Kristin wrote: "For the record...it seems that
every single German department of which I am aware
requires the reading of 'Tonio Kroeger' at some point.
However, in my nine years of studying German, I have never
even heard of 'Felix Krull'."
The argument that
the QB canon should reflect what's actually studied
is an old one. Whether or not you believe that's the
way it should be, the fact of the matter is that it
is not to a large extent. And this goes for every
discipline, not just German lit.
"Felix Krull" comes
up more frequently in QB than "Tonio Kroger". It's
more canonical and therefore can be considered an
"easier" topic. If you find fault in this, the best way to
alter the present state of things is to write your own
questions on "Tonio Kroger" (or whatever you think should
be more prevalent in the canon) and submit them to
ACF tournaments. Eventually, it will filter into the
mainstream and balance will be restored to human
endeavor.
R. Bhan