Can we get this straight, Twilighters?

Question

I mean to say this in the most respectful way possible, really.

Twilight is NOT literature. It is popular fiction. It is not good for a school assignment. It is not something that will ever be taught in a Lit course. Stephanie Meyer will not ever be nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature. It is not the greatest love story ever told.

Yes, I have heard all of these things claimed here on YA.

You can like it all you want, but please for the good of humanity, please stop acting like it's the epitome of writing.

So my question: What on God's green earth makes you think this is the series that all great literature has been leading up to? Please explain how it is any better than (or even within the same league as) The Great Gatsby, Frankenstein, 1984, A Clockwork Orange, Huckleberry Finn, etc.

Answer 1

It is definitely not great literature, but it is still a good story. I would never put it into the same ranks as something that Jane Austen wrote, but it can be difficult to relate to characters in Lit courses. Meyer did a fairly decent job in making her main character like every other teen girl. That with the little twist of love and the fantasy of a vampire are making the story irresistible to teen girls. I see your point, but this happens with almost every work of popular fiction. It's not such a big deal, and it will cool over soon enough.

Answer 2

I completely, whole-heartedly agree with everything you have said.

It is so irritating to see a Twilighter claim "OMG u have to read Twilight its like the best book ever" when in reality, it's just fluff.  There are some Twilighters, of course, who say nothing of the sort (Take Magda, for instance) and I'm glad they do.

Answer 3

Twilight is chock-full of one-dimensional characters and completely devoid in originality, it reads like a 12-year-old's fanfiction, or Anne Rice for teenyboppers. Nothing within the series can even vaguely be compared to the term "well-written." Instead, the books are a regurgitation of every vampire cliche known to man, simply copying and pasting every online vampire novel together until it would appeal to any girl that read it. Each sequel is significantly longer than the previous one, leaving sane people to wonder how Stephenie can say so little in 400-900 pages.

The books are cooking in the cesspool of the modern monster-drama genre, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, the Anita Blake series, and American Idol, where instead of being terrifying and ripping people in half, the monsters live among humans, go to high school for no apparent reason, and shine like a thousand crystals under the sun. If you dig a hole in middle-class suburbia and throw in a 16-year-old girl, an objectified emo vampire who hates himself and a date-raping werewolf, you get the gist of the series.  

Answer 4

honestly, i've read every single book you've listed, and i don't think anyone of them stands in comparison with twilight. i understand completely how you think stephenie meyer won't ever be appointed best writer ever for it, but it's a great book. i'm guessing either you haven't read it, or you have and you don't like it. well, it's your opinion but, you don't know whether or not it'll be considered great literature. it's romeo and julietesque. you can't predict the future.

and i agree, only time will tell.

and by the way, clockwork orange is a great book, but when it comes down to it, it's really about a gang of insane

seventeen year olds who enjoy exposing and raping women sometimes in broad daylight, and almost always in public. i don't understand how as a women, considering the asker of this question is one i'm assuming, you could like and even boast about something so degrading.

Answer 5

twilight is the best book ever!!! u need to stop with this nonsense! have u read it? if u havnt u need to read it then u will see what im talkin about here.

Answer 6

hummm....shhhhh....calm down....go take a nice bath.............

Why so serious? lol

But seriously, it's a good teen book so...it's going to be popular. Dont sweat about it! I hate when people waste their time getting mad at stupid stuff like this. Just calm down!

Answer 7

First of all, I agree with you. 100%. I'm an ex-Twilighter (but still Team Jacob til death) because I already woke up and realized how STUPID Twilight really is. Twilight is the WORST garbage I have ever read, especially Breaking Dawn. I don't consider it as "literature".

Edward Lover511--

Sorry, but you're being dumb. Unfortunately, the Twilight series is NOT written amazingly, as she puts it. If it is, why's it getting heaps of NEGATIVE reviews then? Why are critics bashing it? Don't you even notice how REPETITIVE Meyer's writing is? Meyer just fills it with repetitive descriptions like how "ice cold, pale, god-like etc etc Edward  is. And FINE, we all know Edward has a lilac honey velvet voice. She doesn't have to repeat them a HUNDRED times in one book! Sh*t.

Another one, Edward Lover, why oh why would she ask this question if she hasn't read it?

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Edward and Bella definitely aren't the best book couple. They do not compliment each other in the book (Read New Moon). They are ADDICTED to each other, like drugs. And, if you would be thinking logically, Edward isn't created to be with Bella forever (Read Twilight and Eclipse). I guess you fangirls just live each day for your fairytale fantasies that you're not capable of logical thinking anymore.

HAH, their love isn't even a realistic one, and YOU fangirls think it is! Again, sorry to break it to you, but EDWARD CULLEN DOES NOT exist. There won't be any Edwards in the world. And third, YOU NEVER WILL find an Edward in your life. Get over that fact. Edward Cullen is NOTHING but INK ON PAPER. h**l, he is even worse than ink! Edward is a jerk, an idiot, and a liar and doesn't deserve to be loved. He is one of the most annoying, one dimensional characters EVER!

Now, let me see you rattle about why Twilight is the most amazing book ever written. Go! I want to listen to you. Because then I will just throw you proofs that it isn't, and I'll just win.

P.S: You said you've read A LOT of books that you compare to Twilight. What books have you read, then? Cinderella? Wait, Cinderella is BETTER than Twilight. Snow White? Oh, her fairytale is a lot more realistic. The Little Red Riding Hood? Peter Pan?

I would have to say even THOSE are better than Twilight.

Have you even read Harry Potter? The Lord of the Rings? The Chronicles of Narnia?

Hah. I bet not.

Twilight is illogical and immoral. Twilight has poor character development (The only decent character is Jacob Black, but that disappears after the author makes him IMPRINT on his former love's DAUGHTER!). Twilight doesn't have plots. Twilight is anti-climactic. Twilight is overrated. Twilight is c**p. Twilight is NOT literature.

Answer 8

I agree, I liked the books, but seriously, they could have been a lot better.  I just reread pride and prejudice and there is no way on earth that i will ever view them as equal.  but i can compare twilight to other books of higher quality.

Answer 9

Oh goodness.

Thank you.

Twilight is pretty much like Anne Rice for- well, it's just Anne Rice dumbed way, way, way, waaaay down. Ugh.

No offense Twilighters, I'm not insinuating you're unintelligent- it's just...not all that great.

Answer 10

Nope, no can answer your question because your mostly right. Note that I said *mostly* right. Who's the 13 year old? I don't get that.

I suppose one thing that the Twilight series has that not many other books do is Stephenie Meyer's ability to tell a story. She's an amazing storyteller and a horrible author. Maybe its her amazing storytelling skills that makes her such a bad author.

Answer 11

I completely agree with you.... I've been trying to say this for so long but the people who love Twilight so much just attack your opinions when you do. They're in denial about the whole thing and honestly it's so pathetic to see because they're missing out on so much great literature.

Answer 12

I feel the same exact way. Lol, i actually had a question similar to this a while ago. Its a literature trend. One person likes it, than everyone else likes it. I like the story, its good. But i agree with you, its not the best piece of literature out there. It could have been, if the sentence structure of the story and the plot line would have been better and more organized. Its just a decent book which people obsess over. Also it does not compare to any of those books. Not in my opinion at least, to me those books are a work of art. People put time, work, and even some experience into them. Also since it was a love story, it has no comparison to some of the amazing classic.  Overall im not even sure why people literally obsess over the saga and think that no book in the history of the world can compare to it.

Answer 13

I think time is a major part of finding out if Twilight will ever be considered a classic. I guess we just wait a long time and see if it still is impacting readers the way it is now. I'm curious to see if it still stays as important for future generations as it seems to be currently. I believe it is amazing and extremely rare for NEW pieces of literature to ever be considered great. Is it just a fad? Only time will tell...

Answer 14

HAVE YOU ACTUALLY READ THE BOOK!?!?

First of all, The Twilight Saga is written amazingly.  The female character is pretty much ordinary, which makes it so easy to step into her shoes. She's just a normal 11th grader, but who happens to fall in love with a vampire.

The love part leads me into my second point, that the love between Bella and Edward is epic. It is literally one of my most remembered couples - because both of the characters are so unique and they completment each other in the book - they just click together.  It is like Edward was created just to be with Bella forever.

Next, the vampire twist adds a whole extra thing to their love.  It makes it dangerous and fast-paced. Edward has never done this before, and he doesn't know the extent of his self control yet.  Bella is swept up in the heat of the moment, but her love is just as everlasting as Edward's.  

The emotions that encompass the series are very well thought out.  This first book, Twilight literally had me crying, laughing, gasping, and giggling, all in just four hundred pages of pure joy to read.

I could go on forever about how Twilight is the most amazing book I have ever read - and trust me, I've read A LOT of books.  

Answer 15

first of all, have you even read twilight?

secondly, twilight has been called many times (and not by teenage fangirls may i add) a modern version of romeo and juliet. it has also been compared to a midsummer night's dream. both are what you would consider "literature".

thirdly, twilight has become a popular choice for schools to have their kids read, and do reports on. so there goes your school assignment arguement.

Answer 16

Have you read it?

Answer 17

wow. someone is a little wacko. why would you take such a long time to write a stupid thing on yahoo answers? is it that big of a deal?

i mean, i like twilight. its a great story. but not everyone thinks it should be a school assignment, nominated, etc. seriously.

whatever. i just fail to see the importance of this 'question'. and the reason behind it. its kind of rude.

Answer 18

I think it goes with everything else in the world now..a load of trash. The shows, the books, the movies...all down in the dumps along with most people living in this crazy messed up world. There has not been anything good created since the 50s!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 19

Agreed. Thank you so much. This is what I wanted to say. If Twilight fans read more, they might find themselves falling in love with great literary heroes who whip Edward Cullen. Try LOTR, Pride and Prejudice, the Count of Monte Cristo, Dracula, 1984, Gone With the Wind - just to name a few!

LuthienT

EDIT: miams, I'm going to have to disagree. I rarely see Twi-haters overreacting. It's you Twilighters who are mostly screaming. Calm down? We are calm. We're presently better arguments than, "It's TrUe LoVe! sHuT uP! eDwArD RoCks!"

EDIT 2: Edward 511, here's a rebuttal. Please respect my opinion as I respect yours.

Yes, I have read the books. That said, the female character, Bella, is not my definition of ordinary. She's a whiner who makes herself miserable on purpose and takes ages to forgive anyone except the Cullens. Exhibit 1: Jacob Black. If I "fit" easily into her shoes, I would be horrified. I wouldn't want to be a whiny spoilt girl who has amazing luck and somehow manages to be a popular girl who spits at all her friends except "the wonderful Cullens".

Second point, Edward and Bella do not fit whatsoever. Bella feeds Edward's pride constantly, and worships him always. She hardly ever stands up for herself or shows any type of personality that contrasts his. 90% of Bella's POV in all 4 books concentrate on how miserable she's feeling or how happy she is with Edward, b/c he's gorgeous, godlike, divine, etc. What Bella needs is someone to make her stand up for herself, and regain self-esteem. Bella mentions that her self-esteem takes a hit everytime she's around Edward. Healthy, eh? Edward needs a kickass girl who will show him that he needs to treat girls as an equal. Someone like Rose or Jane. Someone powerful and independent. That's my opinion of a true complementary couple. Bella's love is not true love - it's idolization. It's worship and obsession and lust and infatuation. Not true love at all. Edward's is infatuation, strong overprotectiveness, and lust.

The emotions? They're composed of snarling, tinkling laughters, hisses, growlings, and kissing. The adjectives are repetitive and the grammar is horrible. There are even misspellings!

Don't even get me started on how abusive Edward is and how the birth scene was puke-inducing and how the pedophilia was such a horrible influence.

Answer 20

In a sense, it is literature, because it's printed on paper. However, it seems redundant and unnecessary to say that Twilight and its sequels do not measure up to the massive amount of content and ideas found in other, more classic works of literature. It's not the epitome of writing, and it is in fact, pop fiction.

It's like vegetables and candy, I suppose. Even though vegetables are harder to chew and are harder to develop a liking for, they're ultimately better for you. Candy is fresh longer, is easy to get into and to eat, but will rot your teeth in large quantities.

I love, LOVE the books, but it's a pretty shallow concept and isn't really relevant.