Can someone tell me if I am missing anything for American Lit?

[Chris in PA]

Hi all,

I am planning HS American Lit for my 10th grade dd. I want it to correspond to her history in the fall. I looked at Hewitt's American Lit but some of the books she has already read. So, I've decided to do this on my own. This is my book list so far. We are planning on using several Progeny Press guides and other on-line resources.

 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Scarlet Letter

The Great Gatsby

The Old Man and the Sea

Moby Dick

The Autobiography of Ben Franklin

Up From Slavery

Across Five Aprils (I want something on the Civil War but am afraid the Red Badge of Courage will be too dry)

My Antonia

Christy

 

I also want to add some short stories and poetry and need some recommendations on these. Am I missing anything?

 

Thanks

[Veronica in VA]

We decided not to read Red Badge of Courage either. For short stories I would recommend Poe, London, and Irving. You might also want to choose selections from Walden. Poetry is not my favorite thing, but maybe Whitman, Dickinson, Hughes, and Elliot.

 

Hope that helps,

 

Veronica

[Linda in NM]

You might try the Nick Adams stories by Hemingway--my personal favorites...and, that way, you'd get some Hemingway in the mix as well...

[Linda in NM]

Didn't see the Old Man and the Sea, there--probably because I find it so tedious! <grin>

[cajun.classical]

Hi all,

I am planning HS American Lit for my 10th grade dd. I want it to correspond to her history in the fall. I looked at Hewitt's American Lit but some of the books she has already read. So, I've decided to do this on my own. This is my book list so far. We are planning on using several Progeny Press guides and other on-line resources.

 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Scarlet Letter

The Great Gatsby

The Old Man and the Sea

Moby Dick

The Autobiography of Ben Franklin

Up From Slavery

Across Five Aprils (I want something on the Civil War but am afraid the Red Badge of Courage will be too dry)

My Antonia

Christy

 

I also want to add some short stories and poetry and need some recommendations on these. Am I missing anything?

 

Thanks

 

This looks good. If you want to add in some other components, make sure to include some of the Puritans writings, like Anne Bradstreet. American lit college anthologies also include essays and sermons, like Jonathan Edwards' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. You could pick up a cheap used copy of a Norton Anthology of American Lit.(get an older edition), and that would give you the short stories, poems, essays, etc--not to mention that Norton usually does a really nice job introducing pieces/authors and discussing literary movements, like transcendentalism.

[SheWhoWaits]

You must read The Grapes of Wrath. That has to be the most quintessentially American book ever written.

[Kareni]

For a fun (though some might disagree) addition to your list, you might consider Ambrose Bierce's The Devil's Dictionary.

 

See here for a sample: http://books.google.com/books?id=5izZJ-MDCy8C&dq=ambrose+bierce+dictionary&pg=PP1&ots=N2LAcp9vF-&sig=eDS7Xt9JSiNc0Bw-BELSZl_10Ds&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ambrose+bierce+dictionary&btnG=Google+Search&sa=X&oi=print&ct=title&cad=one-book-with-thumbnail

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Brigid in NC]

I have one suggestions - for 10th grade, I would replace Across Five Aprils with Uncle Tom's Cabin, if you are looking for a Civil War era book.

 

Your list looks great. Moby Dick will be daunting. We read Billy Budd instead. :001_smile:

 

Enjoy your reading. You have a great list!

~Brigid in NC

[Christine]

You must read The Grapes of Wrath. That has to be the most quintessentially American book ever written.

 

ICK! (My Mom agrees with you, but I still say ICK!)

 

I have a list, but need to dash. . .I'll try to get it up later

[Chris in VA]

Y'know, we read Grapes of Wrath this year (ours, too, is tied to history, and we did 20th Cent--tied one or two books to every decade or so) and I thought it was really interesting. I liked his imagery, the way he used language, and I thought the structure of the book was interesting. We used Spark Notes online to help. We didn't go way, way, deep, but there was plenty to dig into. If you are not familiar with the book, the basic plot is available on line, of course, but just one thing--it was structured so that a general chapter about humanity was alternated with the story line chapters about the Joads. I was surprised at how much I liked it, and it does deserve every bit of it's reputation as a Great Book.

[Julie in GA]

You may want to consider Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller, and To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Someone else mentioned Uncle Tom's Cabin, which is important, though not really about the Civil War. I really like Angelina's suggestions re: the Puritan writers. We tend to think of modern writers when we think of American Lit., and forget those who came before.

[Christine]

I think all I had on my list is included in the post above, except I might add "Our Town" by Thornton Wilder.

 

I do realize that many like Steinbeck. . .he's just not for me.

[Chris in PA]

Thanks to all of you for the wonderful suggestions! This really helps my planning and sooooo appreciated!! :thumbup:

 

Blessings

[LibraryLover]

Have you done To Kill A Mockingbird already?

 

I would also add Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. I know it's contemporary, but it really is wonderful.