Post on 07-Apr-2018
8/4/2019 English Literature (Top Classics)
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English LiteratureThe American and British Classics
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to kill a mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Published: 1960
The story describes the life of its young narrator,
Scout Finch, in the small town of Maycomb,
Alabama, in the mid-1930s. Scout opens as a grown
woman reflecting back on key events in her
childhood. The novel covers a two-year period,
beginning when Scout is six and ending when she iseight. She lives with her father, Atticus, a widowed
lawyer, and her older brother, Jem. Scout and Jem
and their summer playmate Dill Harris have many
adventures, with much imagination and intrigue. In
the novel, we see Scout grow in awareness and
come to new understandings about her town, her family, and herself. Rating:
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the great gatsby
Author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published: 1925
It¶s a failed love story about a man, Jay Gatsby, who
attempts to remake the past by changing his identity
and accumulating riches in order to win over his lost
love, Daisy Buchanan, who loved him, but married a
rich man while Gatsby was serving as a soldier inWorld War I. The narrator of the novel is Gatsby's
neighbor, Nick Carraway, who is world weary and
cynical, connected with all the main characters, and
has the ability to see the good in Gatsby. The novel is
about hope, wealth, and the American Dream.
Rating:
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the catcher in the rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
Published: 1951
It¶s a novel narrated by main character and anti-hero
Holden Caulfield, is the story of Holden's life in the
few days after being expelled from his Pennsylvania
prep school.Holden obsesses over the loss of
innocence, hero-worships his kid siblings, struggles
to connect with anyone his own age, and thinks alladults are self-important phonies. The book ended
up as an emblem of counterculture in the 1950s and
60s ± a symbol of alienation and isolation for the
disillusioned and restless post-war generation. The
author¶s own isolation from society only amplifies the
mystery and allure of this important book.Rating:
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the adventures of huckleberry
finn Author: Mark Twain
Published: 1884
Written twenty years after the American Civil
War, this novel discusses the leftover issues
from the conflict. The narrator is a 13 year
old boy, Huck Finn, who doesn¶t understand
the world but thinks he does. Huck runsaway from home because they were trying
to civilize him, and ends up running into Jim,
an escaping black man. They become
escape partners and have many adventures,
learning about life and reality.
Rating:
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frankenstein
Author: Mary Shelley
Published: 1818
It¶s the story of Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant Swissscientist who discovers the secret of bringing inanimate
things to life, eventually creating a human-like monster
which proceeds to ruin his life. The novel made an impact
at the time because of the recent Industrial Revolution.
People were scared about these new "science" fields that
were apparently capable of ungodly horrors.
Frankenstein, like any good, famous novel, remarks on
the times and reflects the emotions of society at large,
namely their fears of science and technology. Alternative
title: ³The Modern Prometheus,´ because, in Greek
Mythology, Prometheus was who made humans, just as
Frankenstein created his monster.
Rating:
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a tale of two cities
Author: Charles Dickens
Published: 1859
This book takes place in the early years of the French
Revolution. The characters are from two cities-
London and Paris, representing the two European
countries. It tells the stories of fictional characters
experiencing the Revolution first hand - complete with
injustices, bloody revolts, and an intriguing lovetriangle. It has incredible plot twists that keep readers
at the edge of their seat, typical of a Dickens novel.
Dickens may be writing about the French Revolution
in A Tale of Two Cities, but he¶s also exploring
human emotions and reactions that aren¶t specific to
any one historical event. Rating:
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the scarlet letter
Author: Nathaniel
Hawthorne
Published: 1850
Hawthorne sets his novel in a deeply religious time
- the early Puritan theocracy in the United States.
At its heart is the concept of man¶s relationship to
himself and to a Christian God. It¶s the heart-
wrenching tale of Hester Prynne - a woman who is
accused of adultery and must wear the letter ³A´
on all of her clothes as punishment. Hester is
publicly humiliated and forced to keep even darker
secrets, like who is also responsible for her child,
Pearl.
Rating:
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the picture of dorian gray
Author: Oscar Wilde
Published: 1890
Dorian's story plays upon the timeless theme of selling
one's soul in exchange for earthly pleasures and the
inevitable disaster that results. Wilde's version is notable
for its embrace of the lifestyle of a late nineteenth century
artistic movement that prized beauty and aesthetic
experience over everything else. The book and its
protagonist have become synonymous with the pursuit of
pleasure, regardless of its moral consequences. It
embraces the idea of the ³Fountain of Youth´ - one of the
oldest stories there is. Dorian Gray, a beautiful, ageless
young man, lives his life eccentrically while his picture
ages and becomes evil. The novel is full of mystery,
romance, and insane plot twists.
Rating:
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romeo and juliet Author: William Shakespeare
Published: 1597
This is the most famous Shakespearean play, about two
poetry speaking, hormone-driven teenagers who defy their
families' long-standing feud and risk everything to be together.
But it's also important to remember that this is a tragedy, not a
romance. The two young heroes do fall in love, but they act
rashly and it costs them their lives. They live in a time fraught
with tension, and in Shakespeare, as in life, everything is
tragic when times are tragic, and even love can't be expectedto solve every problem. It¶s a simple lesson that love doesn't
conquer all, but it has the potential to conquer each of us. We
can take solace in our shared misery or delight. Also, the play
illustrates what every marriage therapist stress: the value of
communication. It reminds us that no communication, or
communicating through your representatives, might end up in
double suicides.
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