Books that children / teens ought to read to 'get' cultural references?

[Takver]

The example I'm thinking of is Hitchhiker's Guide - 42 as the meaning of the universe, putting a fish in your ear - things that get referred to in everyday conversation

Also Jane Eyre - Mr Rochester is another 'cultural reference' and Wuthering Heights for Heathcliff/Cathy

What other books do you think fall into this category?

[NoComet]

Animal farm.
I was amazed how much DD enjoyed it and how much she learned. I hadn't realised how much recent history she doesn't know being born after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

HGTG essential in this house as whole conversations can be had in quotes.

Never read any of the "classics" DD1 is wading through Pride and Predjudice and it's driving her nuts. "Why the fuck doesn't Dad will the estate to his daughter and let her marry who she likes!"

I think I'd last two pages.

[PoppyWearer]

Catch-22

I'll try to think of some more. I read loads of this type of novel as a teen.

[PoppyWearer]

Brideshead Revisited.

[PoppyWearer]

Frankenstein

[Takver]

And Scoop, of course, for 'Up to a point, Lord Copper' (gets said in this household a lot)

[PoppyWearer]

Alice in Wonderland

[SilverApples]

The Bible and Shakespeare crop up in a surprising number of ways and places.

[Takver]

Brave New World is another I guess

[Enb76]

Swallows and Amazons for "Better drowned than duffers"
Frankenstein (though actually, the concept is done so often that the book is possibly no longer required)
Shakespeare - oh, so many
HGTG
Kurt Vonnegurt for "so it goes" (Slaughterhouse 5)
Catcher in the Rye
Animal Farm and 1984 - we use so many of the references that many people have no idea they come from the books
Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Brave New World (Alphas and Epsilons)

Actually - I think you just have to read a lot, and enjoy reading, also watch TV. People end up using their own cultural references, think Monty Python and Blackadder

[Takver]

Definitely MP/Blackadder, Id say they're absolutely in the same category as HGTG

[PoppyWearer]

From Shakespeare, Hamlet in particular has a HUGE number of common phrases in it.

I didn't read it at school and didn't see Hamlet on stage until a few years ago, and was that my cultural education had been missing this huge piece all that time (I'm late-30s with a good degree).

[lostintoys]

Myths - Greek, Roman, Norse; the Old Testament stories; Dickens.

[Mumzy]

The secret diary of Adrian Mole aged 13and 3/4: 'knowing somewhere like the back of your hand with gloves on' , 'i think I might be an intellectual'

[Ilovegeorgeclooney]

Mister Pip and Purple Hibiscus just because the are incredibly insightful into other cultures.

[HmmAnOxfordComma]

Lots of good ideas. Myths, the Bible, Shakespeare probably the most crucial.

Followed by all the sci-fi ones mentioned (1984, BNW etc), and the more quirky ones such as Hitchhiker.

Definitely Alice.

I think Oscar Wilde is pretty crucial, too. All the morals in the short stories; the quotations; Dorian Gray references; plus my favourite: 'A handbaaaaaag?'

Lots of other things are going to be personal to families and their different interests, especially comedy.

[Takver]

Agree obviously the Bible, Shakespeare etc, but I suppose I was thinking more of modern cultural references ('modern' including Oscar Wilde)

An interesting sideline to that, though - dd is in Welsh medium education, and I do find it a little odd that she knows things like the Lord's Prayer in Welsh, not English (and laughed at the - admittedly Welsh - children on telly who couldn't sing Calon Lan, but doesn't know eg Onwards Christian Soldiers or We Plough the Fields and Scatter)

[ThisIsBULLSHIT]

I haven't been able to get into Catcher in the Rye, Swallows and Amazons or Catch 22 ever!!

Moving forwards to now- ish I would say Hunger Games, Holes, Harry Potter, Percy Jackson are all must reads, if not full of cultural references, then worth it just for the enjoyment?!

[ThisIsBULLSHIT]

Apologies if I have missed the point but let's not try and force feed our DCs dated books that they cannot access and have no meaning for them. The bible?!