I did. I read some of Twain in high school but didn't really "get it", in hindsight. Then as I grew older and began reading many of Twain's endless quotes it made me want to go read more of his works, and I'm glad I did.
I think high school readings are quite pointless in general, because most kids either aren't mentally developed enough, or aren't going to have the focus, to actually "get" what's being said - at least not beyond the point of cramming enough stuff down to be able to puke it back up on a test/report.
That was certainly the case for me and I think this is extremely common given there are plenty of people that think Huck Finn is a racist book, when the entire underlying message is a never-ending mockery of racism.
> because most kids either aren't mentally developed
I've gone back and read so many books I was supposed to have read in HS and college. I don't think at the time I had the life experience to fully grasp many of the message(s). It's one thing for a teacher or guide to explain in abstract the underlying messages, it's another to have dealt with them in your own life and see yourself in the characters [1].
[1] I always read like I'm one or more of the characters and not simply an observer.
I was raised where Sam Clemens was raised. People not only read the books. They tour his home. They tour the cave from Tom Sawyer. They attend the annual National Tom Sawyer days. They come from all over the world.
Plato (who came long after Homer) complained about "kids these days" not memorizing poetry (like the old farts did) and using that new fangled technology called "writing".
I think high school readings are quite pointless in general, because most kids either aren't mentally developed enough, or aren't going to have the focus, to actually "get" what's being said - at least not beyond the point of cramming enough stuff down to be able to puke it back up on a test/report.
That was certainly the case for me and I think this is extremely common given there are plenty of people that think Huck Finn is a racist book, when the entire underlying message is a never-ending mockery of racism.