Praxis 5038 - Literary Texts and Authors

Flannery O'Connor

(1925-1964) born in georgia and is one of americas best short story writers. she was a strong Catholic. didnt believe race was important. died of lupus

The Crucible

(Arthur Miller, 1953). Miller chose the 1692 Salem witch trials as his setting, but the work is really an allegorical protest against the McCarthy anti-Communist "witch-hunts" of the early 1950s. In the story, Elizabeth Proctor fires servant Abigail Williams after she finds out Abigail had an affair with her husband. In response, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft. She stands trial and is acquitted, but then another girl accuses her husband, John, and as he refuses to turn in others, he is killed, along with the old comic figure, Giles Corey. Also notable: Judge Hathorne is a direct ancestor of the author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Elizabeth Proctor fires servant Abigail Williams after she finds out that Abigail had an affair with her husband. In response, Abigail accuses Elizabeth of witchcraft. She stands trial and is acquitted, but then another girl accuses her husband John, and as he refuses to turn in others, he is killed, along with the old comic figure, Giles Corey. Allegorical protest against the McCarthy anti-Communist "witch hunts" of the early 1950s. Set in 1692 Salem witch trials. post modern, 1953

A Raisin in the Sun

(Lorraine Hansberry, 1959). Her father's 1940 court fight against racist housing laws provided the basis for Hansberry's play about the Younger family, who attempt to move into an all-white Chicago suburb but are confronted by discrimination. The first play by an African-American woman to be performed on Broadway, it also tore down the racial stereotyping found in other works of the time. The title comes from the Langston Hughes poem "Harlem" (often called "A Dream Deferred").

Harriet Beecher Stowe

(1811-1896) American author and daughter of Lyman Beecher, she was an abolitionist and author of the famous antislavery novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin. , A woman who was dismayed by the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law and was determined to expose its terrible inhumanity, especially the cruel splitting of families, to the North. She wrote the book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" which was a driving political force during the Civil War.

Charles Dickens

(1812-1870) English literary realism. His novels illuminate the enorous inequities of class in the 19th century England. His detailed and sympathtic depiction of the English lower classes is what came to be termed Literary Realism.

Frederick Douglass

(1817-1895) American abolitionist and writer, he escaped slavery and became a leading African American spokesman and writer. He published his biography, The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, and founded the abolitionist newspaper, the North Star.

The Mill on the Floss

(1860) George Eliot. Maggie Tulliver has to choose betweeen her each of her suitors and her duty to her family. Adores brother Tom Tulliver. Mr. Tulliver (victim of character and circumstances), Philip Wakem (Maggie's sensible lover-encourages her to give up her unnatural self-denial)

E.E. Cummings

(1864-1962)-graduate of Harvard University, uses little or no punctuation, rarely capitalizes words unless for emphasis (he also chose not to capitalize his name), became known for his concern for the individual and his ability to recognize life's ironies. Wrote "since feeling is first" and "anyone lived in a pretty how town." , 1894-1962; free verse poet; experimented w/ syntax & typography to make these part of the meaning of the poem; celebrate individualism, love, nature's beauty Works sometimes repeated a letter in such a way that it was visually interesting to see and sometimes more visually relevant to the meaning of the poem itself. He broke words and sentences in half between lines to create different sounds or emphasis, which wouldn't be as impactful if one only heard his poems Renowned for his fractured syntax

Walden

..., Book written by Thoreau in which he wrote about his experiences while living alone on Walden Pond

Emily Dickenson

A recluse and poet who wrote mostly about the interaction between the inner self and the outside world (a strongly transcendentalist theme). Wrote over 1700 poems, only 7 were published during her lifetime. Used slant rhyme in many of her poems (half rhyme). This device is used by poets to surprise the reader. , 1830-1886; Amherst, Mass

Crime and Punishment

A novel by Dostoyevsky about the poor student Raskolnikov who kills two old women, because he believes he is beyond the bounds of good and evil. This psychological novel examines Raskolnikov's anguished mind before, during and after the crime. 1866

Tom Jones

A novel written by Henry Fielding, 1749, England, that tells the story of an orphan who travels all over England to win the hand of his lady. , (1749) Henry Fielding. Tom Jones, a foundling, is raised by Alworthy, who also raises his nephew, Blifil, Jones' chief antagonist. Despite having multiple affairs, Tom's true love is Sophia Western, whom he eventually marries.

John Dryden

As a poet, Dryden seldom gives expression to his personal feelings, but writes about public matters and issues. His readership, in that sense, is not personal, but national. As a playwright, he produced a number of successful and popular plays, most notably All for Love, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra that adheres to the three classical unities of drama. As a student of Latin and Greek literature, Dryden developed a critical eye, so much so that Johnson called him "the father of English criticism." He also wrote mock.-epic poetry and scathing political satire, most notably Absalom and Achitophel, in which he analyzes the aftermath of the supposed conspiracy to assassinate Charles II and the brouhaha surrounding the Exclusion Bill. He converted to Catholicism when James II took the throne and lost his public offices and stipends when William of Orange returned England into the hands of the Established Church. Dryden almost single-handedly established the heroic couplet as the dominant verse form as is apparent in the works of many authors that follow on his heel as, for example, Pope. English Neoclassical Period , (1631 - 1700) English poet, critic and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England. Pioneered the use of the heroic couplet and tried to recreate the natural rhythm of speech while expressing his thoughts as precisely as possible. Absalom and Achitophel, MacFlecknoe.

A Passage to India

At a tea party, the protagonist promises the person he met at the mosque and Adela to a trip to the Marabar Caves, where later Adela accuses the protagonist of rape , -MISS QUESTED!! Ms Quested and Mrs Moore, two high class British women, journey to India in order to talk with Quested's fiance, who lives luxuriously in India. While most of the British have learned to take advantage of the Indians, Quested and Moore befriend the impoverished doctor Aziz. Aziz is accused of raping Quested, and trial alters his view of the British from "passive oppressors" to "unwelcome tyrants."

Arthur Miller

A playwright of the postwar period who reinforced David Riesman's image of modern American society as a "lonely crowd" of individuals without internal values, hollow at the core, groping for a sense of belonging and affection.

Romeo and Juliet

A tragic tale of forbidden love in which the families of Montague and Capulet are all "punish'd" in the end.

Tom Stoppard

A twentieth-century British playwright who was born in Czechoslovakia. He first achieved acclaim with his Rosencrantz and Guilderstern are Dead, which featured Hamlet's "attendant lords," hilariously alone and adrift on an unknown stage. His other works include Jumpers and Travesties. Tom Stoppard wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, and The Coast of Utopia. Co-wrote Shakespeare in Love. His themes include human rights, censorship, and political freedom

Jack London

A young California writer and adventurer who portrayed the conflict between nature and civilization in his novels. American author, journalist, and social activist , A naturalists who achieved a degree of popular success with his adventure stories The Call of the Wild (1903) and The Sea Wolf (1904), celebrating the triumph of brute force and the will to survive.

Maxine Hong Kingston

Chinese-American author who wrote about the early lives of Chinese immigrants , The woman warrior:Memoirs of a girlhood among ghosts tells of a shy girl protagonist who finds resolution when she breaks her female silence. China men about the prejudice the first chinese men in America faced along with the stregth they had

Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe, 1959, Nigeria Achebe was one of the founders of a Nigerian literary movement that drew upon the traditional oral culture of its indigenous peoples. Set in 1890s. Novel shatters stereotypical European portraits of native Africans - Achebe portrays complex, advanced social institutions and artistic traditions of Igbo culture prior to its contact with Europeans. Also offers varying depictions of the white man Choice to write in English allowed Achebe to respond to earlier colonial accounts of Africa, his choice in language was thus political. Tries to avoid stereo typing About the degradation of a small Igbo village due to Christian missionaries Book deals with the rise and fall of Okonkwo. Two faults: his impatience for less successful men and his pride over his own status. Christian missionaries arrive and take over, and set up a church and proceed to convert the tribesmen to Christianity, initially facing much resistance. Okonkwo will not change. Missionary Mr. Brown overzealous. Okonkwo's suicide is symbolic of the self-destruction of the tribe, for he was a symbol of the power and pride that the tribe had, and with its demise, the tribe's moral center and structure gave way to a more dominant one Important quotations "Turning and turning in the widening gyre / the falcon cannot hear the falconer; / Things fall apart; the center cannot hold; / Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world." Opening stanza of Yeat's poem, "The Second Coming," as an epigraph to the novel. Achebe hints at the chaos that arises when a system collapses. Hyperbolic and even contradictory nature of the passage's language suggests the inability of mankind to thwart this collapse. "And at last the locusts did descend. They settled on every tree and on every blade of grass; they settled on the roofs and covered the bare ground. Mighty tree branches broke away under them, and the whole country became the brown-earth color of the vast, hungry swarm. Passage from chapter 7, represents allegorically the arrival of the colonizers, which will alter the landscape and the psychology of the Igbo ppl irreparably. "They Settled" - anaphora. The branches that break under the weight of the locusts are symbols of the traditions and cultural roots of Igbo society, which can no longer survive under the onslaught of colonialism and white settlement. Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm-oil with which words are eaten. Comes from chapter one, alludes to highly sophisticated art of rh of Igbo ppl. This rhetorical formalness offers insight into the misunderstandings that occur between the Igbo and the Europeans. Whereas the latter value efficiency and directness in their dealings, the Igbo value an adherence to their cultural traditions, which include certain patterns of dialogue considered inefficient by Western standards. The metaphor of words as food is highly appropriate, given the almost exclusively agricultural nature of Igbo society. They award the same value that they place on food, the sustenance of life, to words, the sustenance of interaction and hence community. He had already chosen the title of the book, after much thought: The Pacification of the Primitive tribes of the Lower Niger. Last sentence of the novel, satirizes the entire tradition of western ethnography and imperialism itself as a cultural project, and suggests that the District commissioner knows very little about his subject and projects a great deal of his European Colonialist Values into It. Themes, Motifs and Symbols 1. The Struggle between Change and Tradition 2. Varying Interpretations of Masculinity 3. Language as a sign of cultural Difference 4. Chi 5. Animal Imagery 6. Locusts, fire

Virgil

Classical Roman poet, author of Aenied , A Roman poet who lived from 70 to 19 B.C.E. His "Aeneid" describes the legendary foundation of the Roman state by the fugitive Trojan prince, Aeneas. , 1. most distinguished poet of the Augustan age 2. wrote the aenied to rival Homer 3. patroned by Augustus 4. Bringing back old roman values

Edgar Allen Poe

American author, poet, editor, and literary critic, considered part of the Romantic period. Best known for tales of mystery and macabre. Considered the inventor of the detective fiction genre , (1809-1849). Orphaned at young age. Was an American poet, short-story writer, editor and literary critic, and is considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre. Failing at suicide, began drinking. Died in Baltimore shortly after being found drunk in a gutter.

Louisa May Alcott

A leading female transcendentalist who wrote Little Women and other novels to help support her family

David Copperfield

Dickens, 1850 after surviving a poverty-stricken childhood, the death of his mother, a cruel stepfather, and an unfortunate first marriage, a boys finds success as a writer; themes: plight of the weak, importance of equality in marriage, dangers of wealth and class

The Stranger

First novel by Albert Camus, published in 1942, and an illustration of his absurdist world view. The novel follows the aimless life of the narrator, Meursault, a young man living in Algiers. It opens with his mother dying and him going to the funeral, where he does not cry. He then returns to Algiers where he becomes entangled in the life of his neighbor, Raymond, who abuses his mistress, who has been cheating on him. Meursault also gets involved in an emotionless and indifferent romance with a former co-worker, Marie, who wants to marry him. One day on the beach Meursault takes Raymond's gun and shoots the brother of Raymond's mistress, who has been harassing them, and once he is taken into custody all around him are astonished at his lack of remorse for his crime and his general emotionless indifference to everything around him. His trial focuses mainly on this part of his character, and he is sentenced to be executed by beheading. By the end he abandons all hope for the future and accepts the "gentle indifference of the world", which makes him feel happy.

The Sorrows of Young Werther

Goethe, 1774 highly influential precursor to Romanticism; the mind is subject to emotion rather than to reason; a young man involved in a tragic love affair commits suicide , novel about a sensitive young man whose hopeless love for a virtuous married woman drives him to suicide; showed them of individualism and developed the idea of a romantic hero, who defies the world and sacrifices himself for some great cause spawned copycat suicides

Edmond Rostand

French dramatist wrote The Romancers and The Woman of Samaria.Most of his plays are light, with no dark themes—-he reserved that for his poetry, like Cyrano de Bergerac. His story Chantecler was brought to the United States in 1910.

Blaise Pascal

French philospher/scientist/mathematician who invented the calculator and worked with probability, conic sections. Famous in math texbooks for his "triangle" of numbers. , (1623 - 1662) He had great influence on the french enlightenment and combined philosophy, reason, and roman Catholicism. Existentialist

Alexandre Dumas

French writer remembered for his swashbuckling historical tales (1802-1870). Wrote "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo".

The Three Musketeers

Written by Alexandre Dumas wrote, about three revolutionaries who bond together and save the King. Dumas, a Frenchman, also wrote the sequel-—Twenty Years Later—-and The Count of Monte Cristo, later made famous by James O'Neill. , 1844 novel (originally serialized) by Alezander Dumas that combines historical fiction with the romantic. It follows a poor young nobleman named d'Artagnan in his quest to become a Musketeer. In the process he befriends the Three Musketeers Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and the four together try to foil a plot by the Cardinal Richelieu.

James Agee

an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S. His autobiographical novel, A Death in the Family1958), won the author a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.

Carl Hiaason

is an American journalist, columnist, and novelist. He wrote Hoot Young adult novel, 2002 Story takes place in coconut Cove, Florida, where new arrival Roy makes a bad enemy, two oddball friends, and joins an effort to stop the construction of a pancake house which would destroy a colony of burrowing owls who live on the site Book won a Newberry honor award in 2003

Gary Paulson

is an American writer who writes many young adult coming of age stories about the wilderness. He is the author of more than 200 books, 200 magazine articles many short stories, and several plays, all primarily for young adults and teens. "Hatchet" is a 1987 three-time Newbery Honor-winning wilderness survival novel.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

(1772 - 1834) English Romantic poet and very good friends with William Wordsworth. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Kubla Khan, Biographia Literaria. Work is representative of Romantic Literary Movement which took place between 1750-1850

Lord Byron

(1788-1824) dramatized himself as the melancholy Romantic hero that he described in his work, Childe Harold's Pilgrimage. , Was an important British Romantic poet. His works include "She walks in Beauty" and the unfinished "Don Juan." Many consider him to embody the spirit of Romanticism. He died from an illness contracted while in Greece, where he was supporting their independence movement.

James Fennimore Cooper

(1789-1851) Wrote numerous sea-stories as well as the historical romances known as the Leather stocking Tales, featuring frontiersman Natty Bumppo. Among his most famous works is the romantic novel, The Last of the Mohicans, which many people consider his masterpiece.

George Bernard Shaw

(1856-1950) Born in Dublin, worked in London. Freethinker, feminist, socialist, vegetarian writer of more than 50 plays that focus on the conflict between thought and belief. "Pygmalion," "Arms and the Man," "Man and Superman," "Major Barbara," "Mrs. Warren's Profession." , 1900- English-Realist- Pygmalion,Candid,Man and Superman, Major Barbara- social issues: class prostitution, poverty, adultery, socialism,

Treasure Island

(1883) Rober Louis Stevenson. Jim Hawkins (narrator), a young boy who goes on a journey to discover pirate treasure. Long John Silver, former pirate, goes to take back treasure; shifting loyalties. Dr. Livesey, steady, practical leader of the expedition.

Albert Camus

(1913-1960) -French existentialist who stated that in spite of the general absurdity of human life, individuals could make rational sense out of their own existence through meaningful personal decision making.

Babbitt

(1922) novel by Sinclair Lewis, the character, an American real estate agent in NYC is portrayed as a loud, overoptimistic boor who thinks only about money and speaks in clichés A satire on the American middle class, 1922 Set in the modern Midwestern city of Zenith A self-satisfied person concerned chiefly with business and middle class ideals like material success, a member of the American working class whose unthinking attachment to its business and social ideas is such to make him a model of narrow-mindedness and self-satisfaction.

Lorraine Hansberry

(1930-1965) African American playwright whose Raisin in the Sun was the first play by a female African American ever produced on Broadway , African American author of A Raisin In the Sun. The play talked about a working class African American family struggling against poverty and racism.

Amy Tan

(born in China) But an American writer. She is widely hailed for its depiction of the Chinese-American experience of the late 20th century. Her works explore mother-daughter relationships. Her most well-known work is The Joy Luck Club, which has been translated into 35 languages. In 1993, the book was adapted into a commercially successful film. , Amy is one of the most successful Asian American writers. Amy earned a degree in linguistics too. She began to create language programs for develop mentally impaired children. She published her first book in 1989 and continued since then.

Friedrich Nietzsche

- (1844-1900) German intellectua , German philosopher who said that "God is dead," that lackadaisical people killed him with their false values. Said that Christianity and all religion is a "slave morality." He also said that the only hope for mankind was to accept the meaninglessness of human life, and to then use that meaninglessness as a source of personal integrity and liberation. Also stated that from this meaninglessness people called Supermen would exert their mind on other and rise to power. he appealed to people who liked totalitarianism. , Also influenced by evolutionary philosophies, this German philosopher (1844-1900) was a forerunner of the modern existentialist movement; he stressed the role of the Ubermensch or "Superman," who would rise above the common herd of mediocrity. Saw doctrines of Christianity as slave morality concocted by weak to disarm the strong. Thought qualities of courage, love of danger, intellectual excellence and beauty superior to qualities such as humility, patience, brotherly helpfulness, hope and love. Theories of evolution, he thought, just reinforced his beliefs. As expressed, his theories were unsystematic and unclear. His work was not much thought of at time by contemporaries though would be used later, in the 20th century, to support notions of Aryan superiority.

Edith Wharton

- an author - wrote "The House of Mirth" a book of short stories. She contrasted the aristocracy of America with the upper class of Europe. She personified the American dream. , A close friend of Henry James's, she shared his subject matter of wealthy Americans with too much leisure time on their hand. She wrote profusely and published over forty books. Almost like Isabel Archer in James's Portrait of a Lady Wharton remained unhappily married for twenty-eight years because of her principles until she divorced her husband on the grounds of adultery. She wrote novels and short stories and won the Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Innocence.

Oscar Wilde

-The Picture of Dorian Gray (his only novel, in which he refined his ideas about the supremacy of art in a series of dialogues and essays, and incorporated themes of decadence, duplicity, and beauty , An Irish-born author of the late 19th century, who spent most of his career in England. Wilde was famous for his flamboyant wit and style of dress. His best known works include the novel THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, the play THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, and the poem THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL (Jail). He urged Art for Art's Sake. Wilde was convicted of homosexual activity and spent about two years in prison. The Ballad of Reading Gaol is based on his experiences there.

John Steinbeck

20th century American novelist whose stories often centered around the plight of the worker. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962 and wrote The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. , -US writer 1902-1968 who chillingly captured official heartlessness/rising political anger inspired by the depression

James Baldwin

20th century author whose writings, mostly about black experience in the US, include novels such as Go Tell it on the Mountain, and essays such as The Fire Next Time.

The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1892 About a mother decline into madness after childbirth and being placed on the "rest cure." During her stay, she becomes obsessed about the Wallpaper. Sees woman trying to escape from wallpaper only to find out that woman is herself. Satire against medical practices and conventions of marriage and gender roles. By Charlotte Perkins Gilman Short story, chonicles a woman's nervous breakdown

The Canterbury Tales

Chaucer (14th Century) First work in English vernacular. Stories of 12 pilgrims traveling to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket. A picture of English society through estates satire (social commentary on people's estates: life, property) Mostly written in verse, though some are written in prose, presented as a part of a story telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together.

Jean-Paul Sarte

existentialism- philosophical movemnt that takes as its starting point reflection on hthe concrete existence of humans and what is means to be a human being living in the sort of world in which we actually love , A major French existential writer. He authored "Nausea" and "Being and Nothingness". His beliefs included that human beings are compelled to formulate their own ethical values and cannot depend on tradition for that. There is no hope, and no religion could alp with that. The sole purpose was to exist , 1905-1980

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Victor Hugo, 17th century Set in medieval Paris; Tells the story of the beautiful gypsy Esmerelda, condemned as a witch by the tormented archdeacon Claude Frollo, who lusts after her

Aldous Huxley

"Brave New World" a questioning of scientific humanism; "Doors of Perception": a rationalistic mysticism based on drugs [peyote] as doors to a world of dreams & illusion. "Obscure knowledge that All is in all- that All is actually each."

Dante

(1265-1321) Italian poet and Renaissance writer. His greatest work is The Divine Comedy.

William Shakespeare

(1564 - 1616) English poet and playwright considered one of the greatest writers of the English language; works include Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. , (1564-1616) Playwright of Elizabethan literature known for his original characters, diversity, and language; wrote Julius Caesar, Henry IV, Richard II, Othello, Macbeth, and Hamlet. , -Considered the greatest English poet and dramatis

John Milton

(1608-1674) was an English poet who wrote during the Caroline Age and Commonwealth Period. Best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost. , An English poet who made a crucial contribution to the resistance theory, when, in 1649, he wrote The Tenure of Kings and Magistrates.

Voltaire

(1694-1778) French philosopher. He believed that freedom of speech was the best weapon against bad government. He also spoke out against the corruption of the French government, and the intolerance of the Catholic Church. , (1694-1778) An upper middle class Frenchman who was inspired by Bayle. He wrote Letters concerning the English Nation which attacked Catholic bigotry in France by highlighting the advantages of England. He gained extreme fame by popularizing Newton's scientific discoveries in his book "Elements of the Philosophy of Newton."

James Boswell

(1740 - 1795) Scottish lawyer and author best known for his biography of the literary figure Samuel Johnson, which is considered the greatest biography written in the English language.

The Violent Bear It Away

(Flannery O'Connor) Francis Marion Tarwater has been raised by his fanatical, tyrannical grand-uncle Mason to be a prophet; when Mason dies, though, he gives up and thus suffers tortures of doubt and indecision. He briefly weighs the value of humanistic rationalism, as his uncle George exemplifies, but suddenly experiences a vision and accepts his calling.

Oedipus Rex

(Greek mythology) a tragic king of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta , He becomes king of Thebes before the action of the play begins. He is renowned for his intelligence and his ability to solve riddles—he saved the city of Thebes and was made its king by solving the riddle of the Sphinx, the supernatural being that had held the city captive. Yet He is stubbornly blind to the truth about himself. His name's literal meaning ("swollen foot") is the clue to his identity—he was taken from the house of Laius as a baby and left in the mountains with his feet bound together. On his way to Thebes, he killed his biological father, not knowing who he was, and proceeded to marry Jocasta, his biological mother. , Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that tells the story of Oedipus, a man who becomes the king of Thebes after fleeing from Corinth, where he was adopted by that state's childless king, when he learns he is destined to kill his father and marry his mother. He becomes king by solving the riddle of the sphinx and is given the hand of Jacosta, his biological mother. Ignoring the advice of the blind prophet Tiresius Oedipus eventually learns of his true parents and gouges his eyes out and asks to be exiled.

Antigone

(Greek mythology) the daughter of King Oedipus who disobeyed her father and was condemned to death Explored what happens when an individual's moral duty conflicts with the laws of the state , A daughter of the accidentally incestuous marriage between King Oedipus of Thebes and his mother Jocasta. She attempts to secure a respectable burial for her brother Polyneices

Geoffrey Chaucer

(c. 1340-1400) English poet; he wrote The Canterbury Tales, 23 stories of pilgrims assembled at the Tabard Inn in Southwark.

Kate Chopin

- She was a southern writer of the 20th century. She explored the oppressive components of traditional marriage. She wrote a book called, "The Awakening," which received a lot of public abuse. The book described a young wife and mother who left her family for personal fulfillment. The book also talked about adultery, suicide, and women's aspirations

Mark Twain

..., United States writer and humorist best known for his novels about Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1835-1910) , He was America's most popular author, but also renowned platform lecturer. He lived from 1835 to 1910. Used "romantic" type literature with comedy to entertain his audiences. In 1873 along with the help of Charles Dudley Warner he wrote The Gilded Age. This is why the time period is called the "Gilded Age". The greatest contribution he made to American literature was the way he captured the frontier realism and humor through the dialect his characters use. , Master of satire. A regionalist writer who gave his stories "local color" through dialects and detailed descriptions. His works include The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, "The Amazing Jumping Frog of Calaverus County," and stories about the American West.

Don Quixote

1605 Spanish "novel" in part inspired by author Miguel de Cervantes's life. Obsessed with the chivalric ideals he has heard about the eponymous, middle-aged protagonist sets out on a series of adventures to defend the helpless and destroy the wicked, accompanied by a befuddled laborer named Sancho Panza who the protagonist convinces to be his squire.

Charlotte Bronte

1816-1855 Bronte is most widely known for her novel, Jane Eyre, which was heavily influenced by charlotte harsh childhood. In her lifetime Charlotte experienced lack of success in career because she was a woman. One of her books, Shirley, illustrates her frustration with gender inequality. Her most profound impact on literature stems from her feminist views as demonstrated by female characters who are deviations from the 19th century norms found in Romantic novels.

Fanny Crosby

1820-1915. Blinded at six weeks by inept medical treatment. raised with a string religious grounding by her mother and grandmother. produced over 8,000 texts. Blessed Assurance, Only a step, To God be the Glory

Jane Eyre

1847 Gothic novel by Charlotte Bronte that is essentially a bildungsroman of the eponymous protagonist. It involves strong elements of social criticism, not to mention a strong, independent female protagonist, that challenged class, gender, and religious roles of the time. The protagonist is an orphan brought up by a cruel aunt, Mrs. Reed, who eventually sends her to the Lowood School, which is run by the hypocritical Mr. Brocklehurst. He is ousted after an epidemic that claims the life of one of the protagonist's dear friends, Helen Burns, and the protagonist goes on to enjoy the rest of her time at the school. After teaching briefly, she becomes the governess at a manor called Thornfield, which is owned by a dark man named Rochester. The protagonist falls in love with him and he proposes, but it is unveiled that he is already married to a woman who has gone mad. The protagonist leaves, but years later returns and tracks down Rochester, who has been disfigured by a fire set by the mad wife (Bertha) that burned down Thornfield. They marry and live happily ever after. Gothic Novel about an impoverished young woman as she struggles to maintain her autonomy in the face of oppression, prejudice, and love

Vanity Fair

1848, William Makepeace Thackeray Satirizes society in early 19th century Britain - makes fun of the aristocracy and middle classes: their greed, corruption, and vanity The story of two young women whose lies take them in and out of every segment of English society, each of which can be mocked and displayed for laughs in turns. Bitter and caustic humor, picaresque

A Tale of Two Cities

1859 novel by Charles Dickens set in the late 18th century. It has a typically Dickensian plot with lots of characters and twists and turns, but it revolves around the love triangle of Charles Darnay, Lucie Manette, and Sydney Carton and takes place in London and Paris on the eve of and during the French Revolution. Lucie and Darnay marry, and in the end Carton tricks the imprisoned Darnay, switches places with him, and is executed instead of Darnay, giving Carton's life meaning and saving the lives of Lucie, Darnay, and their daughter.

Tess of the d'Urbervilles

1891 novel by Thomas Hardy that aroused controversy for its sympathy for England's lower classes, particularly for rural women victimized by the country's rigid social morality. It follows the eponymous young woman T of the title, whose family discovers they are descendants of a noble family. They send T to be raised by a wealthy family of the same last name, who are not actually related at all. That family's son Alec rapes T, and she eventually flees and gives birth to a baby, named Sorrow, that soon dies. She begins a romance with a young man named Angel and they marry, but when they confess their respective indiscretions to each other, T forgives Angel but he does not forgive her for what Alec did to her. Angel leaves for Brazil. T struggles, her father dies, and they are evicted from their home, but she refuses help from Alec, who is trying to woo her back. Eventually she becomes Alec's lover but kills him when Angel comes back and is eventually caught and executed.

Jonathan Swift

18th Century/Age of Reason. Gulliver's Travels. A Modest Proposal , (1667-1745) was a scornful critic of England's rising merchant class. He wrote great satires, Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal in which he presents human nature as deeply flawed. , (1667 - 1745) Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist and political pamphleteer. Considered the foremost satirist in the English language for works such as: Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Tale of a Tub, Drapier's Letters.

The Good Soldier

1915 novel by Ford Madox Ford that portrays pre-WWI society's shifting morals and loss of steadfast social rules. It is narrated, unreliably, by John Dowell in a form that prefigures stream of consciousness, following Dowell's recollections of his and his wife's relationship with Edward and Leonora Ashburnham in non-chronological order. Dowell's narration mainly explores the discovery of the numerous affairs of his wife Florence and Edward, who end up having an affair with each other. These intrigues lead to Florence's suicide, Leonora's moral torture of Edward and his suicide, and the madness of the Ashburnham's young ward Nancy, whom Dowell eventually takes care of. , Ford, Ford Madox - 1915, Ford Madox Ford, It is set just before World War I and chronicles the tragedy of ***, the soldier to whom the title refers, and his own seemingly perfect marriage and that of two American friends. The novel is told using a series of flashbacks in non-chronological order, a literary technique that formed part of Ford's pioneering view of literary impressionism.

To the Lighthouse

1927 novel by Virginia Woolf that is written in fragments of stream-of-consciousness narration from various characters. The events of the novel almost entirely take place in these characters' minds over the course of a single afternoon. It follows Mr. and Mrs. Ramsay and their children at a summer vacation house near a lighthouse. They throw a party one evening, and the memories of the party slip away. The narration speeds through the next ten years, in which Mrs. Ramsay dies, and leaves the last section to detail the return of the remaining family members to the house ten years later, when they finally make a trip to the lighthouse and Lily, a resident painter who began a painting before that party ten years ago, finishes her work. Wolf commited suicide in March 1941 Transition from the Victorian age to modernism ( Industrial revolution, ideas of Marx, Freud, and Eistein, influence of religion weakened). Published shortly after ww1 Does not follow a chronological pace (the first part (one day) takes over half the book Themes: Man V Woman, Meaning of Life, Feminist v Housewife, psychological implications, true beauty, profit of art. Stream of consciousness format Semi- autobiographical Very little dialogue - not plot driven, more about how characters feel

To Kill a Mockingbird

1960 novel by Harper Lee that follows widower and father Atticus Finch, a small-town southern lawyer, and his daughter Scout as they navigate racially-charged events in a small southern town. Southern gothic novel published in 1960. Novel is renowned for its warmth and humor, despite dealing with the serious issues of rape and racial inequality. Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the Depression-era south, defends a black man against an undeserved rape charge, and his kids against prejudice.

The Woman Warrior

1976 memoir by Maxine Hong Kingston known for its blending of voices and styles and for taking autobiography into the postmodern literary age. Kingston blends autobiography with ancient Chinese folk tales as she tells the stories of a long-dead aunt, "No-Name Woman"; a mythical female warrior, Fa Mu Lan; Kingston's mother, Brave Orchid; Kingston's aunt, Moon Orchid; and herself. These stories integrate her own experiences with "talk-stories" - blends of Chinese history, myths and beliefs - that her mother tells her.

Samuel Beckett

20th Century Irish novelist, playwright, poet, and essayist. Noted for common themes of "man's inability to break the cycle". "Waiting for Godot", "The Endgame". Style: Absurdist (Structure of plot goes in a circle and nothing happens;Very character driven) Existentialism (No God, futility of life)

Toni Morrison

20th century American novelist and essayist on African-American themes, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1993 , 1931-Present Born in Ohio. Divorced with 2 sons. English professor- ended her carreer at Princeton, retired in 2006. Nobel Prize in 1993. Pulitzer for "Beloved" in 1988. "Jazz"

Sophocles

494-406 BCE, Greek writer of tragedy Oedipus Rex , A writer, Is one of three ancient Greek tragedians (writers) whose plays have survived. Famous play writer, dramatic competitions of the city-state of Athens. , Man's nature, his problems, and his struggles became the chief interest of Greek tragedy, rather than emphasis on religious or moral problems.

Homer

8th Century BC Greek of the Homeric/Heroic Period, poet wrote the odyssey and Iliad. Highest virtue: manliness, courage and excellence

Leo Tolstoy

A 19th century American Romantic who wrote War and Peace , (1828-1910) wrote How Much Land Does a Man Need? - 1886 He died in an obscure railroad station Enlightenment era , (1828-1910) Promoted a simple living: he dressed like a peasant and did physical labor - Tolstoyanism. he wrote "Anna Karenina" "War and Peace" "The Two Tsars of Russia" and "Strider". "War and Peace was based on his experiences in the army during the Crimean war. , (1828-1910) A Russian realist who combined realism in description making him noticed for his famous work "War and Peace"which conveyed his central message of people accepting human love, trust, and everyday family ties.

Henrik Ibsen

A 19th-century Norwegian author who wrote many plays on social and political themes , -used ordinary life as the setting of his plays but examined i in a deeper way, looking at human aspirations and limitations , FATHER OF MODERN DRAMA, AUTHOR OF DOLL'S HOUSE

Tennessee Williams

A Streetcar Named Desire (1948 focused on themes of alcoholism and mental instability), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955) , A major twentieth-century American playwright who wrote The Rose Tattoo, which was then perfromed in Chicago in 1950. The Glass Menagerie, 1944

Ray Bradbury

A contemporary American writer of science fiction short stories and novels which deal with moral dilemas, including The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451.

Candide

A novel by Voltaire that uses fiction as a method of critiquing society. , (1759) novel written by Voltaire in response to the questioning of other writers against the pessimism present in his poem regarding the deadly earthquake of Lisbon in 1755. It was a satire attacking war, religious persecution, and what he considered unwarranted optimism. , (1759); written by François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire); it was a widely read novel attacking war, religious persecution, and unwarrented optimism , "best of all possible worlds" (what book) Was primarily an attack on the popular use of optimism in Voltaire's day. Main ideal of Optimism was that everything in the world was for the best and that suffering was just so that when one person suffers it saves others from suffering in the future. Voltaire depicts this idea with Pangloss, who believes in Optimism to an absurd degree. Pangloss does not act to help people, saying how their suffering is critical to the best of all possible worlds. Another character Martin portrays the alternate belief that everything in the world is bad. He is often right. However, one act of nobility proves that his philosophy is not an absolute. Perhaps the greatest point in Candide though, is Voltaire's cry for tolerance and hard work. The characters in the story are only happy when they finally stop bickering over different beliefs and work to support themselves instead. Themes, motifs, and symbols T - The folly of optimism, the uselessness of philosophical speculation, the hypocrisy of religion, the corrupting power of money M - resurrection, rape, political oppression

The Adventures of Augie March

A picaresque novel by Saul Bellow published in 1953 that features the eponymous protagonist. It is a sort of bildungsroman that often comically explores issues of alienation and belonging, poverty and wealth, and love and loss through a series of occupations, encounters, and relationships that follow the protagonist from childhood to manhood. The protagonist is a modern Everyman whose fate is determined only by the typically American combination of luck and hard work. The novel follows him from job to job, woman to woman, and lifestyle to lifestyle, from Mexico to working with the CIO to sailing with the merchant navy to marrying Stella in Chicago. , Book written by Saul Bellow which depicted Jewish urban and literary life; published in 1953.

Gulliver's Travels

A seventeenth-century English doctor chronicles his travels to four fantastical lands, whose inhabitants the author uses to satirize and critique English society. , Jonathan Swift, 1726. Lilliput (where everyone is six inches tall), Brobdingnag (where everyone is enormous), Laputa (a flying island), The Struldburgs (unhappy immortals who wish they could die), Houyhnhnms (intelligent, clean-living, right-thinking horses), Yahoos (idiotic, dirty, violent creatures who turn out to be people, or at least look like them). , Officially Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of several Ships, is a novel by Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the "travelers' tales" literary sub-genre. It is Swift's best known full-length work, and a classic of English literature , 1726 work by satirist Jonathan Swift that depicts the voyages of the eponymous Lemuel G of the title, who takes to the seas when his business in England fails. On his first voyage he wakes up after a shipwreck on the island of Lilliput, which is inhabited by tiny people, who take in G and eventually use him as a military resource against a neighboring island that the Lilliputians want to subjugate. Next, he ends up on Brobdingnag, an island of giants, where he is sold to the queen as a source of amusement; this section shows the difference between the moral man and the representative man, typified by the grotesque and ignorant giants of the island. His third adventure comes in Laputa, a flying island where the people are devoted to preposterous science and arts with absolutely no practical purpose; Laputa subjugates the cities below it by bombarding them with rocks from above. On his fourth voyage he is marooned on an island rules by sentient horses, the Houyhnhmns, who represent a perfection of nature and who rule over the Yahoos, who are humans in their basest form.

Robert Burns

AKA the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire, and in Scotland as The Bard. Uses Scotich dialect and regionalism in his poetry. Wrote "Auld Lang Syne""A Red, Red Rose"; "A Man's A Man for A' That"; "To a Louse"; "To a Mouse" , (1759 - 1796) Scottish poet and lyricist regarded as the national poet of Scotland and celebrated for his use of the Scots language along with English. Pioneer of the Romantic movement, he also collected folk songs. Poems include "Auld Lang Syne", "To a Mouse", "Scots Wha Hae", and "A Man's A Man for A' That".

Alex Haley

African American author who became famous for his book Roots: The Saga of an American Family (1976). Haley combined fact and fiction in tracing his family's history to his ancestor, Kunta Kinte. , United States writer and Afro-American who wrote a fictionalized account of tracing his family roots back to Africa (1921-1992)

The Catcher in the Rye

After being expelled from a prep school, 16 year old Holden Caulfield goes to NYC where he reflects on the phoniness of adults and heads towards a nervous breakdown Originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, and rebellion. Caulfield is an icon for teenage rebellion Has been frequently challenged for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality. Also deals with complex issues of identity, belonging, connection, and alienation , J. D. Salinger's sole novel, published in 1951. Based partly on Salinger's own childhood but set in post-WWII America, the novel follows Holden Caulfield, an adolescent who feels pressure from all sides to grow up and conform to the rules of the adult world. It's use of slang and profanity and its frank discussions of sexuality had caused it to be banned in many places since its publication. The novel tells of Holden's three days in Manhattan after getting expelled from boarding school but before going home to his family. , Alienation as a form of self-preservation, the pain of maturation, reality in contrast to a flawed perception of reality, our inability to protect innocence from the inevitable corruption of maturation

The Spice and the Devil's Cave

Agnes Hewes, Newberry Honor Book in 1931

Brave New World

Aldous Huxley. 1932. About an outsider raised on the Reservation tries and fails to find love in the World State, a place where people are robbed of their humanity and sedated with the drug soma. , A world that is sterile, regimented, and without soul. Used frequently in regard to modern social and scientific developments. , Looks to the year 2540, where society accepts promisc sex and drug (soma) use and science has made humanity carefree, healthy, and technologically advanced. War and poverty no longer exist, and people are always happy. But these achievements have come by eliminating things from which people derive happiness —. Marx and Lenina are both from this artificial world where babies are made in factories, while John the Savage and Linda are from a Savage Reservation that still practice old ways.

Frankenstein

Also known as The Modern Prometheus, Frankenstein is a novel written by Mary Shelley. The novel is about a scientist named Victor Frankenstein, who in his quest for knowledge, creates a monster through unorthodox means. Once the monster is brought to life, Frankenstein abandons his creation out of fear. This begins a war between man and his creation, which ends very tragically. 1818 Gothic Novel

Eugene O'Neill

America's great playwright of tragedy; author of "The Iceman Cometh," "Long Day's Journey into Night," and "Moon for the Misbegotten' , 20th century playwright. Three of his best known plays are A Long Day's Journey into the Night, Mourning becomes Electra and Iceman Cometh. O'Neill was the first American playwright of significance and give respectability to the American drama. O'Neill won four Pulitzer Prizes and in 1936 won the Nobel Prize. , America's first major playwright. His play, Morning Becomes Electra, is based on the Oresteia cycle of the classical Greek playwright Aeschylus. He situated this story of family murder and divine retribution in Civil War America. He also wrote The Iceman Cometh (shattering the pipe dreams of the denizens of Harry Hope's bar) and Desire Under the Elms.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

American novelist and short story writer. Works belong to romanticism/dark romanticism, cautionary tales that suggest that guilt, sin, and evil are the most inherent natural qualities of humanity Many of his works are inspired by Puritan New England, combining historical romance loaded with symbolism and deep psychological themes, bordering on surrealism. His depictions of the past are a version of historical fiction used only as a vehicle to express common themes of ancestral sin, guilt, and retribution. Set in 17th century Puritan Boston, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity , Originally a transcendentalist; later rejected them and became a leading anti-transcendentalist. He was a descendant of Puritan settlers. The Scarlet Letter shows the hypocrisy and insensitivity of New England puritans by showing their cruelty to a woman who has committed adultery and is forced to wear a scarlet "A".

Walt Whitman

American poet and transcendentalist who was famous for his beliefs on nature, as demonstrated in his book, Leaves of Grass. He was therefore an important part for the buildup of American literature and breaking the traditional rhyme method in writing poetry. , American poet and transcendentalist who was famous for his beliefs on nature, as demonstrated in his book, Leaves of Grass. American Poet, essayist, and journalist. A humanist, he was part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Father of free verse LoG celebrated the freedom and dignity of the individual Whitman volunteered as a nurse in army hospitals during the Civil War

Henry David Thoreau

American transcendentalist who was against a government that supported slavery. He wrote down his beliefs in Walden. He started the movement of civil-disobedience when he refused to pay the toll-tax to support him Mexican War. , A transcendentalist and friend of Emerson. He lived alone on Walden Pond with only $8 a year from 1845-1847 and wrote about it in Walden. In his essay, "On Civil Disobedience," he inspired social and political reformers because he had refused to pay a poll tax in protest of slavery and the Mexican-American War, and had spent a night in jail. He was an extreme individualist and advised people to protest by not obeying laws (passive resistance).

Herman Melville

American writer whose experiences at sea provided the factual basis of Moby-Dick (1851), considered among the greatest American novels , 1819-1891 an uneducated and an orphan. Melville served eighteen months as a whaler. Melville wrote Moby Dick in 1851 which was much less popular than his tales of the South seas. adventuresome years served as a major part in his writing. , An American writer in the 1800s who drew on his experiences at sea and living on South Pacific islands for material and also wrote "Moby Dick". In addition, he rejected the optimism of the transcendentalists and felt that man faced a tragic destiny.

Daniel Defoe

An English novelist of teh late 17th and early 18th who created Robinson Crusoe, an exciting tale about a sailor shipwrecked on a tropical island. This book was a commentary on what it took to survive in the 18th century: entrepreneurial ingenuity and the abilityto improvise.

The Odyssey

An ancient Greek epic by Homer that recounts the adventures of Odysseus during his return from the war in Troy to his home in the Greek island of Ithaca. , A Greek warrior undertakes an arduous journey back to his homeland and his loyal wife and son, experiencing many fantastical adventures along the way.

Paradise Lost

An epic poem by Milton. Wanted to justify the ways of God to man, but made Satan look somewhat heroic. Explains personal liberty and understanding its limits. , Angel leads an unsuccessful rebellion against God and suffers eternal damnation. He devises a plan to corrupt God's newly created beings, Adam and Eve, through deceit. "Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven." Grand, timeless, universal themes. , (1167) an epic poem by the 17th century English poet John Milton. The poem concerns the Christian story of the rise of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. , (1667) First published as 10 book

The Iliad

An epic poem written by Homer which retells the Trojan War - it is about a Mycenaean king Agamemnon who kills the Trojan hero Hector , A Greek epic poem written by Homer, who is thought to have lived some time between 850 and 700 B.C.E. It tells the tale of the Mycenaean siege of Troy.

Animal Farm

Animal Farm is an anti-totalitarian novel written in 1945 Certain animals are based directly on Communist Party leaders 1. Napoleon - Stalin 2. Snowball - Leon Trotsky Used the form of the fable for a number of aesthetic and political reasons Though written as an attack on a specific government, its general themes of oppression, suffering, and injustice have far broader application; modern readers have come to see Orwell's book as a powerful attack on any political, rhetorical, or military power that seeks to control humans unjustly. Group of animals mount a successful rebellion against the farmer who rules them, but their dreams of equality are all ruined when one pig seizes power , A fable about the Bolshevik revolution written by George Orwell. "All Animals are Equal" later: "but some are more equal than others" , An allegoric and dystopian novel by George Orwell. It was published in England on August 17,1945. It reflected on the events leading up the Russian Revolution of 1917 all of the way up to the Stalin era of the Soviet Union. , a group of animals mount a successful rebellion against the farmer who rules them, but their dreams of equality for all are ruined when one pig seizes power; novella, dystopian animal fable

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Author: "the Gawain poet" "pearl poet",Sir Gawain, a knight of Arthurs round table, accepts a challenge by a mysterious, green warrior. He may take a swing at the green knight, so long as in a year and a day the green knight gets his chance. Gawain chops off his head, but the guy picks up his head, and reminds him of the appointment. it is a story of chivalry and loyalty. Part of the Medieval Romance Tradition - which means it focuses on the journey or quest of a single knight. Written in North West Midland Dialect of Middle English

Joseph Conrad

English writer of Polish origin whose novels such as Heart of Darkness and Lord Jim often examined the morality of colonialism

Chinua Achebe

Born a member of the Igbo people in Agidi, Nigeria in 1930 , He is one of contemporary Africa's most famous authors. A member of the Ibo people of eastern Nigeria, he was born in the village of Ogidi. During the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970, he supported the independence effort of Biafra, a predominately Ibo region in eastern Nigeria.

William Golding

English/ British novelist; author of Lord of the Flies; Coral Island was one of his favorite stories; joined Royal Navy; school teacher; loved to read; received Nobel Prize post modern

Salman Rushdie

BR novelist most notable for the death sentence imposed on him by the Ayatollah Khomeini, who thought his novel The Satanic Verses to be blashemous. Magical Realism

The Life of Samuel Johnson

Boswell's 1791 biography

C.S. Lewis

British apologist for the Christian faith and one of the best-known conservative writers of the early 20th century; wrote essays that still convince skeptics of the reality of God; he also wrote "The Chronicles of Narnia", "The Screwtape Letters", and "Perelandra" , An Oxford literary scholar who specialized in Medieval literature and taught at Oxford University, he also wrote popular works on Christian apologetics. He wrote the children's novel series "The Chronicles of Narnia" and has had a significant influence on popular Christian thought since the middle of the 20th century.

H.G. Wells

British author (1866-1946), wrote mainly science fiction including "The War of the Worlds","The Time Machine", and "The Invisible Man" , was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing textbooks and rules for war games. He has been referred to as "The Father of Science Fiction". He wrote The Invisible Man, The War of the Worlds, The Time Machine

George Eliot

British writer of novels characterized by realistic analysis of provincial Victorian society (1819-1880); pen name of Mary Anne Evans; Adam Bede (established her as a novelist), The Mill on the Floss, Silas Marner, Scenes of Clerical Life, The Spanish Gypsy (dramatic poem), Agatha (poem), Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda,

Native Son

By Richard Wright, with Bigger Thomas, Buddy, Vera, the Daltons, Mary Dalton, Gus, G.H., Jack (racism, violence, debasement, naturalism, inequality and social injustice, the effect of racism on the oppressed, the effect of racism on the oppressor, popular culture as a force of racism, religion and drinking as escapism, blindness and the inability to see things as they really are, snow and the overwhelming oppressiveness of whiteness) 1945. Violence, profanity, sexually explicit...banned for a variety of reasons Bigger Thomas, main character, lives in inner city Chicago in 1930s. Suffocates a white woman. Murders her. Sufferes from all kinds of dysfunction as a result of racism, poverty, his life growing up in inner city Chicago. Ends up confessing to his crime. Book expresses society's guilt for why his life turned out the way it did. Black oppression - one of the founding books of modern African American lit , The fear, hatred, and anger that racism has impressed upon Bigger Thomas ravages his individuality so severely that his only means of self-expression is violence. After killing Mary Dalton, Bigger must contend with the law, the hatred of society, and his own destructive inner feelings. This then leads to the murder and of his girlfriend Bessy. Wright is revolutionary in his bluntness and discussion. He also does a great job of showing oppression through the prosecuting lawyer's-Buckley-racism. It also shows how communists such as Mary's boyfriend Jan, and Max his defending lawyer.

The Sound and the Fury

By William Faulkner. A Southern family on the decline crumbles completely when one of his members has a child out of wedlock. Family falls into financial ruin, loses its religious faith and the respect of the town of Jefferson, and many of them die tragically. Title taken from Macbeth. "tale told from [different points of views], full of sound and fury , William Faulkner's 1929 novel, perhaps his most famous and important. It is written in stream of consciousness and split into four parts, narrated by four different voices out of chronological order. It centers on the Compson family, a wealthy family who over a period of years fall into financial and personal ruin. , 1929, Faulkner, four sections, different narrators. First section, mentally disabled narrator named Benjy. Second section, Quentin Compson: he is obsessed by questions of Southernness and the downfall of the American South. He is infatuated with his sister's Caddy's purity, a bit incestous. He commits suicide to escape the torments of his own thoughts. Caddy names her daughter after her brother, Quentin. Downfall of the Compsons, good family ruined by present generation - brother, Benjy was retarded, sister, Candace, had a child out of wedlock - named the Daughter Quentin after her brother that committed suicide. Another brother, Jason, steals money from his family

Don Juan

Byron 1819 , Byron -- written in ottava rima ABABABCC; DJ is Byronic hero, typical brooding "bad guy", mocks many aspects of society, poetry, politics, philosophy, etc.

Death Comes for the Archbishop

Cather Willa, 1927 Concerns the attempt of a catholic bishop and a priest to establish a diocese in New Mexico Territory.

The Blue Cat of Castle Town

Catherine Cate Coblentz Newberry Honor Book in 1950

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Colombian who wrote a magic realism novel, One Hundred Years of Solitude. Won the Nobel Peace Prize in literature in 1982. According to Marquez, fact and fantasy depend on one's point of view. , 1982 recipient of Nobel prize for literature from his novel "100 years of Solitude" that was published in the late 60's. Attended the National University of Bogota (as a natural born Colombian) where he befriended the radical priest, Camilo Torres, who shared the same political views (see chapter 18). Exiled from Colombia, he left for Paris, Cuba (under Castro), and eventually settled in mexico city. His book was inspired by his personal experience in Alcopoco and discusses the entirety of the 19th century - including endless civil wars, the coming of modernization and the railroad, the bloody war of a thousand days, and the banana strike of 1928. Likewise, his writing focused on dictatorship, corruption,, idealism, and foreign imperialism. (P. 383)

Seamus Heaney

Contemporary Irish poet who wrote "Blackberry Picking," another materialist poem. This poem is about the loss of innocence in childhood, but it is also about the inevitability of change. All things rot.

Franz Kafka

Czech novelist who wrote in German about a nightmarish world of isolated and troubled individuals (1883-1924) , (1883-1924): portrayed helpless individuals destroyed by inexplicably hostile and surreal forces: The Trial (1925); The Castle (1926); The Metamorphosis (1915)

Soren Kierkegaard

Danish philosopher, founder of existentianalism, said "truth is subjectivity", religion is a personal matter, and relationships with God require suffering, wrote "Either/Or", The Sickness Unto Death" , Danish philosopher who was the founder of existentialism (1813-1855) , Christian existentialist. Resolved personal anguish over imperfect nature by making a religious commitment to a remote and majestic god. first writer to refer to himself as an existentialist

Bram Stoker

Dracula--Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor Abraham Van Helsing. , The English writer who created the famous vampire story "Dracula" in the late 1800s. , This Victorian novelist was the manager of the famous British actor Sir Henry Irving, when he was a child his mother entertained him with scary stories.

Anne Frank

Dutch-Jewish girl who, with other Jews, hid from the Nazis from 1942 to 1944; she was found and sent to a concentration camp where she died. , In Amsterdam, Holland (Netherlands), born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1929, Franks leave Germany in 1933 to escape Hitlers laws, 1940 Netherlands fell to Nazis, Go into hiding on 1942, Police raid the annex on 1944

A Farewell to Arms

E. Hemingway. A love story which draws heavily on the author's experiences as a young soldier in Italy. Lieutenant Frederic Henry, a young American ambulance driver during WWI. Falls in love with nurse Catherine Barkley. The Battle of Caporetto. In Switzerland, their child is born dead, and Catherine dies due to hemorrhages. , A novel about a disaffected young soldier falls in love with a nurse and flees the war to be with her, she dies in childbirth; written by Ernest Hemingway

All Quiet on the Western Front

Erich Maria Remarque, 1929 , (1929) a novel written by Erich Maria Remarque illustrating the horrors of World War I and the experiences of veterans and soldiers. It was extremely popular, but also caused a lot of political controversy when it was first published, and was banned in Germany in the 1930's. , A novel written by Erich Maria Remarque illustrating the horrors of World War I and the experiences of veterans and soldiers. It was extremely popular, but also caused a lot of political controversy when it was first published, and was banned in Germany in the 1930's. It was about Paul Baumer. , (1929) a novel written by Erich Maria NigNight of Broken Glass, Nov 9 1938 night when the Nazis killed or injured many jews & destroyed many jewish propertysht of Broken Glass, Nov 9 1938 night when the Nazis killed or injured many jews & destroyed many jewish propertysRemarque illustrating the horrors of World War I boots symbolizes raw realities of war

It's Like This, Cat

Emily Neville, Newberry Honor Book in 1964 This 1964 winner is the story of Dave Mitchell, who gets a pet cat because his dad thinks a dog could be good for him , Dave Mitchell is a fourteen-year-old growing up in New York City with his mom, dad, and his cat, Cat. Dave and his lawyer father don't see eye-to-eye very often and their fighting causes his mother's asthma to act up. After Dave meets a girl and befriends a college boy with no family and lots of troubles, he learns that maybe his dad isn't so bad after all.

Samuel Pepys

English diarist whose diary contained detailed descriptions of 17th century disasters in England (1633-1703) , Diarist of the mid-seventeenth century. His diary covers 1660-1669 and records not only his personal affairs but the major events of the time, such as the Great Fire of London. Pepys was also a frequent theatre-goer, and so his diary provides information about what plays were being performed on which dates.

Jane Austen

English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English Literature. Her realism and biting social commentary have given her historical importance among scholars and critics.

Long Day's Journey Into Night

Eugene O'Neill, 1956 Story centers on Edmund and the rest of the Tyrone family, but is really an autobiographical account of the dysfunction of O'Neill's own family, set on one day in August 1912. The father is a miserly actor, while the mother is a morphine addict, and the brother is a drunk; they argue and cut each other down throughout the play. , (Eugene O'Neill, 1956). O'Neill wrote it fifteen years earlier and presented the manuscript to his third wife with instructions that it not be produced until 25 years after his death. Actually produced three years after he died, it centers on Edmund and the rest of the Tyrone family but is really an autobiographical account of the dysfunction of O'Neill's own family, set on one day in August 1912. The father is a miserly actor, while the mother is a morphine addict, and the brother is a drunk; they argue and cut each other down throughout the play. , 1940 play by Eugene O'Neill that, based on his own childhood, is about a family that is so burdened by their past that they are not able to live in the present. It is set in the summer home of the Tyrone family in 1912. Over the course of one day the play reveals the alcoholism of the father, James Tyrone, and the two children, Jamie and Edmund; Edmund's tuberculosis; and the morphine addiction of Mary, the mother and James's wife.

This Side of Paradise

F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1920 , 1920 novel of student life at Princeton by F. Scott Fitzgerald that depicted the revolution in manners and morals during the Jazz Age, evidenced first among young people and especially on the college campuses.

Dracula

Fictional vampire in a gothic horror novel by Bram Stoker,1897, Victorian

Moby Dick

First published in 1851, it is considered to be one of the Great American Novels and a treasure of world literature. Tells the adventures of wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whale ship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab has one purpose on this voyage: to seek out a ferocious, enigmatic white sperm whale. In a Previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg, which now drives Ahab to take revenge. Melville employs stylized language, symbolism, and metaphor to explore numerous complex themes. , a monomaniacal captain tries and fails to kill a monstrous white whale; adventure story, quest tale, allegory; protagonist: Ishmael, Ahab; antogonist: Ahab, great white sperm whale

Jean Racine

French, 1639-1699, "The rule advocate" wrote adaptations of Greek Tragedies. Wrote "Phaedra" followed all neo classical rules. Was hot tempered and made many enemies. Phaedra was hissed off stage and Racine quit the theatre , wrote tragedies set in Greece or Rome that celebrated the new aristocratic virtues that Louis aimed to inculcate: a reverance for order and self-control, characters regal or noble, lofty language, aristocratic behavior , French NEo. knwon for tragedies, pressure on main character, highly criticised Phaedra, strict to NEO Rules character seeks to reconcile passion, stole moliere mistress , 1639-1699 French Playwright. Much of his work treated Classical or mythological events and dealt with universal themes such as patriotism as in Horace, martyrdom, seen in Polyeucte, or in the psychological state of his characters, Phedre.

Gustave Flaubert

Frenchman who perfected the Realist novel; leading novelist of the 1850s and 1860s; author of Madame Bovary , French novelist known for his sharp observations of society and careful writing. Author of Madame Bovary, a book examining the emptiness of bourgeois marriage. Contempt for bourgeois society evident in portrayal of middle-class hypocrisy and smugness

Ethan Frome

Frome Struggles to make a living as a farmer near the bleak Massachusetts town of Starkfield, while his dour wife Zeena whines and complains about her imaginary ailments. When Zeena's destitute cousin, Mattie Silver, a sweet and cheerful young woman comes to live with the couple, the growing friendship between Ethan and Mattie arouses Zeena's jealously and she evicts Mattie from the house. As they are about to part, Ethan and Mattie take a sled ride down the big hill near town. In despair and now aware of their love for each other, they decided to end their lives by crashing the sled. Instead they are both left crippled for life. At the end of the story, the original roles have changed. Ethan is deformed, hopeless, and poorer than ever, and Mattie is now the helpless invalid. Caring for them both - presiding over their wrecked lives - is Zeena , All the long misery of his baffled past, of his youth of failure, hardship and vain effort, rose up in his soul in bitterness and seemed to take shape before him in the woman who at every turn had barred his way. She had taken everything else from him , Plot: Ethan is married to Zeena who is an annoying hypochondriac. He is in love with Mattie. He and Mattie have dinner together when Zeena is gone and break Zeena's red pickle dish. Zeena tries to send Mattie away and Mattie and Ethan end up attempting suicide so as to not be apart. , Edith Wharton. Romanticism (1911). Starkfield, Western Ma. 3rd person.

Hatchet

Gary Paulsen (c) 1987 Brian Robeson, a thirteen year old boy traveling in a small airplane to Canada to spend the summer with his father, is involved in a plane crash in an uninhabited part of the Canadian woods after the pilot dies of a heart attack. Brian then must find a way to survive and in the process, discovers much about himself and becomes a man. The motif within this story is a bildungsroman, or a young boy's coming of age. Contains person v nature confict. Brian, the main character must learn to survive in the wilderness

Thomas Mann

German writer concerned about the role of the artist in bourgeois society (1875-1955) , (June 6, 1875 - August 12, 1955) was a German novelist, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and often ironic epic novels and mid-length stories, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and intellectual. His analysis and critique of the European and German soul use modernized German and Biblical stories, as well as the ideas of Goethe, Nietzsche, and Schopenhauer. , German novelist of the early 1900s whose themes were the constant presence of death amid life and the alienation of the writer from society. His books portrayed an atmosphere of decadence and sadness, the moods of the 1920s and 1930s. His book, the Magic Mountain, depicts this somber atmosphere.

Faust

Goethe, 1808 , Faust is the tragic hero of one of the most powerful and persistent myths about human nature - namely, man's unappeasable drive to learn more than it is, perhaps, wise for him to know and probably more than he can handle. The two best known treatments of this myth are The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe and Faust, a much more complex and profound drama, by Johannes Wolgang von Goethe. Johannes Faustus was a brilliant scholar and necromancer of the early 16th century who, in frustration at his failure to plumb the secrets of nature, entered into a pact with the devil. * In modern times, when physicists were delving into the nature of the atom to unleash nuclear power capable of destroying all life on this planet, they also unleashed a debate as to whether or not they were making a Faustian pact with the devil. *A Faustian bargain is a deal that endangers one's moral values. Closet Drama Faust is a scholar and alchemist who falls into despair because he feels as though he's exhausted the limits of his knowledge. He feels that he will only become complete if he can fuse his life with nature and the universe. In order to find this higher knowledge, Faust makes a wager with the devil Mephistopheles. Faust soon finds his eternal moment in his love for a young girl, Gretchen, whom he then tempts away from her religious and moral life. Faust's relationship ends in tragedy with Gretchen killing their child and falling into madness. Faust thus becomes dammed never to experience the true knowledge of love that he seeks.

Lord of the Flies

Golding (1954, novel) , A novel written by William Golding about a group of English boys (Jack, Piggy, Ralph, Roger, Sam, Eric, and Simon), marooned on an island, rapidly turn lawless and bloodthirsty Golding born in 1911 - experiences in WW2 had a profound effect on his view of humanity and the evils of which it was capable. Tells the story of a group of English schoolboys (Jack, Piggy, Ralph, Roger, Sam, Eric, and Simon) marooned on a tropical island after their plane is shot down during a war. Free from the rules and structures of civilization and society, the boys descend into savagery and splinter into factions. Some behave peacefully and work together to maintain order and achieve common goals, while others rebel and seek only anarchy and violence. In his portrayal of the small world of the island, Golding paints a broader portrait of the fundamental human struggle between the civilizing instinct - the impulse to obey rules, behave morally, and act lawfully - and the savage instinct - the impulse to seek brute power over others, act selfishly, and scorn moral rules, and indulge in violence. Although Golding's Story is confined to the microcosm of a group of boys, it resounds with implications far beyond the bounds of the small island and explore problems and questions universal to the human experience.

Hamlet

Hamlet is upset that, upon his father's apparently accidental death, his uncle Claudius usurped the throne and married his mother. His father's ghost appears, revealing the Claudius murdered him and seduced Gertrude; the ghost tells Hamlet to seek revenge. Hamlet feigns madness to mask his purposes. He stages a play, "The Murder of Gonzaga," recreating his father's murder and proving Claudius's guilt by his recreation. When Hamlet confronts the queen, he kills Polonius, who had hidden in her room. Hamlet survives assassination when sent with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to England. Laertes joins Claudius in a plot to kill Hamlet during a fencing match, either via a poisoned blade or drink. Ophelia, rejected by Hamlet, goes made upon the death of her father, and drowns in a stream. At the fencing match, Gertrude unknowingly drinks from the poisoned cup and Laertes wounds Hamlet. The blades get switched and Hamlet stabs Laertes fatally with the poisoned one. Gertrude now falls from her poison and dies. Laertes reveals the plot and Hamlet kills Claudius. Hamlet wills his kingdom to Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, and dies in Horatio's arms.

William Thackeray

He wrote Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero; where all the characters were are flawed, realistic; not heroic, romantic (by William Thackeray) , Victorian Period - He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society. Amelia Sedley, Becky Sharp., He wrote Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero; where all the characters were are flawed, realistic; not heroic, romantic , Catherine, Vanity Fair: story opens with Miss Pinkerton's Academy for Young Ladies, where the protagonists Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley have just completed their studies and are preparing to depart for Amelia's house in Russell Square. Becky is portrayed as a strong-willed and cunning young woman determined to make her way in society, and Amelia Sedley as a good-natured, lovable though simple-minded young girl. , author of Vanity Fair: A Novel Without A Hero. he point, of course being that things should be portrayed realistically and heroes don't really exist.

Bartleby the Scrivener

Herman Melville At the beginning, the narrator has two scriveners, nicknamed Nippers and Turkey, to copy legal documents by hand. Nippers (the younger of the two) suffers from chronic indigestion and Turkey is an alcoholic,, but the office survives because in the mornings Turkey is sober and Nippers is irritable, while in the afternoons Nippers has calmed down and Turkey is drunk. Ginger Nut, the office boy, gets his name from the little cakes he brings the two scriveners. And increase in business leads the narrator to advertise for a third scrivener, and he hires the forlorn-looking Bartleby in hopes that his calmness will soothe the temperaments of Nippers and Turkey. At first, Bartleby appears to be a boon to the practice, as he produces a large volume of high quality work. One day though, when asked to help proofread a copied document, Bartleby answers with what soon becomes his stock response: "I would prefer not to." For a while Bartleby remains willing to do his main work of copying, but he eventually ceases this activity as well, so that he is finally doing nothing. And yet the narrator finds himself unable to make Bartleby leave; his unwillingness or inability to move against Bartleby mirrors Bartleby's own strange inaction. Tension gradually builds as the narrator's business associates wonder why the strange and idle Bartleby is ever-present in the office. Deciding to stay away from work for the next few days for fear that he will become embroiled in the new tenant's campaign to evict Bartleby, the narrator returns to find that Bartleby has been forcibly removed and imprisoned at The Tombs. The narrator visits him, finding him even glummer than usual. As ever, Bartleby rebuffs the narrator's friendliness. Nevertheless, the narrator bribes a turnkey to make sure Bartleby gets good and plenty food. But when the narrator visits again a few days later, he discovers that Bartleby has died of starvation, apparently having chosen not to eat. Sometime afterward, the narrator hears of a rumor to the effect that Bartleby had worked in a dead letter office, but had lost his job there. The narrator reflects that the dead letters would have made anyone sink into an even darker gloom. , Short story by Herman Melville that is narrated by a character known simply as the Lawyer. The Lawyer uses this story as an opportunity to describe the law-copyists in his office, particularly B, who seems to be a model copyist but who one day refuses to help the Lawyer with a document, leaving him stunned. B eventually stops doing his work and is even living at the office, but the Lawyer is unable to make him leave. Dead letters are emblems of a man's morality and of the failures of his best intentions, through Bartleby; the narrator has glimpsed the world as the miserable scrivener must have seen it. Bartleby could be having a mental illness, or symbolically be an imprisoned citizen in a harsh, capitalist society. He has no motivation to live and starves himself, which could indicate depression

A Doll's House

Henrik Ibsen, 1879 Nora's struggle with Krogstad, who threatens to tell her husband about her past crime, incites Nora's journey of self-discovery and provides much of the play's dramatic suspense. Nora's primary struggle, however, is against the selfish, stifling, and oppressive attitudes of her husband, Torvald, and of the society he represents. , 1879 play by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen that became a landmark in the development of dramatic realism. It revolves around Nora and Torvald Helmer, who after tough times are on the up thanks to Torvald's new position at a bank. However, Nora reveals to a friend that she illegally borrowed money to pay for a trip to Italy to help Torvald recover from a serious illness. We find out that the holder of that loan is Krogstad, a low-level employee at the bank who now tries to blackmail Nora with the remained of the loan to keep his job because Torvald is about to fire him, which he eventually does. After some twists and turns Torvald finds out about the loan through a letter and berates Nora. Krogstad forgives the loan and Torvald is overjoyed, but Nora leaves him, saying that Torvald has always treated her like a "doll".

The American

Henry James, 1877 Newman is looking for a world different from the simple, harsh realities of 19th century American business. He encounters both the beauty and the ugliness of Europe, and learns not to take either for granted. The core of the novel concerns Newman's courtship of a young widow from an aristocratic Parisian family.

The Portrait of a Lady

Henry James Portrait often considered to be James's greatest achievement, wherein he explored many of his most characteristic themes, including the conflict between American individualism and European social custom and the situation of Americans in Europe. A spirited young American woman, Isabel Archer, who "affronts her destiny" and finds it overwhelming. She inherits a large amount of money and subsequently becomes the victim of Machiavellian scheming by two American expatriates , Author: Henry James. This novel is considered James's masterpiece. The text depicts the life of Isabel Archer who moves from the States to England to live with her aunt after the death of her father. There she meets her cousin Ralph, her uncle Mr. Touchett, and the wealthy Lord Warburton, who proposes to her shortly after her arrival. She rejects him in favour because she fears to lose her freedom if she enters a marriage. She learns that her former suitor Caspar Goodwood has followed her. She encounters him in London. He proposes to her and she rejects him, but promises to mull the proposal over in the next two years. When her uncle grows sick and dies he leaves Isabel a seizable fortune. While she is staying at her uncle's home she befriends Mrs. Touchett's friend Madame Merle. Later Isabel, Mrs. Touchett, and Madame Merle travel to the Touchett's house in Florence where Isabel meets Gilbert Osmond through introduction by Madame Merle. She marries Osmond despite the urging of her friends that he will not make a good husband for her. She ignores the advice and learns that he is a controlling tyrant who has raised his daughter Pansy to obey his every wish. When news arrive that Ralph is dying Osmond refuses to let her visit her cousin in England. When Isabel learns that Pansy is the child of Osmond and Merle and that she has been tricked into marriage by the latter, she leaves regardless of her husbands advice. She decides to return to him, however, because she believes in the principles of marriage and because she does not want to abandon Pansy with her cruel father.

Elie Wiesel

Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate is the author of Night, about his experience at Auschwitz. , He and his family and the rest of the town were placed in one of the two ghettos in Sighet. deported the Jewish community in Sighet to Auschwitz-Birkenau. sent to the attached work camp Buna, a subcamp of Auschwitz III-Monowitz. one of the only concentration campers that made it out alive. author of 57 books including Night. United States writer who survived Nazi concentration camps and is dedicated to keeping alive the memory of the Holocaust (born in 1928)

Satires I

Horace, 35 BCE, Roman Period

E.M. Forster

In 1930s and 1940s, he became a well-known radio personality on BBC radio. He eventually was offered Knighthood but declined in 1949. Short story writer, essayist, and librettist. Wrote ironic and well-plotted novels examining class differences, hypocrisy, and the attitudes towards gender and homosexuality during the early 20th-century British society. "A Room with a View." Put FREUD into fiction. , Despite his achievements, he is better known for his novels, all but one completed before 1914--that last novel features main characters Adela Questead and Dr. Aziz.

Anne Bradstreet

In Reference to her chilren English-American writer, was the first notable American poet and was the first woman to be published in colonial America

A Death in the Family

Semiautobiographical novel by James Agee, 1958

Madame Bovary

In this novel by Gustave Flaubert, the title character, dissatisfied with her marriage, seeks happiness in an adulterous relationship, and ultimately commits suicide. , a novel that is a fictionalized account of the life of Delphine Delamare, the adulterous wife of a country doctor who died of grief after deceiving and ruining him Straight forward description of a barren and sordid small-town life in France; focuses on Emma Bovary, a woman of some vitality, who is trapped in a marriage to a drab provincial doctor. Impelled by the images of romantic love she has read about in novels, she seeks the same thing for herself in adulterous affairs. Unfulfilled, she is ultimately driven to suicide, unrepentant to the end for her lifestyle. Realism

Royall Tyler

Invented the character of the Yankee. Exposed to "School for Scandal". Wrote Comedy of Manners with American themes. Satire of American Fascination with Europe. , The Contrast, 1787 , The Contrast - the play that capitalized on the fact that simplicity is far better than superfluous lifestyle. Looks down upon Europeans and makes Americans look better.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta , Before the marriage of Theseus, King of Athens and Hippolyta, Hermia and Lysander try to elope but are followed by Demetrius and Helena. Fairy king Oberon and queen Titania fight over Indian prince. Puck messes up love potion. Athenian actors, including Bottom, rehearse a play. , A PLAY BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, WRITTEN IN 1595. It regards Theseus' and Hippolyta's marriage celebration.

Italo Calvino

Italian, Born in Cuba; Fought against Nazis; Wrote fables and fantasy; Spent time in Paris , 1940s: Calvino was a neo-realist, an Italian style influenced largely by American realist and contemporary authors; anti-fascist authors were drawn to the freedom of their American contemporaries Italo Calvino - important Italian writer who wrote "The Nonexistent Knight" and "Cosmicomics". He was at first entranced with the Communist movement but later became disillusioned. He also promoted many other writers and was often mentioned as a candidate for the Novel Prize for literature. Postmodern Period author

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen, 1813 A popular novel in the English language, it is regarded as the first "chic-lit" novel. The novel encompasses strong female protagonists and their journeys to find love, in a world centered around marriage. Austen provides a spot on view of propriety in society as well as well-rounded, believable characters. Comedy of Manners; the story follows the Main Character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, moral rightness, education, and marriage in her aristocratic society of early 19th century England Themes of moral blindness and self-knowledge. Pride and Prejudice cloud moral judgement In Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Collin's is a static character. Mr. Collins, Mr. Bennet's heir and proposed suitor of the Bennet sisters, is fully described in the story but does not change during the course of the plot. He remains unctuous and odious to Elizabeth. Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth are both round and dynamic characters who change during the course of the plot. Charles Bingley is also a dynamic character because he changes his mind about Jane when he is swayed by Mr. Darcy and then returns to his original admiration of her.

Andromaque

Jean Racine French Neoclassical period which only occurred during the 17th century

Ford Madox Ford

Joined the British military to get away from his wife. Subsequently wrote a novel called The Good Soldier which won him much acclaim. Pre-raphelite

Catch-22

Joseph Heller, 1961 Figuratively speaking, it means any absurd arrangement that puts a person into a double bind An army regulation that a soldier's request to be relieved of active duty can be accepted on the grounds that he is mentally unfit to fight, but any solder that has any sense to be spared from war is obviously mentally sound and must stay Joseph Heller / Catch 22 / Where you're dammed if you don't / and yer dammed if you do

Slaughterhouse-Five

KV renowned for blending science fiction and satire in his novels. In Cat's Cradle, for example, he uses the discovery of a fictional material called ice-nine to satirize the arms race and the indifference of scientists to the consequences of their work. Autobiographical intro. Billy Pilgrim, Billy is in optometry school in upstate NY when he gets drafted into the army. He isn't even a fully trained soldier; his job is to be the chaplain's assistant, leading his regiment in hymns to keep their spirits up. Still, he is deployed to Luxemborg in December 1944 to fight the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge Themes T- the destructiveness of war, the illusion of free will, the importance of sight Bird at the end symbol of the senselessness of war. "Everybody is supposed to be dead, to never say anything or want anything ever again. Everything is supposed to be very quiet after a massacre, and it always is, except for the birds. And what to the birds say? All there is to say about a massacre, things like "poo-tee-weet?" - Vonnegut 24 , 1969 novel by Kurt Vonnegut that recounts the fire-bombing of Dresden with mock-serious humor and antiwar sentiment and is based on Vonnegut's own experiences in WWII. It is narrated in a non-linear, time-shifting way by the protagonist Billy Pilgrim, who has become "unstuck in time". He survives the Dresden fire-bombing as a POW in an airtight meat lock in an old slaughterhouse, but his memories of Dresden haunt him after he returns to the US to lead the epitome of a middle-class life. He is at one point taken by aliens and mated with an actress, but is later returned and predicts his own death.

Leslie Marmon Silko

Laguna Pueblo poet and novelist. Key figure in the First Wave of the Native American Renaissance. Original recipient of the MacArthur Foundation Grant. , is a Native American writer of the Laguna Pueblo tribe, and one of the key figures in the second wave of what Kenneth Lincoln has called the Native American Renaissance. Ceremony - 1977 - Rave reviews - The novel tells the story of Tayo, a veteran of mixed ancestry returning from fighting against Japan in World War II. Returning to the poverty-stricken reservation at Laguna after a stint at the Los Angeles VA hospital, Tayo is recovering from "battle fatigue" (shell-shock), and is haunted by memories of his cousin, who died in the conflict when the two soldiers were forced to take part in the Bataan Death March of 1942. Seeking an escape from his pain, Tayo initially takes refuge in alcoholism. Gradually, helped by the mixed-blood shaman Betonie, he comes to a greater understanding of the world and his own place within it.

War and Peace

Leo Tolstoy. It delineates in graphic detail events leading up to Napoleon's invasion of Russia, and the impact of the Napoleonic era on Tsarist society, as seen through the eyes of five Russian aristocratic families. Portions of an earlier version were serialized in the magazine The Russian Messenger between 1865 and 1867. The novel was first published in its entirety in 1869. Newsweek in 2009 ranked it top of its list of Top 100 Books. , by Leo Tolstoy (Russian); a long novel that tells the story of several Russian families during the Napoleonic Wars and the 1812 French invasion of Russia and occupation of Moscow

A Wrinkle in Time

Madeline L'Engle Meg, Calvin, and Mr. Murry escape to a gray planet called Ixchel which is inhabited by tall furry beasts that care for travelers?

The Jumping-off Place

Mariod Hurd McNeely, Newberry Honor book in 1930

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou, 1969 a black girl growing up in the South struggles against racism, sexism, and lack of power

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1850, Set in Colonial America A novel about Hester Prynne, a woman in seventeenth century New England who is convicted of adultery. At the beginning of the story, she is forced to wear a scarlet letter A on her dress as a sign of her guilt. Hester will not reveal the identity of her partner in adultery. Her husband comes to realize who her lover is and takes revenge on him. Eventually, her dying lover publicly admits his part in the adultery. , A book that talks about adultery in the colonies and how it was punished by printing an "A" in the garments of the guilty, this book is important due to the preservation of this type of knowledge, which let us know how society functioned and what traditions gave way to new ones when the country of the United States formed.

Beowulf

Often viewed as archetypical Anglo-Saxon literary work and as a cornerstone of modern literature. Orature, Anonymous, heavily Germanic World of Beowulf depicts and the heroic code of honor that defines much of the story is a relic of pre-Anglo-Saxon Culture Story Set in Scandinavia, thought to be the work of a single poet Great warrior goes to Denmark on a successful mission to kill Grendel; he returns home to Geatland, where he becomes king and slays a dragon before dying Composed 700 AD, had been an oral tradition for several years prior to that. Pagan poem told by a Christian poet. Often Christian ideas are being forced into motivation for the characters. Old English Poetry

Oliver Twist

One of Charles Dickens most famous characters. It raised issues and gave force to the debate about conditions in work houses and led to a reform.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

One of the most widely read and deeply penetrating books of its time. Many historians have credited the novel with contributing to the outbreak of the Civil war Written with abolitionist goal, written in outraged response to Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Story of a slave sold from Kentucky into a life of danger and uncertainty. Embolden by his abiding faith - allows him to forgive his final slave master's torture. Rescues Eva, white girl, whose father buys him and intends to emancipate him after Eva's death, but his killed before he can. Sold to evil Simon Legree eventually dies a martyr's death. , 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe; deep moral conviction; displayed humanity and suffering of slaves; featured agonies of slave families and mother's journey of escape; exposed Northern racism and brought out idea of slavery when before there was not much awareness; over one million copies sold by 1853; alarmed southern whites (what if slavery outlawed?)

One day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

One result of the thaw in Soviet internal politics that followed Nikita Khruhchev's rise to power in 1956 was that some major Russian writers could finally be published. One of the more famous was Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, whose account of his time in the Soviet government's Siberian prison camps was entitled... , Short but powerful novel written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn describing the horrors of life in a Stalinist concentration camp Story is set in a soviet labor camp in the 1950s and describes a single day of an ordinary prisoner. , novel written by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, first published in November 1962 in the Soviet literary magazine. The story is set in a Soviet labor camp in the 1950s, and describes a single day of an ordinary prisoner, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. Its publication was an extraordinary event in Soviet literary history—never before had an account of Stalinist repression been openly distributed

1984

Orwell, 1948 , book written by George Orwell, announced an insane world of dehumanization through terror in which the individual was systematically obliterated by an all-power elite; key phrases: Big Brother, doublethink, Newspeak, the Ministry of Peace...Truth...Love

Saul Bellow

Perhaps the foremost among the American novelists who came into prominence after WWII, 1976 Nobel Prize winner Bellow is a part of the novelistic mainstream. His books have the rich flavor of his urban Jewish upbringing. Henderson the Rain King and Herzog are his two most famous works.

George Orwell

Political novelist and essayist whose pointed criticisms of political oppression propelled him into prominence toward the middle of the 20th century Socialist, spoke openly against the excesses of governments Works are marked by clarity, intelligence and wit, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and belief in democratic socialism , 1984--The Oceanian province of Airstrip One is a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, and public mind control. Big Brother, the quasi-divine Party leader who enjoys an intense cult of personality, but who may not even exist. Big Brother and the Party justify their rule in the name of a supposed greater good.[1] The protagonist of the novel, Winston Smith, is a member of the Outer Party who works for the Ministry of Truth (Minitrue), which is responsible for propaganda and historical revisionism. His job is to re-write past newspaper articles , - Animal Farm and 1984. "Shooting an Elephant," "Politics and the English Language"- best known essay on language in English

Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury, 1953 1953 dystopian novel which presents a future American society where books are outlawed and firemen burn any house that contains them. The plot takes place in a futuristic America. Guy Montag decides to buck society, stop burning books, and start seeking knowledge. Themes of censorship, knowledge v ignorance, religion as a knowledge giver. Themes of creation of a mass culture : Guy Montag lives in a futuristic American society where he works as a fireman burning books, which are deemed to having no purpose. Montag, however, sees purpose in books and steals some from each of the fires, only to be caught by his captain. Montag escapes arrest and travels outside of the city to move on to enlighten others with books, leaving behind his old city that has been destroyed.

Ovid

Roman Classical

Call It Sleep

Roth, Henry - , 1934 novel by Henry Roth that tells the story of a young boy growing up in the Jewish immigrant ghetto of NY's Lower East Side in the early 20th-century. The boy, David Schearl, is caught between the violence of his father, Albert, and the degradation of life in the streets of NY tenement slums.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Russian writer expelled from Russia for describing the horrors of labor camps , (1918-)-Russian author of One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a novel detailing life in a Stalinist concentration camp. , Wrote "One Day in the Life of Ivan Denishovick" which was about the concentration/labor camps in Russia. He won the Nobel Price and Khrushchev had the book published as part of the De-Stalinization program. "Gulag Archipelago" had him exiled from Russia. , A Russian novelist who wrote many pieces including 'A Day in the Life of Ivan Denosovich', a realistic novel depicting conditions in on of the Soviet prison labor camps. In 1970, he was awarded the Nobel prize for Literature.

Boris Pasternak

Russian writer whose best known novel was banned by Soviet authorities but translated and published abroad (1890-1960) , author of Dr. Zhivago in the USSR, about the USSR, who was part of the dissident movement against Communist control/censorship (published in Italy in 1957) , (1890 - 1960): Russian author of Dr Zhivago, a novel about the human side of the Russian Revolution and its aftermath - exposed many of the brutalities of the Stalin era. Was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. The Soviet govt under Khrushchev would not allow Pasternak to go to Stockholm to collect the prize. According to Communist ideologues, the book had put too much emphasis on individual freedom. Pasternak did, through this novel and its status as a Nobel winner, help focus more Western attention on Russia and its 20th century history.

Waiting for Godot

Samuel Beckett, 1949 Samuel Beckett's play that identified the unrealistic; two men wait for an appointment that may or may have not been made; the suspense is not what is going to happen, but what is exactly happening right now

Robert Louis Stevenson

Scottish novelist; Treasure Island, Kidnapped, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Requiem (famous poem)

A Good Man is Hard to Find

Short story by Flannery O'Connor that epitomizes the genre of Southern Gothic. The story follows a family on vacation who get lost and whose car flips before they are found by the Misfit, an escaped convict.

Miguel de Cervantes

Spanish writer best remembered for 'Don Quixote' which satirizes chivalry and influenced the development of the novel form (1547-1616)

Marcel Proust

Swann's Way An esteemed French writer who sought to integrate psychological elements, especially regarding suppressed memories, into literature. His most famous work is the multi-volume Remembrance of Things Past (1913-1927). , 20th century French author; wrote semi-autobiographical Remembrance of things Past, which recalls bittersweet memories of childhood and youthful love and tries to discover their innermost meaning; lived like a hermit in a soundproof apartment for ten years, withdrawing form the present to live in the past. , French intelectual and writer. Satirical and introspective in his work, Proust's central theme involved the affirmation of life. His most ambitious work runs over 3000 pages and includes more than two thousand characters. It is a classic of modern literature.

The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath Autobiographical novel A young woman (Esther Greenwood) whose talent and intelligence have brought her close to her dreams but must overcome suicidal tendencies EG is a mentally disturbed individual who has it all yet isn't happy. She is unsure of what to do with her life and attempts suicide, which ends up not killing her, and instead ends up in a mental institution. She eventually overcomes her depression but it hangs over her threatening to descend again.

Ceremony

Tayo, a veteran of Laguna and white ancestry returning from fighting against Japan In ww2. Upon returning to the poverty-stricken Laguna reservation after a stint at a LA VA hospital recovering from injuries sustained in war, Tayo continues to suffer from "battle fatigue" (shell shock), and is haunted by memories of his cousin Rocky who died in the conflict during the Bataan Death March of 1942. Seeking an escape from his pain, Tayo initially takes refuge in alcoholism. However, with the support of Old Grandma, he is helped by ceremonies conducted by the mixed-blood Navajo shaman Betonie. As a result, Tayo comes to a greater understanding of the world and his own place within it as a Laguna man.

The Aeneid

Tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the romans. A Trojan destined to found Rome, undergoes many trials on land and sea during his journey to Italy, finally defeating the Latin Turnus and avenging the murder of Pallas , Vergil's Latin epic poem. Story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy. He became the ancestor of the Romans. Aeneas is also mentioned in Iliad. First half of poem is about his journey from Troy to Italy. Second half accounts Trojan's victory against Latins.

J.D. Salinger

The American novelist whose book The Catcher in the Rye, published in 1950, represented the disappointments of a post-war generation.

The Diary of a Young Girl

The Diary of a Young Girl is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. , by Anne Frank (autobiographical literature set between 1942-1944) 1st published in 1952, chronicles her life in Nazi Germany , The Frank family is arrested on Augsut 4, 1944 by the Nazis after Anne does not write for 3 days. The diary is forced to end. Otto Frank is the only one of his family who survives and publishes Anne's diary, as she always wanted to publish a book. Her diary is one of the few artifacts of the Holocaust.

T.S. Eliot

The Wasteland. American who became a British citizen; won the Nobel Peace prize in literature; wrote poetry and drama

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass

The autobiography of the abolitionist Frederick Douglas. Published in 1945 when Douglas was only 27, the book tells the story from childhood until his escape to freedom at the age of 20. Self-educated slave, abolitionist. Without his approval, became the first African American nominated for vice president of the United States.

The Wasteland

The poem, written in 1922 by TS Eliot, contrasts the spiritual bankruptcy of modern Europe with the values and unity of the past. Displayed profound despair. Considered the foundation of modernist, 20th century poetry. , The (1922) T. S. Eliot's epic poem, depicting a world devoid of purpose or meaning. Modern poem, elegiac in form which uses metaphor and allusion T.S. Elitot's The Waste Land is associated with the Modern Literary Movement which took place between 1900 -1940. The Modern Movement was characterized by open form and free verse

The Grapes of Wrath

The story follows the fortunes of a poor family as they travel from the Dust Bowl region to California. based on the great depression written by John Steinbeck , 1939 novel by John Steinbeck that follows the Joad family as they make their way from Oklahoma to California during the Dust Bowl, seeking jobs, dignity, and a future.

Notes from Underground

The underground man:consists of the "notes" that the man writes, a confused and often contradictory set of memoirs or confessions describing and explaining his alienation from modern society. He complains that man's primary desire is to exercise his free will, whether or not it is in his best interests. In the face of utilitarianism, man will do nasty and unproductive things simply to prove that his free will is unpredictable and therefore completely free, bitter about life, utilitarianism. exercise free will even in unwanted, useless ways just to prove that we have it, are unpredictable , bitter about life, utilitarianism. exercise free will even in unwanted, useless ways just to prove that we have it, are unpredictable, 1864, from perspective of unnamed narrator, attacks Western philosophy, first existentialist novel Fyodor Dostoyevsky

An American Tragedy

Theodore Dreiser. (1925) Clyde Griffiths, whose troubles with women and the law take him from his religious upbringing in Kansas city, to the town of Lycurgus, New York. Materialistic Hortense Briggs, farm girl Roberta Alden (who drowns), aristocratic Sondra Finchley. Clyde is found guilty of murdering Roberta, and sentenced to death. Abortion, societal ills.

The Metamorphosis

This is a novella by Franz Kafka. It is a tale of psychological terror, in which a salesman named Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect. A family man named Gregor finds himself as a bug when he wakes up one day. He can hardly get up and he can't speak. His family is worried but can't get into his locked room and he can't even open the door. A clerk chief comes in and when the door is finally opened, he gets scared and runs away. Gregor is locked in his room. He feels bad because he can't provide for his family, and they slowly stop caring about him. They eventually think that it is not really him because if it were he would have left and not "tortured" them like this. Gregor agrees, and dies.

The Inferno

This was an epic poem about Dante's view of hell. He wrote about he went through hell with Virgil and saw the souls who committed sins. These souls are separated based on their sins. The badder the sin, the lower you go in hell. There are nine circles: Limbo, which consists of people who are good, however, were not Christian. These include prophets, great scientists, and Virgil himself. Limbo is similar to paradise, yet it's in hell. Next it is lust, people who love everything, then Gluttony, people who eat or consume too much. Then it is greed, people who are similar to gluttons, however, do not use what they collect in any way possible. Next it is anger, people who are angry all the time or depressed about everything. The angry souls are punished in water. People fight for air. The sullen just end up drowning. Then it is Heresy, people who have their own views on religion, in this case Christianity. Next it is violence, people who are violent against other unreasonably. Then it is Fraud, the largest circle. Dante included people here that lied, and hurt others such as priests and other corrupted politicians. This circle contains of 10 rings, each a different way to lie that hurts not only you, but others. Finally, there is the worst circle and the lowest of them all, Treachery. This is betrayal. The only 3 souls here is Lucifer, Judas, and Brutus. Lucifer betrayed God, Judas betrayed Jesus, and Brutus betrayed Julius Caesar. This is Dante's Inferno. True path blocked by three beasts representing the sins Dante must overcome

The Crying of Lot 49

Thomas Pynchon, , This novel turns on the rivalry between mail distributing firms Thurn und Taxis and Tristero, and features the LSD-prescribing Dr. Hilarius, a former Nazi mad scientist. Identify this novel in which Oedipa Maas investigates the connection between the fictional Courier's Tragedy and a bunch of other weird stuff after the death of Pierce Inverarity. , Pynchon, Thomas -1966 , Thomas Pynchon, possibly unearthing the centuries-old conflict between two mail distribution companies, Thurn und Taxis and the Trystero (or Tristero). The former actually existed, and was the first firm to distribute postal mail; the latter is Pynchon's invention. The novel is often classified as a notable example of postmodern fiction. , 1965 novel by Thomas Pynchon. It follows Oedipa Maas, who finds out that an ex-boyfriend, Pierce Inverarity, has died and named her executor of his estate. While executing her duty she becomes obsessed with numerous mysteries involving the symbol of a muted post horn and a mysterious word inserted into a play - mysteries that could end up being completely meaningless: the novel ends without resolving them.

Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird: focuses on six-year-old Scout Finch, who lives with her older brother Jem and their widowed father Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem and Scout befriend a boy named Dill who visits Maycomb to stay with his aunt each summer. The three children are terrified of, and fascinated by, their neighbor, the reclusive "Boo" Radley.

Sinclair Lewis

United States novelist who satirized middle-class America in his novel Main Street (1885-1951) , Famous 1920s author who wrote Babbitt and Main Street - presented small town Americans as dull and narrow-minded. He was the first American to receive (1930) a Nobel Prize for literature.

Joseph Heller

United States novelist whose best known work was a black comedy inspired by his experiences in the Air Force during World War II (1923-1999) uses black humor to attack the dreadful impact of modern warfare

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Victorian Period - authors. One of the most prominent poets of the Victorian Era. Poetry was widely popular in England and US during her lifetime

As I Lay Dying

William Faulkner , In the 1920s in the American South, a deceased woman's husband and children undertake a difficult journey to Jefferson to bury her corpse. , 1930 novel by William Faulkner that is much more sparse and clear than many of his works. It is composed of 59 segments narrated by 15 different characters and follows the Bundren family over a series of days as they travel from their home to the town of Jefferson to bury the family's matriarch, Addie, whose body they carry with them. Told in stream-of-consciousness fashion by fifteen different speakers in 59 chapters. In its depiction of the Bundren family's quest to Jefferson to bury their dead matriarch, Addie, amongst her "people," against the threats of flood and fire, the novel explores the nature of grieving, community, and family.

The Awakening

Written by Kate Chopin in 1899. The Awakening portrays a married woman who defies social convention first by falling in love with another man, and then by committing suicide when she finds that his views on women are as oppressive as her husband's. The novel reflects the changing role of women during the early 1900s.

The Magic Mountain

Written by Thomas Mann 1924. Competing views on politics and culture. Before the war, Mann was ultra conservative. He became more moderate after the war. His books wee burned by Nazi soldiers. This is important because we see in writing how political views changed after the war , This book starts with Hans Castorp visits his TB infected cousin at the Sanatorium Berghof for 3 weeks. However he ends up staying there 7 years when also being contracting TB. The international clientèle at the sanitarium are an allusion to Europeans frivolous delusional behavior on the brink of war. There Castrop falls in love with another patient , 1924 novel by Thomas Mann that is considered one of the greatest works of German literature in the 20th century. It takes place almost entirely in sanatorium high in the Swiss Alps, where, while visiting a cousin with tuberculosis, protagonist Hans Castorp himself develops the illness and is forced to stay seven years while he recovers. During that time he encounters a collection of people who represent all sides of pre-WWI Europe, exploring all the issues and debates surrounding modernity at the time.

Save Me the Waltz

Zelda Fitzgerald, 1932

The Screwtape Letters

__________________ is organized into a series of letters between a senior demon and a junior tempter. , In what C. S. Lewis novel does a senior devil give advice to his nephew Wormwood on how to corrupt a human soul?

Robinson Crusoe

a man is shipwrecked on an island, where he lives for more than 20 years, fending off cannibals and creating a pleasant life for himself

The Call of the Wild

a pampered dog (Buck) adjusts to the harsh realities of life in the North as he struggles with his recovered wild instincts and finds a master (John Thorton) who treats him right; novel, adventure story, setting late 1890s , Jack Landon. Shows how a tame dog comes to revert to his original primitive state. When boldspirited Buck is removed from his comfortable California estate and thrust into the rugged terrain of the Klondike, we see the savage lawlessness of man and beast. Book on survival of the fittest. , 1903 short novel by Jack London that draws on London's experiences during the Klondike Gold Rush and on his ideas about nature and the struggle for existence. It is about a dog named Buck who is kidnapped from his California home and sold north to become a sled dog during the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th century. Experiencing brutality and savage conditions, he slowly turns wild, eventually leading a pack of wolves by the end.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

a troubled Russian author who wrote Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov and War and Peace in the later half of the 19th century, portrayed troubled, not-rational characters Fyodor renowned as one of the world's greatest novelists and literary psychologists. Works grapple with deep political, social, and religious issues while delving into the often tortured psychology of characters whose lives are shaped by these issues. Active in socialist circles, largely because of his opposition to the institution of serfdom. After prison, became conservative, with concern for traditional values

Diary of Samuel Pepys

about the coronation of King Charles II; not written for people to read, but became historical account; happy about the restoration of the kingdom to power; wrote about the London Fire and the people who were affected, and also was the king's connection Diary provides much insight into the Restoration Period of English Literature. He kept a diary for ten years from 1660 to 1669 in which he detailed his daily life and the events of the day, which included the great plague in London and the Great Fire. He also wrote with candor about his health and sexual life.

The Color Purple

aStory of a protagonist who is repeatedly raped by a man she thinks is her father. A missionary family in Africa adopts the result children. The Protagonist's sister, Nettie, works for the missionary family, and the novel takes the form of a series of letters between the sisters. , Author: Alice Walker. This epistolary novel is narrated by and about Celie, who begins writing letters to God because her father Alphonso abuses and rapes her. Celie has already borne two children which her father has taken away and presumably killed. Her mother dies and Alphonso takes a new wife but continues his abusive behaviour toward her. A man known only as Mr.____ wants to marry Celie's younger sister Nettie, but eventually is convinced by Alphonso to marry Celie. When Nellie escapes her father's household and seeks refuge with Nettie and Mr.____, who have a joyless marriage. Mr.____ is attracted to Nettie and she flees from him and is never heard of again. Kate, Celie's sister-in-law tells her not to put up with Mr.____'s abuse. Harpo, his son, marries the girl Sofia after she gets pregnant. Celie is amazed to see how Sofia resists Harpo's and Mr.____'s attempts to subdue her as she is physically stronger than her husband. When the mistress of Mr.____, Shug Avery, a lounge singer, falls ill, he takes her into his house, and after initial animosities, Celie grows to like her and nurses her. Celie is confused by her feelings as she is sexually attracted to the singer. After Sophie leaves Harpo, he opens a bar in which Shug sings every night. The friendship between the two deepens when Shug learns about Mr.____'s abusive habits. Sofia returns for a visit and is asked by the mayor's wife, Mrs. Millie, to work as their maid. When she replies "hell, no" the mayor strikes her and she strikes back. She is sentenced to twelve years of service as the mayor's maid. Shug marries Grady, but begins a sexual relationship with Celie. With Shug's help Celie finds letters Nettie has been sending her, but which have been kept from her by Mr.____. In the meantime Nettie has struck up a friendship with the Samuel and Corinne and has traveled to Africa with them to do missionary work. Because Nettie resembles their two children Adam and Olivia, she suspects that Nettie has had a past with Samuel. Nettie finds out that the two children of the couple are in fact the two children Celie was forced to give up and that Alphonso is her and Celie's step-father. Their real father had been lynched by a mob of whites envious of his success. Alphonso confirms this story to Nettie and she begins to lose her faith, but with the help of Shug achieves a new type of faith. Celie finally tells Mr.____ how she feels about his behaviour and leaves him with Shug and Squeak, Harpo's new wife, to live in Tennessee. There she becomes a successful seamstress and eventually returns to Georgia and learns that Mr.___ has reformed his ways and that her step-father died and that she has inherited the house and land. She settles down with Shug and Nettie returns, now married to Samuel.

Erich Maria Remarque

author who based his best-selling novel, "All Quiet on the Western Front," off of real-life experiences attained while in the German army , born Erich Paul Remark, he was a German author, his most famous work being All Quiet on the Western Front (1929.) At the age of 18 he was conscripted into the German Army and sent to the Western Front, where he was wounded. After the war he began writing. , German. his view was the same as owen, sassoon and graves. refuses to present the actions of the soldier as heroic, and focuses on the role that random chance plays in determining who lives and who dies. explores the idea that the world they once knew hs changed and ones country is no longer the most important thing. "and we saw that there was nothing of their world left. We were all at once terribly alone and alone we must see it through." the idea of the LOST GENERATION. he was a german patriot who left germany.

The Picture of Dorian Gray

the portrait of a sinful young man ages while the young man depicted in the portrait remains youthful; English Gothic novel , is an English Gothic novel written by Oscar Wilde, about the portrait of a sinful young man ages while the young man depicted in the portrait remains youthful , Wilde's 1890 gothic novella

Groucho Marx

comic star of the 1920s who lost his fortune in the stock market. , ____ and his brothers made screenplays offering a welcome release from daily worries

The Red Badge of Courage

is a war novel by American author Stephen Crane (1871-1900). Taking place during the American Civil War, the story is about a young private of the Union Army, Henry Fleming, who flees from the field of battle. Overcome with shame, he longs for a wound—to counteract his cowardice. When his regiment once again faces the enemy, Henry acts as standard-bearer.

James Joyce

influential Irish writer noted for his many innovations (such as stream of consciousness writing) (1882-1941)

Lois Lowry

is a Female American author of children's literature She has explored such complex issues as racism, terminal illness, murder, and the Holocaust among other challenging topics. She has also explored very controversial issues of questioning authority such as in The Giver Trilogy. She wrote The Giver, The Giver, winner of the 1994 Newbery Medal, and Number the Stars

Christina Rossetti

is included with the Pre-raphaelite writers who used sensuous images to depict the world. Known for her poems, such as "In the Bleak Midwinter", "Love Came Down at Christmas", (which have been set to music as carols), as well as her long poem, "Goblin Market" , Born in London, England; a devout Christian; many of her poems are about her devotion to God; became an invalid, but in those last years she wrote her best poetry

The Giver

it is set in a future society which is at first presented as a utopian society and gradually appears more and more dystopian; therefore, it could be considered anti-utopian; the novel follows a boy named Jonas through the twelfth year of his life; book allegedly glorified Communism

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

perhaps the greatest of German Romantic authors , (1749-1832) A German author who wrote near the end of the Aufklärung, the German Enlightenment. Goethe's morose The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) helped fuel the Sturm und Drang movement, and his two-part Faust (1808, 1832) is seen as one of the landmarks of Western literature , German poet and novelist and dramatist, influenced Walter Scott

In Reference to her Children

poem written in forty-eight tetrameter couplets by English-American author, Anne Bradstreet (1612-1672) during Colonial American period; maintains the bird reference throughout poem; "I had eight birds hatch in one nest..."

Ivan Turgenev

russian realist. critical of russia's backwardness. peasants are unrevolutionary. idea of nihilism

Fathers and Sons

two generations of people become estranged; Bazarov is a revolutionary medical doctor who turns to nihilism, spurns father who is just "enlightened" and not "revolutionary"; by Turgenev , 1862 novel by Ivan Turgenev that is considered the first modern novel in Russian literature. It primarily follows two young friends Arkady Kirsanov and Bazarov, who are nihilists, and their interactions with their families and others of the older generation. It explores the generational split at that time in Russia between old-order liberals and young nihilists. First Russian Novel to gain international prominence

Charles Perrault

was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. Recorded French fairy tales in the 1600s. The Brothers Grimm recorded German fairy tales in the 18—s. Joseph Jacobs recorded English fairy tales in the 1800s. Little Red Riding hood is a French fairy tale

The Weary Blues

was written by Langston Hughes. It was published in 1926. , in hughes' vernacular. true rhyme. bittersweet. blues were for unburdening oneself

Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

writes with dark humor, writes satires-famous for them, prisoner in WWII, prophet of the future , His works such as Cat's Cradle (1963), Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) and Breakfast of Champions (1973) blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. As a citizen he was a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union and a critical liberal intellectual

Virginia Woolf

wrote Mrs. Dalloway, Night and Day, The Voyage Out, and Jacob's Room; English novelist and essayist; one of the foremost modernist literary figures of 20th century , British novelist who showed how women in the past had suffered from the absence of tradition of writing by women

The Glass Menagerie

(Tennessee Williams, 1944). Partly based on Williams' own family, the drama is narrated by Tom Wingfield, who supports his mother Amanda and his crippled sister Laura (who takes refuge from reality in her glass animals). At Amanda's insistence, Tom brings his friend Jim O'Connor to the house as a gentleman caller for Laura. While O'Connor is there, the horn on Laura's glass unicorn breaks, bringing her into reality, until O'Connor tells the family that he is already engaged. Laura returns to her fantasy world, while Tom abandons the family after fighting with Amanda. , Tom Wingfield financially supports his mother Amanda and his crippled sister Laura (who takes refuge from reality in her glass animals). At Amanda's insistence, Tom brings his friend Jim O'Connor to the house as a gentleman caller for Laura. While O'Connor is there, the horn on Laura's glass unicorn breaks, bringing her into reality, until O'Connor tells the family that he is already engaged. Laura returns to her fantasy world, while Tom abandons the family after fighting with Amanda.

The Last of the Mohicans

1826 novel by James Fenimore Cooper that is based on 1757 French and Indian War in which England and France fought over control of North American colonies. The novel follows white scour Natty Bumppo (aka Hawkeye), and two Indian friends Chingachgook and his son Uncas, the last two of the famous Mohican tribe. They become entangled in the events of the French and Indian War when they rescue the daughters of English Colonel Munro, who are traveling to visit their father at a besieged fort. Eventually the fort is overrun and the daughters are again captured by Magua and his Huron tribe, and in the process of rescuing them again one of the daughters and Uncas, the last of the Mohicans, die. set in upstate ny, 1757 Romantic allegory, symbolizes Native American removal from the land

Self-Reliance

1841 - Emerson - Talks about genius which is to believe your own thought and what is true for you, take pride in your own thoughts/Talks about genius which is to believe your own thought and what is true for you in private heart is true for all men It contains the most thorough statement of one of Emerson's recurrent themes, the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and to follow his or her own instincts and ideas. It is the source of one of Emerson's most famous quotations: "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Some of his quotes NOT anti-society or anti-community; pre-supposes that the mind is initially the subject to an unhappy conformity; calls on individuals to value their own thoughts, opinions, experiences above those presented to them by other individuals, society and religion; "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction," "society everywhere is in conspiracy against the mankind," and "What I must do is all that concerns me, not what people think."

Wuthering Heights

1847 novel by Emily Bronte influenced by gothicism. The frame story involves a man named Lockwood, who moves to an estate on the moors next to one owned by the mysterious Heathcliff, so he asks his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, to tell him about this man. As a young girl Nelly worked at the manor for the owner, Mr. Earnshaw and his family. Earnshaw one day brings home an orphan boy - Heathcliff - and raises him as his own, loving him more than his own son Hindley. However, after Earnshaw's death his real son enacts revenge on Heathcliff, treating him very poorly, and Earnshaw's daughter Catherine, who Heathcliff loves, marries another man. Heathcliff leaves and returns years later, wealthy and intent on enacting his own revenge. He drives Hindley and Catherine to despair, destitution, and death, mistreats his wife, and toys with Catherine's daughter and his own. We later learn that Heathcliff dies and the estate passes on to Catherine's daughter and her new husband. One of the most popular and highly regarded novels in English literature When first published in 1847, Victorian readers found the book shocking and inappropriate in its depiction of passionate, ungoverned love and cruelty (though the novel portrays no sex or bloodshed) Novel based partly on the Gothic tradition of the late 18th century, a style of literature that featured supernatural encounters, crumbling ruins, moonless nights, and grotesque imagery, seeking to create effects of mystery and fear Narrative centers on the all-encompassing, passionate, but ultimately doomed love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and the people around them

The House of Mirth

1905 novel by Edith Wharton that combines the characteristics of a novel of manners with literary naturalism. It tells the story of Lily Bart, an aristocratic woman in New York whose lavish lifestyle puts her heavily into debt, which, along with a false rumor that she is having an affair with a married man, causes her to be shunned from aristocratic society. She manages to barely pay off her debts with inheritance from an aunt's death and that very day kills herself with sleeping pills. , Forced to work as a milliner, the main character of this novel becomes addicted to a sleeping drought that had been prescribed to her previous employer, Norma Hatch. The end of the novel leaves it unclear if that protagonist intentionally overdoses after her family goes bankrupt and her ailing out writes her out of her will.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

1915 stream of consciousness novel by James Joyce that is largely based on the author's own adolescence. It deals with the early life of Stephen Dedalus who struggles with questions of faith and nationality before leaving Ireland to make his way as an artist and details his epiphanies along the way. In the process he slowly casts off his social, familial, and religious constraints, and leaves Ireland to escape from all these limiting pressures. , Semi-autobiographical: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man tells the story of Stephen Dedalus, a boy growing up in Ireland at the end of the nineteenth century, as he gradually decides to cast off all his social, familial, and religious constraints to live a life devoted to the art of writing. As a young boy, Stephen's Catholic faith and Irish nationality heavily influence him. He attends a strict religious boarding school called Clongowes Wood College. At first, Stephen is lonely and homesick at the school, but as time passes he finds his place among the other boys. He enjoys his visits home, even though family tensions run high after the death of the Irish political leader Charles Stewart Parnell. This sensitive subject becomes the topic of a furious, politically charged argument over the family's Christmas dinner A novel about a young man growing up in Ireland and rebelling against family, country, and religion.

Swann's Way

1922 The first volume, published in 1913, of Marcel Proust's immense novel, Remembrance of Things Past. This volume tells two related stories, the first of which encounters a young Marcel, modeled on the author, exploring the French town of Combray and vowing to become an author. The second story jumps back in time fifteen years to tell about the romance between Charles Swann, a friend of Marcel's grandparents who appears regularly in the first story, and his wife Odette, who is presented toward the end of the first story. Swann falls in love with an idealized version of Odette he has constructed and they eventually marry; after time, Swann realizes Odette has been having numerous affairs and is not the woman he imagined her to be. French modernist Discusses social class. Swann is seen as high class, but he knows how to interact with all classes Swann seen as selfish - picks women as to who works best for his own interests. , Proust, Marcel -1922 french modernist, A Volume of À La Recherche du Temps du Perdu. The first few lines focuses on Swann's restlessness, the context of his dreams, and it makes clear that he is mentally ill. Discusses social class, Swann is seen as high class, but he knows how to interact with all classes. Swann is also seen as selfish --> picks women as to who works best for his own interests. Self interest seen again when Odette cheats on Swann. Memory also a big theme serves as learning/orienting tools. Identity and memory are fluid. The environment shapes us.

War of the Worlds

1938 was a story on the radio directed by Orson Welles, it was so realistic people thought that aliens were actually invading , Because of the such high anxiety running around Europe and the United States over Hitler's conquest of the Rhineland and Czechoslovakia, it helped produce strange expressions of fear as the hysterical response to this famous radio broadcast in October. It was a fake radio broadcast telling citizens that aliens had invaded planet earth. , A CBS radio show broadcasted on Halloween that was so realistically presented newscast format that many listeners who turned in late missed the information that it was only a play and actually believed it. Broadcasted by Orson Welles. Many People believed that martians were taking over New York City.

Richard Wright

20th century writer best known for his novels dealing with the black experience in the United States. Two of his best known works are Black Boy and Native Son. The first African American writer to win a broad response from the reading public. , A major African-American novelist who wrote Native Son in 1940 that exposed the plight of residents of the urban ghetto. It was an example of literature of the 30s that told of the social injustice.

The Great Gatsby

A novel depicting the picturesque idea of the self made American man and enterpreneur who rose from obscurity. was written by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Takes place from spring to autumn, 1922, during the Roaring Twenties. It's about a self-made man who woos and loses a married aristocratic woman (Daisy) he loves Modernist novel, Jazz Age. Nick's attitudes towards Gatsby and Gatsby's story are ambivalent and contradictory. At times he seems to disapprove of Gatsby's excesses and breaches of manners and ethics, but he also romanticizes and admires Gatsby, describing events of the novel in a nostalgic and elegiac tone Themes, Motifs, and Symbols: The decline of the American Dream in the 1920s, the hollowness of the upper class Important Quotes I hope she'll be a fool - that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful fool Spoken by Daisy in Chapter 1, offers a revealing glimpse into Daisy's character. Daisy is not a fool herself but is the product of a social environment that, to a great extent, does not value intelligence in women. He had one of these rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you just as you would like to believe in yourself. Chapter 3, Nick's first close examination of Gatsby's character and appearance. Description captures both the theatrical quality of Gatsby's character and appearance. Also, it encapsulates the manner in which Gatsby appears to the outside world, an image Fitzgerald slowly deconstructs as the novel progresses towards Gatsby's death. One of the main facets of Gatsby's persona is that he acts out a role that he defined for himself when he was 17 years old.

Of Mice and Men

A parable about what it means to be human. Steinbeck's story of George and Lennie's ambition of owning their own ranch, and the obstacles that stand in the way of that ambition, reveal the nature of dreams, dignity, loneliness, and sacrifice. Ultimately, Lennie, the mentally handicapped giant who makes George's dream of owning his own ranch worthwhile, ironically becomes the greatest obstacle to achieving that dream. The story begins and ends with Georges endless love for his brother, but unfortunately when Lennie's mental impairment grows from the need to pet animals which leads to their death, to the death of an actual human George has no other choice but to end Lennie's life. , John Steinbeck: George, a small, hardworking man, and Lenny, a tall, strong, and mentally challenged man with a fascination for soft things, travel looking for a place to work. They are hired at a farm where Lenny's fascination for soft things leads him to accidentally kill the owner's son's wife. As they flee the farm, George is forced to shoot Lenny in the back of the head, realizing their dream of owning their own farm together is over. Realism. Set during the great depression, this novel focuses on a poor family of sharecroppers driven from their home by drought, economic hardship, and changes in the agriculture industry.

Theodore Dreiser

A pioneer of naturalism in American literature, Dreiser wrote novels reflecting his mechanistic view of life, a concept that held humanity as the victim of such ungovernable forces as economics, biology, society, and even chance. First Novel, Sister Carrie (1900) Dreiser believed in representing life honestly in his fiction and accomplished this through accurate detail and descriptions of the urban settings of his stories. He also portrays his characters as victims of social and economic forces

Cyrano de Bergerac

A poet, swordsman, scientist, playwright, musician, and member of the Cadets of Gascoyne, a company of guards from Southern France. For all his prodigious talents, he is unattractive, cursed with a ridiculously long nose that makes him insecure and keeps him from revealing his love for his cousin Roxane. , 1897 historical romance play by Edmond Rostand that equally parodied and was influenced by Dumas's Three Musketeers. It is set in Paris in 1640, where the eponymous hero, a brilliant poet and swordsman, has fallen in love with his intellectual cousin, Roxane, who confesses to him that she is in love with Christian, one of C's cadets. C writes to Roxane in the name of Christian, who is a bit of a bumbler, and carries his secret for years, until right before his death Roxane realizes it was Cyrano she loved all along.

Zora Neale Hurston

African American writer and folklore scholar who played a key role in the Harlem Renaissance , Black writer who wanted to save African American folklore. She traveled all across the South collecting folk tales, songs & prayers of Black southerners. Her book was called Mules and Men. , (1901-1960) Novelist, essayist and playwright associated with the Harlem Renaissance movement, she also gained fame as an anthropologist of black culture and was the first black to compile a book of African American folklore , (1891-1960) provide vivid imagery of Black culture, pioneering efforts toward theorizing the African diaspora, and methodological innovations. Zora Neale Hurston was the First to write about the experiences of African-Americans. Their Eyes were Watching God was published in 1937 Alice Walker 1970s; Maya Angelou 1969; Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye 1970

Ralph Waldo Emerson

American transcendentalist who was against slavery and stressed self-reliance, optimism, self-improvement, self-confidence, and freedom. He was a prime example of a transcendentalist and helped further the movement. , American essayist, philosopher, poet, and leader of the Transcendentalist movement. Wrote "self reliance", which was very popular.

Henry James

American writer who lived in England. Wrote numerous novels around the theme of the conflict between American innocence and European sophistication/corruption, with an emphasis on the psychological motivations of the characters. Famous for his novel Washington Square and his short story "The Turn of the Screw." , -psychological realism, "The Art of Fiction", 1884, "Be one on whom nothing is lost", Intentional ambiguity and THE TURN OF THE SCREW, well over 10 novels; literary theories James born in 1843, and raised in Manhattan

History of a Nun

Aphra Behn, One of the first English female writers, prolific dramatist of the Resoration

Beloved

Beloved's identity is mysterious. The novel provides evidence that she could be an ordinary woman traumatized by years of captivity, the ghost of Sethe's mother, or, most convincingly, the embodied spirit of Sethe's murdered daughter. On an allegorical level, Beloved represents the inescapable, horrible past of slavery returned to haunt the present. Her presence, which grows increasingly malevolent and parasitic as the novel progresses, ultimately serves as a catalyst for Sethe's, Paul D's, and Denver's respective processes of emotional growth. , 1988 novel by Toni Morrison that is a landmark in American and black female literature. Set during the Reconstruction era of 1873, the novel deals with the immediate legacy of slavery and with ex-slaves' attempts to recover and forget, ultimately urging readers to confront the history of slavery to heal its legacy. The story unfolds in two time period around Sethe, a former slave who is haunted by the death of her third child, who she killed herself when slave hunters found her after she had escaped. Much later she encounters a young woman named Beloved sleeping on her doorstep, which the novel suggests is the reincarnation of Sethe's dead daughter. Set during the Reconstruction era in 1873, Beloved centers on the powers of memory and history. For the former slaves in the novel, the past is a burden that they desperately and willfully try to forget. Sethe, protagonist, memories of slavery are inescapable. Haunted by murdering her daughter in order to save her from a life of slavery Part of Morrison's project in Beloved is to recuperate a history that has been lost to the ravages of forced silences and willed forgetfulness. Morrison writes Sethe's story with the voices of a people who historically have been denied the power of language. Beloved considered by many to be her best novel, won a Pulitzer prize in 1988

Doctor Zhivago

Boris Pasternak, challenge to communism, tells story of a prerevolutinoary intellectual who rejects the violence and brutality of revolution of 1917 and stalinist years, even as he is destroyed he triumphs because of his humanity and christian spirit , The title of the Pasternak novel about a medical doctor forcibly drafed into Red Army during Civil War that was made into a gorgeous, epic 4-hour film.

Macbeth

Considered one of his darkest and most powerful tragedies. The last of Shakespeare's four great tragedies. Set in Scotland the play is inspired by a witch's prophesy, a man murders his way to the throne of Scotland, but his conscience plagues him and his fellow lords rise up against him A play of contradiction and ambition. Driven to become king, Macbeth will kill any and all that get in his way. He puts his faith in the words am prophesies of three witches. Lady Macbeth is instrumental in Macbeth's ambition, egging him on when he fears he has gone too far, and scheming of greatness On the level of human evil, Shakespeare's Scottish tragedy is about Macbeth's bloody rise to power, including the murder of the Scottish king, Duncan, and the guilt-ridden pathology of evil deeds which generate more evil deeds. Like her husband, Lady Macbeth's ambition for power leads her into an unnatural, phantasmagoric realm of witchcraft, insomnia and madness. But while Macbeth responds to the prophesies of the play's famous trio of witches, Lady Macbeth goes even further by figuratively transforming herself into an unnatural, desexualized evil spirit. Themes: unchecked ambition as a corrupting force, relationship between cruelty and masculinity, kingship v. tyranny

Gertrude Stein

Fictional biography of real life lover of Gertrude Stein is The Autobiography of Alice B Toklas. Stein wrote "Three Lives" and "the Making of Americans". Also famous for her biography of Toklas in which she writes of her life in Paris and the members of the Lost generation and her lover Alice Toklas , American writer of experimental novels, poetry, essays, operas, and plays. In Paris during the 1920s she was a central member of a group of American expatriates that included Ernest Hemingway. Her works include Three Lives (1908), Tender Buttons (1914), and The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas (1933). , A writer who coined writers who during the 1920s wrote about disillusionments with American society a "lost generation" , 1. Modernism and disillusionment , - the fragmented imagery is the point that she is trying to make, there are deeper levels, things can be broken down , -Writing in the style the cubists painted

Pygmalion

George Bernard Shaw, 1912 Shaw born in Dublin in 1856 to middle class protestant family bearing pretensions to nobility. Shaw is considered by some to be the second greatest English playwright, behind only Shakespeare. Pygmalion is the most beloved and popularly received, if not the most significant in literary terms Professor of phonetics Henry Higgins makes a bet that he can train a bedraggled Cockney flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, to pass for a duchess at an ambassador's garden party by teaching her to assume a veneer of gentility, the most important element, he believes, is impeccable speech. The play is a sharp lampoon of the rigid British class system of the day and a commentary on women's independence , A king of Cyprus who carved and then fell in love with a statue of a woman, which Aphrodite brought to life as Galatea. , (Greek Mythology) A great sculptor, Pygmalion sculpted a beautiful woman whom he named Galatea and fell in love with its beauty. So, he went to the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, and prayed for a wife that resembled Galatea. When Aphrodite saw that Galatea also resembled her looks, she was pleased and brought the sculpture itself to life. Pygmalion returned home to be greeted by Galatea, and soon they married. Pygmalion and Galatea continued to bring gifts of thanks to Aphrodite, and in return, Aphrodite granted them happiness.

Anna Karenina

It is widely regarded as the pinnacle of realist fiction. Tolstoy considered Anna Karenina his first true novel. Anna Karenina is the tragedy of married aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina and her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The story starts when she arrives in the midst of a family broken up by her brother's unbrindling womanizing. A bachelor, Vronsky is willing to marry her if she would agree to leave her husband, Karenin, a government official, but she is vulnerable to the pressures of Russian social norms. Although Vronsky eventually takes Anna to Europe where they can be together, they have trouble making friends. Back in Russia, she is shunned, becoming further isolated and anxious, while Vronsky pursues his social life. Despite Vronsky's reassurances she grows increasingly possessive and paranoid about his imagined infidelity, fears losing control, and eventually takes her own life. , (1873-1876) by count Leo Tolstoy. Anna meets and falls in love with Aleksei Vronski, she abandons her child and husband to be with him. When she thinks Vronski has tired of her, she kills herself by leaping under a train. Subplot contrasts Konstantin Levin and his wife Kitty. Levin's search for meaning in his life and his love for a natural, simple existence on his estate are reflections of Tolstoy's own thoughts.

Go Tell It On the Mountain

James Baldwin, 1953 , First novel by James Baldwin, published in 1953. In large part autobiographical, the novel, set in Harlem, focuses on John Grimes on his 14th birthday in 1935. The five sections are told from the perspective of John and three other members of his family and explore John's resentment toward his father, Gabriel, for loving his other brother, Roy, more. The reader learns that the family's history stretches back to slaves in the South and that Gabriel is not John's real father. The novel largely deals with the central father-son conflict and John's coming of age and religious crisis. Semi-autobiographical novel, examining the role of the Christian church in the lives of African Americans, both as a source of repression and moral hypocrisy and as a source of inspiration and community. Also, more subtly, examines racism in the US.

Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad, Colonial Lit It was written by , Polish-born novelist, Joseph Conrad in 1902. The story reflects the physical and psychological shock Conrad himself experienced in 1890. When he worked a while in the Belgian Congo. Begins on Thames River outside London, where Marlow is telling the story that makes up Heart of Darkness. Events of the story take place in Brussels, at the Company's offices, and in the Congo, then a Belgian territory. Major Conflict: Both Marlow and Kurtz confront a conflict between their images of themselves as "civilized" Europeans and the temptation to abandon morality completely once they leave the context of European society Ambiguity. Eyes of civilization keep people in check. Humanity evil has nowhere to hide in the wilderness. Heart of Darkness is set in Africa. Novella by Joseph Conrad tells the story of a journey down the Congo River to a remote outpost operated by a man who has lost his grip on sanity after spending many years in the jungle

Invisible Man

Kaleidoscopic novel written by Ralph Ellison that forcefully accentuated the problem of alienation by using a black narrator who is struggling to find and liberate himself in the midst of an oppressive white society. , This story depicts a black man's struggle for identity. In the end, the unnamed narrator runs for his life and falls into a cellar. He decides to remain underground and write a novel about the absurdities of his life., It told about the life of a Southern black man who could not escape racism in the North. , In 1952, this groundbreaking novel by Ralph Ellison told about the life of a Southern black man who could not escape racism in the North. The book won the National Book Award. Name the book. , Invisible Man is a 1952 novel by Ralph Ellison about an unnamed African-American protagonist in search of personal identity. The Invisible Man is an 1897 novel by H. G. Wells about a man who has turned himself invisible but is slowly being driven insane. Under NAQT rules, players are usually allowed to drop leading articles or add them where they are missing (but not use incorrect ones)--but in this case (and others, for example, Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale and Helprin's Winter's Tale), it creates ambiguity and is wrong. When others look at him they only see thier surroundings, themselves, and their imagination. The Invisible man is trying to find his true identity in a world of phonies trying to tell him who he be. Considers himself socially invisible. Freedom only attainable by defining himself "They were very much the same, each attempting to force his picture of reality upon me and neither giving a hoot in hell for how things looked to me. I was simply a material, a natural resource to be used." - Ellison 508

Ernest Hemingway

Lost Generation writer, spent much of his life in France, Spain, and Cuba during WWI, notable works include A Farewell to Arms American writer of fiction who won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1954 (1899-1961) , Ernest Hemingway fought in Italy in 1917. He later became a famous author who wrote "The Sun Also Rises" (about American expatriates in Europe) and "A Farewell to Arms." In the 1920's he became upset with the idealism of America versus the realism he saw in World War I. He was very distraught, and in 1961 he shot himself in the head.

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott, 1868-9 four March sisters (Amy, Jo, Beth, Meg) in 19th century New England struggle with poverty, juggle their duties, and their desire to find love

The Cherry Orchard

Play by Anton Chekov first performed in 1904. The whole of the action takes place on a Russian estate of Ranevsky, who returns, with her daughter Anya and their entourage, after several years in France because the debt she has accumulated there necessitates that she sell the Russian estate. The action follows conversations about this sale with Lopakhin, a friend of the family who wants to buy the estate and build vacation cottages on the site of an enormous cherry orchard, which Ranevsky does not want to be cut down. In the midst of all this there are conversations and intrigue among the play's lesser characters, including the servents, who are involved in a love triangle with Dunyasha at the center. In the end, Lopakhin buys the estate and everyone leaves as the cherry orchard is being cut down. , Anton Chekhov. Is about a Ranesvky family the story centers around their estate and the fall from fortune

One Hundred Years of Solitude

Set in Macondo, this novel written by Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells of Ursula, the Buendia family matriarch who dies the size of a fetus at the age of 120. , Tells the multi-generational story of the Buendia family, whose patriarch, Jose Arcadio Buendia, founds the town of Macondo, the metaphoric Colombia

The Time Machine

Victorian 1895 Herbert Wells , a novel in which the world is depicted hundreds of thousands of years from now. In it, society had separated into the low class—the oppressed Eloi—and the high class oppressor—the Morlocks. dissatisfied with the appearance of the future. H.G. Wells , When the Time Traveler used his machine for the first time, he ended up in the year 802,700, where everything was different. The individuals there, called Eloi, seemed to live together in perfect unison. He decided to stay and study these beings of interest and bring his findings to his own time. That was the plan, until he discovered that his time machine, his only means to escape, disappeared. He figures out that it is in a nearby pedestal of a statue but he cannot pry it open. Soon after, during the night, he observes barbaric, ape-like beings which the Eloi called Marlocks. Later on, he saves an Eloi from drowning and befriends her. She accompanies him on his quest to get his Time Machine back; however, they encounter many dangers along the way. What will he do and what will he face to get back his Time Machine and return back to his own time?

Martin Heidegger

Wrote "Being and Time". nfluenced by the work of Edmund Husserl and considered a founding father of existentialism, Heidegger ultimately rejected both associations. Instead, he focused simply on "being" and examining human moods and experiences. Heidegger's work led the way for the modern study of hermeneutics. , 1889-1976 , Some of this thinker's lesser known works include "What Are Poets For?" and "The Origin of the Work of Art." He succeeded Edmund Husserl as the chair of philosophy at Freiburg University, where he delivered the speech "What is Metaphysics?" His key idea consists of a person's existentiality, fallenness and thrownness, and is called (*) dasein. For 10 points, name this Nazi-sympathizing German philosopher who never finished his magnum opus Being and Time.

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Zora Neale Hurston Synopsis: Janie's jettisoning of the materialistic desires of Nanny, Logan, and Jody; her attempt to balance self-assertion with her love for Tea Cake; the hurricane—this progression pushes her toward the eventual conflict between her environment (including the people around her) and her need to understand herself. Janie's decision to shoot Tea Cake demonstrates that she has the strength to save herself even though it means killing the man she loves; the white women's support of Janie points toward the importance of individuality as a means of breaking down stereotype , after two marriages to oppressive men, a woman (Janie Crawford) finds temporary happiness with a husband twelve years her junior; themes: the illusion of power, non-necessity of relationships, folkloric quality of religion Novel narrates main character Janie Crawford's "ripening from a vibrant, but voiceless, teenage girl into a woman with her finger on the trigger of her own destiny. Set in central and southern Florida in the early 20th century, the novel was initially poorly received for its rejection of racial uplift literary prescriptions.

The Joy Luck Club

a group of Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters struggle to communicate and understand each other; four families dipicted Woo, Jong, Hsu, and St. Clair Tan born in Oakland in 1952 Through her writing, Tan approaches issues that are universally applicable to all groups of people. She explores themes of family and memory, as well as the conflicts of culture that arise in many American Communities Tan widely hailed for depiction of the Chinese American Experience of the late 20th century. Works explore mother/daughter relationships Story is about a group of Chinese mothers and their American-born daughters struggle to communicate and understand each other. Joy Luck club. Jade pendant changes meaning to the character Jing-mei, as her relationship with her mother changes. Due to this fact, it also signifies the human power to assign new meaning to the phenomena around us. Jade pendent signifies cultural differences between mother and daughter and a symbol of a mother's love and concern , In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money

Agnes Hewes

an American writer of children's literature and a 3-time winner of the Newbery Honor. Her work Spice and the Devil's Cave won in 1931.

Thomas Pynchon

b.1937, American novelist. V., The Crying of Lot 49, Gravity's Rainbow, and Mason & Dixon , dense and complex works of fiction; history, science, sexuality, math; avoided public publicity; The Crying Lot 49 , This author wrote about Learned English Dog in a work that sees the title characters travel to the Horn of Africa and predict a solar eclipse. DEA agent Hector Zuniga pursues Zoyd Wheeler in another book by this author, who wrote about the Paranoids in a work centering on an organization overcome by Thurn und Taxis. This author of (*) Mason and Dixon wrote a work in which a muted post-horn symbolizes the Trystero organization, which bids on stamps and is investigated by Oedipa Maas. This author of V. also created the character Tyrone Slothrop, whose erections predict V-2 rocket strikes. For 10 points, name this author of The Crying of Lot 49 and Gravity's Rainbow, a reclusive American novelist. Postmodern fiction, considered to be Pynchon's most accessible novel "Crying" refers to the actual auctioning of items to the bidders Readers are presented with historical mysteries and symbols that the protagonist cannot decipher, Nor can she even be sure whether the symbols mean anything of significance, or if they are in fact a part of a greater conspiracy. W.A.S.T.E. is an underground postal system linked to the historical group Tristero which is represented by a picture of a muted horn. Focusing on the sign of Tristero, Pynchon uses it to largely show the failure of communication today Mid sixties - west coast US, age of paranoia - cold war, new developments in politics, technologies, Vietnam war - conspiracy theories

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

summary: At the beginning of the novel, Huck struggles against society and its attempts to civilize him, represented by the Widow Douglas & Miss Watson Later, this conflict gains greater focus in Huck's dealings with Jim, as Huck must decide whether to turn Jim in · Miss Watson & the Widow Douglas attempt to civilize Huck until Pap reappears in town, demands Huck's money, and kidnaps Huck. Huck escapes society by faking his own death and retreating to Jackson's Island, where he meets Jim and sets out on the river with him. Although Huck and Jim live a relatively peaceful life on the raft, they are ultimately unable to escape the evils and hypocrisies of the outside world. these outside evils are the con men the duke and the dauphin. Instead, Tom and Huck try to free Jim, and Tom is shot in the leg during the attempt.When Aunt Polly arrives at the Phelps farm and correctly identifies Tom and Huck, Tom reveals that Miss Watson died two months earlier and freed Jim in her will. Afterward, Tom makes plans to travel to the West First time American Vernacular dialect in a book. Mock epic tale of American Democracy

Stephen Crane

wrote Red Badge of Courage; American novelist, short story writer, poet, journalist, raised in NY and NJ; style and technique: naturalism, realism, impressionism; themes: ideals v. realities, spiritual crisis, fears

Alice Walker

wrote The Color Purple; American author, self-declared feminist and womanist; won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction , (1944-today) african american writer who writes about race and gender. born and raised in Georgia and the youngest of 8 children. her familys had problems with the Jim Crow Laws. she is blind in the right eye because her brother accidently shot her in the eye with a BB gun.