Fading Influences

Often at the forefront of social revolutions is literature in the form of social commentaries. These works of literature are able to connect to the population in general and bring about great social change. After the revolution is over, these works invariably end up in the school curriculm. The idea is that students would gain an appreciation of the society within they live and how very hard it is to bring about societal change. But is this the most effective way to teach? For how long do these social commentaries have any influence? Or should the changing times be kept in history class?
I do not believe that social commentaries only fit in history classes. However, I do not believe that it is appropriate to use socieal commentaries in a literature course to teach societal differences. My main reasoning being, the students just do not get it. The students understand that society has changed, they even understand what society was, what it is, and what it was like in the middle. The concept is easy enough to grasp, its the literature that is not so easy. This is being demonstrated in our current unit, gender studies. Everyone is able to easily comprehend the society that A Doll House and The Awakening are a part of. However, it is extremely difficult for all to connect to the literature or to understand the literature in context.
The many discussions on The Awakening has proven that when reading literature, most students (our class being the microsociety) attempt to put the literature into their society not put them into the literature's society. It is all to easy to say that Edna should have fought or that Nora should never had left her children, especially since these are available options in our society. It is not so easy to understand how these women had no other option. It is very difficult to comprehend that Nora could leave her children because it was the only way to truly take control of her own life. It is even more difficult to understand that Edna's suicide was inevitable and truly heroic. Afterall, how could Nora take care of children if she could not take care of herself? Also, how could Nora take the children with her when the law would not allow it? How could Edna have fought society outside of society when the only escape from society was death? How could Edna have made different decisions when the only decision that was hers alone was her death? These are not easy concepts to grasp, which in a sense is miraculous. Our society has progressed so much that we cannot comprehend a society where one gender is dominant. However, as stated earlier, studying gender studies is too difficult in literature, for this exact reason. The students cannot comprehend on such a personal level the society they intellectually understand.
I propose that instead of teaching the society through these units, literature is taught instead. For the student to truly connect with the literature in its own context, that is what I believe the goal of the unit should be. This is the more difficult goal of the two, however it is the most beneficial to the students and the world. For the students, mental capacities are stretched. For the world, not all societies progress in the same manner or same speed, by being able to read literature in context, it may be easier to bridge societal gaps. As a whole, the social commentaries of the past are not losing influence, their influence is merely changing. Societal change can no longer be derived because the change has occured and has been around for quite some time. The commentaries no longer comment on society. However, the commentaries have a great influence on how to perceive other societies. In this sense, the commentaries greatest influence lies in connecting the societies of today.