Quiz Bowl - Literature
Rip Van Winkle
Author: Washington Irving Setting: mid-1700s before the American Revolution Characters: Rip Van Winkle, Dame Van Winkle, Henry Hudosn, Peter Vanderdonk Summary: A short story written by Washington Irving following the adventures of a Dutch American living in a village, he follows a man up a mountain to discover ghosts playing ninepin. He joins them and falls asleep, only waking up 24 years later.
My Antonia (Great Plains Trilogy)
Author: Willa Cather Setting: Black Hawk, Nebraska (1880-1910) Characters: Jim burden, Antonia Shimerda, Lena Lingard, Josiah Burden Summary: Willa Cather novel which follows an orphan who goes to a farm to work with his grandparents. It shows them hit hard times and how they get over it with the help of their daughters.
The Sound and the Fury
Author: William Faulkner Setting: Jefferson, Mississippi Characters: Jason Compson III, Caroline Compson, Quentin Compson, Caddy Compson, Jason Compson IV Summary: It is narrated by various members of a family as they go through the world. The main character is mentally disabled and commits suicide, and the novel is an explanation of why
Vanity Fair
Author: William Makepeace Thackeray Setting: Around Europe Characters: Becky Sharp, Rawdon Crawley, Amelia Sedley, William Dobbin, Violet Crawley Summary: ramed as a puppet show. Follows a woman named Rebecca determined to make her place in society
The Taming of the Shrew
Author: William Shakespeare Characters: Katherine, Petruchio, Bianca, Baptista, Lucentio, Tranio Summary: A Shakespeare play about how a man marries a "shrew" or a woman that voices her opinion and is nagging and grumpy and angry, understandable considering the era, and how he "tames" her into an obedient wife.
As You Like It
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Arden, Warwickshire Characters: Rosalind, Jaques, Touchstone, Duke Senior, Celia, Jacques de Boys, Orlando Summary: A duke has been kicked out of his throne and usurped. His daughter stays, but is also kicked out. They try to get their place back.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Athens Characters: Puck, Titania, Hermia, Oberon, Lysander, Helena, Nick Bottom Summary: A drama that follows multiple lovers and their interactions with each other on a warm night. during a marriage in the middle of a forest.
Hamlet
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Denmark Summary: Characters Ophelia Polonius Claudius Laertes
Twelfth Night
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Illyria, ancient name for the coast on the Adriatic Sea, which takes in parts of modern Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia Characters: Viola, Orsino, Sebastian, Malvoio Summary: A Shakespeare comedy. It features a ship wrecked women disguising herself as a man, and getting caught in an intricate love triangle, while a group plots against a servant and the women disguised as a mans twin brother appears.
The Tempest
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Island in Mediterranean Summary: A ship carrying Alonso King of Naples, his son Ferdinand, Antonio, and other nobles, is wrecked in a storm created by the spirit Ariel, under the magic art of Prospero. ... Prospero gets Ariel to lead Ferdinand across the island so that he meets Miranda, and they fall in love. The Tempest ends with a general sense of resolution and hope. After four acts in which Prospero uses magic to split up, disorient, and psychologically torture his enemies, in the final act he lures everyone to the same spot on the island and forgives Alonso and Antonio for their betrayal twelve years prior. Characters: Prospero Caliban Ariel Miranda Ferdinand Sebastian
Much Ado About Nothing
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Messina, a port on the island of Sicily Characters: Beatrice, Benedick, Claudio, Hero, Bon Pedro, Leonato Summary: A William Shakespeare drama. A bunch of soldiers come home. A man disguises himself and dances with a pretty woman, who tells him he is a fool without knowing it, enraging him as he tries to get revenge.
Julius Caesar
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Rome Characters: Julius Caesar, Octavian, Brutus Summary: A Shakespeare play following the story of a Roman general turned emperor, starting when he returns to Rome in a triumphant parade after a successful campaign, and ends with his assassination by his friends, when he was stabbed 23 different times.
Othello
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Venice Summary: The story of an African general in the Venetian army who is tricked into suspecting his wife of adultery, Othello is a tragedy of sexual jealousy. First performed around 1604, the play is also a pioneering exploration of racial prejudice. Desmodemona dies so Othello kills himself Characters Othello Desmondemona (married Othello) Lago Cassio Emilia
The Merchant of Venice
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Venice 16th Century Character: Shylock, Portia, Antonio, Bassanio, Prince of Morocco, Jessica Summary: follows Portia and his dreams of pursuing a girl. After a series of debts end with 2 mens debts in the hands of an enemy, they try to trick him but fail. One of them gets arrested and is to be sentenced to death, but the wives of the men disguise themselves and save him.
King Lear
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Ancient mythical kingdom in England Summary: King Lear is an aging monarch with no male heir. He decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters and their husbands. He requires them to give speeches proving their love for him. The evil sisters Goneril and Regan use exaggerated flattery, but the good sister Cordelia speaks plainly and simply. Everyone dies. Characters: King Lear Daughters: Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia Husbands: Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Albany, and Earl of Kent Earl of Gloucester
Macbeth
Author: William Shakespeare Setting: Scotland Summary: Characters: Macbeth Lady Macbeth Banquo King Duncan Macduff
Beowulf
Author: unknown Setting: Scandinavia 500 A.D. in territories of two tribal groups Characters:Beowulf, King Hrothgar, Grendel, Grendel's Mother Summary: An old english poem with over 3000 alliterate lines, the poet was unknown. It follows a hero known as Beowulf, who discovers a monster has attacked and killed a lot of people under the command of the warrior Hrothgar. Once there he kills the monster Grendel, but the monsters mom comes for revenge.
The Crucible
Author: Arthur Miller Setting: Salem, Massachusetts Bay Colony Characters: John Proctor, Abigail Williams, Reverend John Hale, Reverend Parris Summary: meant to be a commentary of Mccarthyism. Based off the Salem Witch Trials as a group of girls try to do a curse but are caught. To stay alive they name of a bunch of people as the witch or wizard.
Oliver Twist
Author: Charles Dickens Setting: 19th Century England Characters: Oliver Twist, Nancy, Fagin Summary: Follows the story of how the title character was born into poverty. After being orphaned and mistreated by his guardians, he escapes only to fall in with street urchins who trick him, led by an infamous jewish criminal known as Fagin.
A Tale of Two Cities
Author: Charles Dickens Setting: London and Paris Characters: Sydney Carton, Madame Defarge, Charles Darnay,
Great Expectations
Author: Charles Dickens Setting: Small village outside London Characters: Pip, Estella, Miss Havishman, Abel Magwitch ("The Convict"), Joe Gargery Summary: Follows a 7 year old orphan named Pip who is scared by a convict into getting him food. It follows Pip as he tries to be successful.
David Copperfield
Author: Charles Dickens Setting: Virginia Characters: Uriah Heep, David Copperfield, Wilkins Micawber Summary: relates the story of a young boy's growth and development into maturity. It is written from the point of view of the mature adult who recounts his own obstacles and the obstacles of those around him and how it all shaped his life and his beliefs.
Jane Eyre
Author: Charlotte Bronte Setting: Europe Characters: Jane Eyre, Edward Rochester, St. John Rivers, Mrs. Reed, Bessie Lee Summary: Jane goes through various hardships in her life, facing abusive guardians, and oppressive environment, and hard times, until she is finally happy when she gets with Rochester
Things Fall Apart (The African Trilogy #1)
Author: Chinua Achebe Setting: Umuofia, a village of Igbo people in the African country of Nigeria Summary: The novel deals with the rise and fall of Okonkwo , a man from the village of Umuofia. Okonkwo was not born a great man, but he achieved success by his hard work. His father was a lazy man who preferred playing the flute to tending the soil. Okonkwo was opposed to his father's way of life, and always feared failure. In order to prove his ability, he had overthrown the greatest wrestler in nine villages, set himself up with three wives, two barns filled with yams and a reputation for being a hard worker. Character Okonkwo- Main Character
Robinson Crusoe
Author: Daniel Defoe Setting: Africa, Europe, S. America, and four ships Characters: Robinson Crusoe, Friday, Xury, The Portuguese Captain Summary: a British man goes on a ship, which is wrecked during a storm. He's the only survivor of the crew and becomes a castaway, soon to acquire his servant Friday.
The Divine Comedy
Author: Dante Aligheir Setting: afterlife Characters: Ciacco, Ciampolo, Alecto, Semiramis Summary: describing descent to hell, and visits to Purgatory, and finally, Heaven.
Inferno
Author: Dante Alighieri Setting: Dante's version of hell Characters: Dante, Virgil, Beatrice, Charon, Paolo And Francesca Da Rimini Summary: The first segment of Dante's divine comedy. Follows his journey into hell and his ascent up.
The Raven
Author: Edgar Allen Poe Setting: midnight Summary: Characters: Narrator Lenore The raven
Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Bronte Setting: Yorkshire Moors Characters: Heathcliff, Catherine, Edgar Linton, Nelly Dean, Lockwood Summary: Emily Bronte's only novel. Tells the tale of a remote farmhouse and the family that lived there.
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Author: Ernest Hemingway Characters: Robert Jordan, Pablo, Pilar, Maria, Anselmo, Agustin, Fernando Summary: It describes the brutality of Spain during the Spanish Civil War.
The Sun Also Rises
Author: Ernest Hemingway Setting: Pamplona Characters: Jake Barnes, Lady Brett Ashley, Robert Cohn, Bill Gorton, Mike Campbell Summary: On the surface it is a love story between a veteran. It features determination, perseverance, and other themes.
A Farewell to Arms
Author: Ernest Hemingway Setting: Town near Italian-Austrian border, WWI Character: Lt. Frederic Henry, Catherine Barkley, Rinaldi, Helen Ferguson Summary: a first person account of a man as an ambulance driver falls in love with a nurse, with his experiences in the war. Ends when his child and wife die in birth.
The Great Gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald Setting: NYC in "West Egg" and "East Egg" Summary: Characters: Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway Daisy Buchanan, Tom buchanan Myrtle Wilson, George B. Wilson
Crime and Punishment
Author: Flodor Dostoyevsky Setting: St. Petersburg 1860s Characters: Rodion Raskolnikov, Arkady Svidrigailov, Dmitri Razumikhin Summary: focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Raskolnikov, an impoverished ex-student in Saint Petersburg who formulates a plan to kill an unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Author: Gabriel Garcia Marquez Setting: Macondo Characters: Jose Arcadio buendia, Colonel Buendia, Ursula Iguaran, Stana Sofia de la Piedad, Aureliano Jose. Summary: A novel by Gabriel Garcia Marquez which follows the Buendia family, which exhibit similar traits for a few generations, over many years, and their gradual descent into messed up ness.
The Canterbury Tales
Author: Geoffrey Chaucer Setting: England 14th Century Characters: The Wife of Bath, the Pardoner, the Miller, the Narrator, the Knight Summary: The Canterbury Tales, written in a combination of verse and prose, tells the story of some 30 pilgrims walking from Southwark to Canterbury on a pilgrimage to the shrine of St Thomas Becket. Provide a comprehensive overview of life in the Middle Ages. Because Chaucer's pilgrims come from different social classes, modern readers learn a great deal about life in medieval England.
Pygmalion
Author: George Bernard Shaw Setting: London Characters: Eliza Doolittle, Prof Henry Higgins, Alfred Doolittle Summary:tells the story of a poor, young flower girl who has been disrespected and overlooked because of her appearance and the dialect she speaks.
Middlemarch
Author: George Eliot Setting: Fictional town in England Characters: Mr. Bambridge, Dorothea Brooke, Arthur Brooke, Celia Brooke, Nicholas Bulstrode Summary: It revolves around the lives of the residents of a fictitious midlands town, written by George Elliot. Significant themes include the status of women and marriage.
Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell Characters:Napoleon, Snowball, Old Major, Boxer, Squealer, Mr Jones
Madame Bovary
Author: Gustave Flaubert Setting: Provincial France Character: Monsieur Homais, Rodolphe Boulanger, Charles Bovary, Emma Bovary Summary: This novel follows Emma Bovary, a doctor's wife, who has a series of affairs in an attempt to escape her own boring life.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe Setting: Kentucky mid-19th Century Characters: Uncle Tom, Aunt Chloe, Arthur Shelby, Emily Shelby, George Shelby Summary: revolving around a slave and his relationship with his masters, and his path to freedom
A Doll's House
Author: Henrik (Johan) Ibsen Setting: Norwegian town Character: Nora Helmer, Torvald Helmer, Mrs. Linde, Dr. Rank, Nils Krogstad, Emmy Helmer Summary: It describes the events of a family in christmas time who were unsuccessful last year but this year are in a good state. It shows how they have a bunch of visitors who reveal the bad people they have become.
Billy Budd: Foretopman (also called Billy Budd: Sailor)
Author: Herman Melville Setting: 18th century Characters: Captain Vere, John Claggart, Billy budd, Dansker, Lt Ratcliffe Summary: Herman Melville's last novel. A seaman impressed into British service, who are dealing with a lot of problems.
Moby-Dick, or, the Whale
Author: Herman Melville Setting: Massachusetts mid 1900s then shifts to whaling ship (Pequod) that travels the world Summary: The book is sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, the captain of the whaling ship Pequod, for revenge on Moby Dick, the giant white sperm whale that on the ship's previous voyage bit off Ahab's leg at the knee. Characters: Ishmael Captain Ahab Queequeg Father Mapple
The Iliad
Author: Homer Setting: 9th year of the Trojan War Summary: Epic poem. The story opens nine years into the war, which basically started because Paris, son of King Priam of Troy, kidnapped Helen from Menelaus, a Greek and brother of Agamemnon, King of Mycenae. The Iliad is about the Trojan War, but it is primarily about the war as it is affected by Achilles' wrath, or anger. ... Achilles is also the greatest warrior and fighter among the Achaians. He is invulnerable (except on the heel) because his mother dipped him in the River Styx as a baby.The epic ends with the death and burial of the Trojan warrior, Hektor. The events after the Iliad that led to the fall of Troy are not a part of the poem. After the burial of Hector, the Trojans call on outside forces for help, and the Greeks lose many warriors. Characters: Achilles, Hector, Agamemnon, Paris, Patroclus, Priam Menelaus, Aphrodite
The Odyssey
Author: Homer Setting: Scheria, Aeaea, Ogygia, Telepylos Characters: Odysseus, Circe, Penelope, Telemachus, Polyphemus Summary:
The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger Setting: Told from an institution in California about a journey from PA to NYC. Character: Holden Caulfield, Stradlater, Phobe Caulfield, Mr Antolini, Allie Summary: describes Holden Caulfield. A teenager novel which follows the themes of loneliness and angst, a teen feels misunderstood by everyone and gets expelled from his school. He runs away, but his little sister gives him a reason to stay.
The Call of the Wild
Author: Jack London Setting: Klondike Gold Rush Characters: Buck, John Thornton, Spitz, Francois, Perrault, Hal Summary: following a dog that is happily the pet of a judge. However, Buck, the dog, gets stolen, and after being sold a lot and beaten and trained, becomes a sled dog. He gets owners who are terrible, but is rescued by a great guy. A few years later, however, he is killed, and so after avenging his master, goes to the wild. A]
The Last of the Mohicans
Author: James Fenimore Cooper Setting: upper NY wilderness Characters: Hawkeye, Magua, Major Duncan Heyward, Uncas Summary: the last members of an Indian tribe join the a small party of British people in an attempt to safely deliver a colonel's daughter to is fort during the war of 1812.
Ulysses
Author: James Joyce Setting: Dublin Character: Leopold Bloom, Marion (Molly) Bloom, Stephen Dedalus, Malachi (Buck) Mulligan Summary: Ulysses expresses frustration at how dull and pointless his life now seems as king of Ithaca, trapped at home on the rocky island of Ithaca. His wife is old, and he must spend his time enforcing imperfect laws as he attempts to govern people he considers stupid and uncivilized. Reminiscent of Greek Epic. The novel was banned for a long time for obscenity, and is still considered pretty messed up.
Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austin Setting: England 19th Century Characters: Elizabeth Bennet, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Jane Bennet, Charles Bingley Summary: Mrs. Bennet is anxious to see all her daughters married, especially as the modest family estate is to be inherited by William Collins when Mr. Bennet dies. At the end of the novel, Elizabeth and Darcy get married and go to live at Pemberley, while Jane and Bingley move to an estate nearby. Focusing on the marriage's social impact affirms a key theme: marriages affect not just the individual partners, but the wider community. A good marriage, where both partners love and respect each other, can have positive ripple effects on many people around them.
Sense and Sensibility
Author: Jane Austin Setting: rural England (1800-1816) Characters: Colonel Brandon, Mrs. Bashwood, Elinor Dashwood, Henry Dashwood Summary: A Jane Austen novel that focuses on two sisters ready to marry. It shows the 2 women go to their meager new home with their widowed mother, as they try to survive with the meager amount they have left and get married.
Faust
Author: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Setting: Heaven/Hell Characters: Faust, Mephistopheles, Valentin, Gretchen, Marthe Summary: A Gothic Poem. The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures
The Pilgrim's Progress
Author: John Bunyan Setting: Dream world Characters: Christian, Evangelist, Obstinate, Pliable, Help, Worldly Wiseman Summary: The entire book is a dream sequence. The work is a symbolic vision of the good man's pilgrimage through life. At one time second only to the Bible in popularity, the most famous Christian allegory still in print.
Ode on a Grecian Urn
Author: John Keats Setting: The speaker's world and the world of the urn Summary: A John Keats poem, an Ode, to an object.
Paradise Lost
Author: John Milton Setting: Heaven, Hell, the Garden of Eden Paradise Lost takes place right around what Christians would say is the beginning of human history. The poem begins after Satan's unsuccessful rebellion and the creation of the universe. Characters: The Devil, Adam, God, Son of God, Raphael, Eve, Michael Summary: is about Adam and Eve--how they came to be created and how they came to lose their place in the Garden of Eden, also called Paradise. It's the same story you find in the first pages of Genesis, expanded by Milton into a very long, detailed, narrative poem.
The Grapes of Wrath
Author: John Steinbeck Setting: Dusk bowl Oklahoma Characters: Tom Joad, Ma Joad, Casy, Pa Joad, Uncle John Joad Summary: follows a farmer family during the Great Depression as they are forced to pack up and leave, and how they get over their trials.
Of Mice and Men
Author: John Steinbeck Setting: Ranch in California Summary: Lennie George Curley Curley's Wife Silm
Heart of Darkness
Author: Joseph Conrad Setting: London Characters: Kurtz, Marlow Summary: A novella by Joseph Conrad that tells of Charles Marlow, an ivory trader who through the novella describes how and why he decided to become a boater of the Congo.
Catch-22
Author: Joseph Heller Setting: Rome and island off Italy 1944 Character: Yossarian, Milo Minderbinder, Doc Daneeka, The Chaplain Summary: A satirical novel by Joseph Heller. A young man is drafted into the army, and after a while joins his unit during bombing runs in World War 2. Him and his teammates are forever trying to achieve the number of runs they need to leave, which keeps on being moved up higher to keep the men there.
War and Peace
Author: Leo Tolstoy Setting: French invasion of Russia (1812) Characters: Bolkonsky, Rostova, Bezukhov, Dolohov Summary: follows various noble russian families and their interactions with each other, with the looming threat of war with France, as a young man suddenly finds himself with a fortune.
Anna Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy Setting: Russia 19th century Characters: Vronsky, Konstantin Levin, Kitty Shcherbatsky, Anna Karenina Summary: A Leo Tolstoy novel in which the title character falls in love with a count, though she is married. The novel follows the life of the russian aristocracy and their life.
Alice in Wonderland
Author: Lewis Carroll Setting: Rabbit hole Characters: Alice, The White Rabbit, The Queen of Hearts Summary: A Charles Lutwidge Dodgson novel, written under the name Lewis Carroll, which describes the adventures of a girl who falls down a rabbit hole.
Little Woman
Author: Louisa May Acott Setting: 1860s Massachusetts Characters: Jo March Beth March Amy March Meg March Mrs. March
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Author: Mark Twain Setting: Missouri 19th century Characters: Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Becky Thatcher, Aunt Polly Summary: A Mark Twain novel following the antics of the titular character living in the South, including trying to woo a girl and foiling a grave robber who framed a friend of his.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Author: Mark Twain Setting: South Characters: Huckleberry Finn, Jim, Tom Sawyer, Pap Finn, Aunt Polly
Frankenstein
Author: Marry Wollstonecraft Shelley Setting: Switzerland Characters: Victor Frankenstein, The Monster, Robert Walton, Alphonse Frankenstein Summary: about a man who creates a monster named after him by attempting to resurrect a dead man.
Romeo and Juliet
It's Romeo and Juliet
Don Quixote
Author: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Setting: Spain 16-17th century Characters: Alonso Quijano (Don Quixote), Sancho Panza, Buchinea del Toboso, Tociante, Captain Ahab Summary: The plot revolves around the adventures of a noble (hidalgo) from La Mancha named Alonso Quixano, who reads so many chivalric romances that he loses his mind and decides to become a knight-errant (caballero andante) to revive chivalry and serve his nation, under the name Don Quixote de la Mancha. A young maid at the Duchess's home falls in love with Don Quixote but no dice. In the end, the beaten and battered Don Quixote forswears all the chivalric truths he followed so fervently and died from a fever. With his death, knights-errant become extinct.
The Scarlet Letter
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne Setting: Puritan Massachusetts Characters: Hester Prynne, Roger Chillingworth, Artur Dimmesdale, Pearl Summary: the main character is marked with the letter A, because of her adultery, and how she fights this and attempts to move on.
The House of the Seven Gables
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne Setting: mid-19th century Salem, Massachusetts Characters: Hepzibah Pyncheon, Clifford Pyncheon, Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon, Holgrave Summary: It describes a family trying to escape their pasts and to move on, dealing with a family curse and depression.
All the King's Men
Author: Robert Penn Warren Setting: Somewhere in the south/California/Arizona Characters: Jack Burden, Willie Stark, Anne Stanton, Adam Stanton, Judge Montague Irwin Summary: It follows the dramatic political rise of cynical populist southern governor.
Waiting for the Godot
Author: Samuel Beckett Setting: a country road, a tree Characters: Vladimir, Estragon, Pozzo, Lucky, Boy Summary: A Samuel Beckett play. A strange thing where the two main characters are constantly waiting for someone, who never appears.
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Author: Samuel Taylor Coleridge Setting: After the Age of Exploration Characters: Ancient Mariner, Wedding Guest, The Sailors, Albatross Summary: Poem. It describes an old sailors experiences with the sea.
Main Street
Author: Sinclair Lewis Setting: Gopher Prairie, Minnesota Character: Carol, Kennicott, Vida Sherwin, Guy Pollock, Bea Sorenson Summary: Tells the story of a progressive woman who ends up in a super conservative and backwards town. She tries to reform it.
Antigone
Author: Sophocles Setting: Thebes Character: Antigone, Creon, Ismene, Haemon, Eurydice of Thebes, Sentry Summary: A Sophocles play that is a sequel to Oedipus. Follows his daughter, the character, and her effort in the civil war between her brothers, she tries to stop them, but ends up dying as her brothers lose it all.
Oedipus Rex (The Theban Plays #1)
Author: Sophocles Setting: Thiva (Military base in Greece) Summary: The story of King Oedipus of Thebes, who is fated to kill his father and marry his mother. Thebes is struck by a plague that will only be lifted if the man who killed the former king is exiled. The prophet Teiresias claims the murderer is Oedipus. Characters: King Oedipus Thebes Creon Jocasta Antigone
The Red Badge of Courage
Author: Stephen Crane Setting: American Civil War Battle Characters: Henry Fleming, Jim Conklin, Tattered soldier The Lieutenant Summary: Henry Fleming, a private in the Union Army, faces cowardness in his first real battle and attempts to get a wound, or a "Red Badge of Courage" to prove himself.
The Waste Land
Author: T.S. Eliot Setting: Character: Fisher King, Philomela, Madame Sosostris, Mr. Eugenides, Phlebas, Typist Summary: describes various different dark things. (I know this summary is pathetic, but it's all I could find)
A Streetcar Named Desire
Author: Tennessee Williams Setting: Elysian Fields (New Orleans) Summary: Blanche visits sister and brother-in-law. Blanche wants a husband so she tries to get with everyone. There is tension and Blanche is admitted into a mental hospital. Characters: Blanche: Teacher, leaves teaching for nervousness. Wants to marry Mitch Stella: Pregnant, Blanche's sister Stanley: Stella's husband. Abusive Mitch: Doesn't want to marry Blanche. Steve, Pablo: Stanley's friends
The Glass Menagerie
Author: Tennessee Williams Setting: St. Louis, 1937 Characters: Amanda Wingfield, Tom Wingfield, Laura Wingfield, Jim O'Connor Summary: The narrator Tom explains how his mom used to be a famous Southern belle but faded away, and his sister suffered a bout of polio which resulted in a limp that made her feel inferior. A boy named Jim leads her on, then crushes her.
The Magic Mountain
Author: Thomas Mann Setting: Swiss Alps Characters: Albin, Hofrat Behrens, Ellen Brand, Hans Castorp Summary: A decade before WW1, the main character tries to fight an illness and meets various notable characters while doing so. It is the story of a young engineer, Hans Castorp, who travels to Davos to visit his sick cousin at a luxurious tuberculosis sanatorium, and, instead of three weeks, ends up staying for seven years.
Our Town
Author: Thornton Wilder Setting: Grover's Corners New Hampshire Characters: Mrs. Gibbs, Emily Webb, Howie Newsome, Mrs. Webb, Mr. Webb, Prof Willard Summary: The first act shows a wonderfully normal day, as the people are introduced to a town and their lives. We then skip forward 3 years, where we experience a very stressful morning as two characters are to be married, and both have breakdowns before they recover. In the last act, one member of the couple dies, and as the living one grieves, the dead one contemplates life and tries to forget everything.
Beloved
Author: Toni Morrison Setting: Cincinnati, Ohio (1873) Characters: Baby Suggs, Sethe, Paul D. Garner Summary: The book concerns a girl name Denver, and her mom, Sethe. It's how they escape slavery, and the haunting in their house that has destroyed their life.
The Jungle
Author: Upton Sinclair Characters: Jurgis, Rudkus, Ona Lukoszaite Setting: "Packingtown" Chicago's Meatpacking district Summary: man tries to support his family by joining the meatpacking industry. The accurate horrors described led to various changes in the real world.
Les Miserables
Author: Victor Hugo Setting: French Revolution Characters: Jean Valijean, Cosette, Fantine, Javert, Epoine, Enjolras Summary: follows various characters and their misfortunes and interactions, but being centered around Jean Valjean as he goes from poor street urchin to wealthy father.
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Author: Victor Hugo Setting: Paris during the 15th century Characters: Quasimodo, Archeacon Claude Frollo, La Esmerelda, Pierre Gringoire Summary: a gypsy is framed for murdering someone and is killed, while her lover goes insane.
The Aeneid
Author: Virgil Setting: Italy Characters: Aeneas Summary: Another epic greek poem written by Virgil, which describes the surviving Trojans fleeing from the ashes of their city and looking for a new place to settle, one that will eventually become Rome.
Lolita
Author: Vladimir Nabokov Setting: N. America 40's-50's Character: Humbert Humbert, Charlotte Haze, Lolita Summary: It follows a pedophile. He finds a 12-year-old girl he loves and kidnaps her. She escapes and is happy. He finds her and kills her husband. He goes to jail and is awaiting death.
Candide
Author: Voltaire Setting: Europe and Latin America 1750's Characters: Cunegonde, Pangloss, The baron, Pope Urban X, Cacambo Summary:A novel written by Voltaire, following the main character as he faces hardship after hardship until he finally gives up. Really weird, and French. Candide
Leaves of Grass
Author: Walt Whitman Characters: Walt Whitman, The United States, Abraham Lincoln, The Common American, The Sea Summary: A poetry collection of stories by Walter Whitman. It has a lot of famous essays and poems in it.
Ivanhoe
Author: Walter Scott Setting: Medieval England Characters: Wilfred Of Ivanhoe, King Richard I, Lady Rowena, Rebecca Summary: A Sir Walter Scott novel. A story of a knight trying to unite with his love.
The Stranger
Author: Albert Camus Setting: Algeria under French colonial rule 1940's Character: Meursault, Raymond Sintes, Salamano, Marie Cardona Summary: Follows a man devoid of empathy or sympathy, as in the opening scene where he just drinks, smokes and comments on people at his mothers funeral and doesn't even look. Eventually he kills someone and is to be executed.
Brave New World
Author: Aldous Huxley Setting: Year 2450 on politically united as the "World State" Characters: John, Bernard Marx, Helmhotz Watson, Lenina Crowne, Mustapha Mond Summary: It describes a dystopian future with a caste system, and while one character is socially accepted, another cannot be because he is too short. In this society, emotions and individuality are conditioned out of children at a young age, and there are no lasting relationships because "every one belongs to every one else"
The Three Musketeers
Author: Alexandre Dumas Setting: 17th Century France (reign of Louis XIII) Characters:Aramis, D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, Ama, Milady de Winter, Constance de Bonacieux Summary: follows the adventures of Porthos, Athos, and Ama
The Count of Monte Cristo
Author: Alexandre Dumas Settings: Paris, Rome, island of Monte Cristo Characters: Edmond Dantes, Gaspard Caderousse, Fernand Mondego, Abbe Faria Summary: A French novel about revenge. A poor man gets betrayed by his friends who take everything form him and think he's in jail forever. He gets out, though everyone thinks he's dead, and finds a treasure that makes him immeasurably rich. He buys an island to become a count, then goes for revenge.
The Charge of the Light Brigade
Author: Alfred Tennyson Setting: Battlefield in the Crimean War (1853-56) Summary:A poem by Alfred, Lord, Tennyson, about England military maneuvers. (I think)
Death of a Salesman
Author: Arthur Miller Setting: Brooklyn 1940s Characters: Willy Loman, Biff Loman, Linda Loman, Happy Loman Summary: He is a failed salesman though he tries, and his boss doesn't give him the money he needs. He concocts a plan to make his family successful and rich by dying in an accident and giving his son the money, though they protest, he has a series of hallucinations and goes through with it.
1984
George Orwell Setting: England Character: Big Brother, Winston Smith, Julia, Emmanuel Goldstein Summary: Winston Smith is a middle-aged man who endures a squalid existence in the totalitarian superstate of Oceania under the constant surveillance of the Thought Police
To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee Setting: Maycomb, Alabama Summary: Story of a racially charged trial told by a girl from the town. Characters Scott: narrator Atticus: Scott & Jem's father. Lawyer Jem: Scott's brother Boo Radley: Neighbor Tom Robinson
