ShadeStrider

Some advice for aspiring writers.

If you want to have a message in your Story, then Fine.

But don't prioritize the message. Prioritize the plot structure and the characters.

A lot of classics love to prioritize the message over the actual Story. Those classics are generally the ones that would turn out boring to a high schooler. 

They turned out Classic because of their messages. But they are also boring because the writer cared more about the message than the characters and story.

I reread Oliver Twist, and I loved the book. This is because I found the characters good, the plot fun, and the setting interesting. I think Charles Dickens wanted to have a message, but he didn't prioritize it over good characterization. I found Oliver interesting, I was able to feel happy when he finally found a home.

The Scarlet Letter, on the other hand, is boring. I get why: Even if you understand the complicated language, the end result is that it doesn't really care about an engaging plot. It's really about shoving as much symbolism as it can in pretty much any paragraph. The end result is that the characters come off as unfeeling and unengaging. The plot is a drag, with no sense of pacing. Hester, Pearl, and Dimmesdale aren't characters: They are just more of Hawthorne's symbolism. And to me, that's really what makes me think that this book is poorly written.

As far as I see, Oliver Twist was written before the Scarlet Letter. So the "It was good for the Times" excuse doesn't really... work. Unless critics of the time... didn't appreciate how good Oliver Twist really was, only focusing on the themes that Dickens wanted to show? 

Or maybe it's because Brits and Americans had different tastes at the time.

Either way, just because some of the "classics" prioritized the message, that really shouldn't be your main focus. Contemporary audiences want characters and Story. And really, the characters and stories themselves should strengthen the message. That's the mark of a good novel.