Overrated Classics Meme

Kirsty at Other Stories has tagged me for a meme about classic literature (of the famous-and-good rather than Greek-and-Latin variety)...

What was the best classic you were "forced" to read at school, and why?
I never know why people complain about books they read at school, at least not for the most part. But I suppose my English degree pays testament to the fact that I like analysing literature as much as giving it a quick read - two very different activities, one rather more difficult than the other, but love them both. I think the best must be either Much Ado About Nothing by Billybob, or Hard Times by Charles Dickens. Both incredibly funny, though I must confess having a brilliant teacher for Hard Times gave it a good leg up.

What was the worst classic you were forced to endure, and why?
The only one I really didn't like - and couldn't respect, because it was more or less trash literature - was Captain Corelli's Mandolin. But I don't think anybody would call that a classic, would they? I didn't think a huge amount of Of Mice and Men, though I don't regret having read it. I do think they start students on Shakespeare far too early - Macbeth was my first, when I was eleven. What other Renaissance writer would they dole out at that age? Or anyone pre-Victorian, for that matter. Much though I revere Billybob, I'd like to see a wider range of authors from the 16th-19th Centuries. And by that I don't mean a cursory mention of Marlowe...

Which classic should every student be made to read?
I suppose this invites the obvious retort that students shouldn't be *made* to read anything, but let's sweep that under the carpet for now. I don't think you can truly appreciate the structure of a novel, or the potential for character and language, until you've read Pride and Prejudice. And perhaps they'd be able to hammer into people's heads that it's not a 'girl's book'...

Which classic should be put to rest immediately?
That's a bit tricker. Whilst I don't like Ulysses, for example, I think it stands as an interesting idea and shouldn't be destroyed. I can't quite see the point of The Catcher in the Rye, or why it's been hailed as such a great book, nor The Bell Jar. Hmm. Can't think of any I'd like to see put to rest immediately, but I daresay something will rear its head before long.