Lies My Teacher Told Me Analysis

The book, Burn this book Pen Writers Speak Out On The Power Of The Word, edited by Toni Morrison, is a highly interesting and revealing book. The essay titled, “Notes on Literature and Engagement” by Russell Banks is an interesting one. This essay is about the effects of novels on society and how some literary artists who write protest novels ignore the real purpose of a novel. This essay relates to a novel I read titled, Lies My Teacher Told Me by James W. Loewen which, according to this chapter is referred to as a protest novel. Firstly, the author of the essay, Russell Banks, greatly opposes the concept of protest novels. He doesn't refer to them as works of art. He surmises that they are “an argument disguised as a story” (Banks, 57).