finch proves that the black man is obviously not guilty of raping Mayella Ewell, a young white woman, but this is overlooked by the racist court. Robinson is sent to jail despite his innocence and is shot to death when he attempts to escape.
Finally, near the end of the book, Scout and her brother Jem are attacked by Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell's father. However, they are saved by Arthur "Boo" Radley, a reclusive man who the town was prejudiced against. He was seen as a horrible person because of the rumours surrounding him. Of course, this is revealed to be false when he saves the children. This last instance ridicules prejudice as well.
6. Potential for Discussion
The last important characteristic of a classic story I'm going to mention is its potential for discussion. Classic stories are thought-provoking reads, encouraging the reader to question and discuss the motivations of various characters, why they acted the way they did, what kind of people they are, and to search for and interpret messages within the stories (see number 5).
Online book clubs and similar sites, known to include classics in their lists, frequently include discussion pages for their books. A sample question from http://www.litlovers.com/reading-guides/13-fiction/399-grapes-of-wrath-steinbeck?start=3 for John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath is (SPOILER ALERT!!!) "Why does Rose of Sharon smile as she feeds the starving man with milk intended for her baby?" Having seen the play adaptation of the novel, I think it is an excellent question, discussing the motivations behind Rose of Sharon's actions of feeding the starving man with her own breast milk and smiling. That's the kind of question a classic story is meant to create, leaving some things unanswered and left to the reader's own interpretation and discussion.
Based on these six criteria, let's evaluate The Ear, The Eye and The Arm by Nancy Farmer:
1. Interesting Characters Different from the Everyman with Intense Emotions and Profound Problems to Solve
A general's children and mutant detectives are certainly different from the average person. Unfortunately, Tendai, the eldest child and protagonist, keeps a cool head throughout the story and ends up falling flat. His younger sister Rita, however, shows real depth as both a whiny, dryly humourous pessimist and a fiery fighter. Ear and Eye are very simple characters despite their cool powers. Arm, the leader, is deeper, but even strong emotions like his love for his adopted child sometimes feel hollow. The characters' main problem, returning the children to General Matsika, is also weak.
2. A Richly Imagined World
Nancy Farmer has clearly done research on the language and customs of Zimbabwe. Characters will frequently drop words in their native tongue, Harare feels realistic, vibrant and alive, and traditional Praise Singers and Spirit Mediums are well-observed. The places the children and detectives visit are richly described. Farmer's world is a very well-imagined one.
3. A Balance Between Originality and Familiarity
The elements of the future are mostly limited to some technological improvements (e.g. holophones instead of telephones). This ensures that the reader does not feel too disconnected. Perhaps Farmer's biggest leaps of originality are the fascinating places visited by the characters, such as the plastic mines of Dead Man's Vlei and the Mile-High MacIlwaine Hotel. However, before Farmer takes us to these new, different places, she lets us wallow in the well-known environments of a rich mansion and a bustling market, thereby stabilizing us for the rest of the story. Balance is achieved through new takes on well-known minor characters such as two different fussy old women and an eccentric, flamboyant trickster. Unfortunately, there is also the too-familiar theme of an overbearing adult (General Matsika) who never lets his children leave home.
4. Good Writing
As mentioned before, Farmer is very good at describing places and atmosphere. Dialogue is also well handled, and there are a few moments of pure literary genius. Sadly, the main characters of Tendai and Arm feel weak, and so the narration through their perspectives is not engaging.
5. Deep Meaning and a Message Being Spread
I don't sense any deep meaning or message in The Ear, The Eye and The Arm.
6. Potential For Discussion
There is definitely room for discussion, but near the end of the book I have few questions to ask. However, one character who intrigues me is the She Elephant, the crime lordess who (MINOR SPOILER ALERT!!!) originally kidnaps the children. She is violent and unstable, yet was generous with her serving of food to the children. I'd love to discuss what different people thought of her.
I don't think The Ear, The Eye and The Arm follows my criteria closely enough for it to become a classic. It's a good book, though, and hopefully it will be read by at least one more generation to come.
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