Heather in VA Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 Ok - so we are using Biblioplan's Companion as a spine. It's broken into 3 major sections so that's how I've set up my literature choices. I also have additional history readings (not listed here). I'm currently working on early 1900s through the end of World War II. I have 9 weeks for this time. Unfortunately I just estimated time for my literature choices and I have 17 weeks or so worth of literature. So I need to cut back or exchange for other titles that will take less time. I've included my estimate for how long we need for each book so if you think I've miss estimated that would help too. Here's what I have (not necessarily in order). I'm way over scheduled for the final unit too but I'm going to try to fix this one first. All Quiet on the Western Front (2 weeks) Brideshead Revisited (2 weeks) Our Town (2 weeks) The Grapes of Wrath (3 weeks) Night (1 week) Cry the Beloved Country (2 weeks) Catch-22 (3 weeks) Passage to India (2 weeks) Thanks Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 The two I would be tempted to skip are Brideshead and A Passage to India; both great novels but the two that stand out to me as 'extras', kwim ? I'd be tempted to watch these on DVD & count them as recreational. We sneak in a lot of extra material that way.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) Okay, the following is totally JMO! Take it or leave it, no hard feelings. (And none intended on my part!) :) We must be very slow readers/discussers when we do Literature -- we typically took about 4-6 weeks on works you scheduled for 2 weeks. :( One place we were faster than you -- we spent just 2 days on "Our Town" -- one to watch it (Paul Newman version!) and one to discuss it. I feel that, as much as possible, it is important to experience plays the way they were designed to be experienced -- by watching rather than reading -- esp. "Our Town", because it has a very different presentation style (on purpose), which you'll *totally miss* if you just read the play. Just my 2 cents worth... :) Gently, I just do NOT think you can do justice to 45 years of WORLD history/literature (1900-1945), much less American history/literature by trying to jam it into 9 weeks, because that particular 45 years is extremely complicated and intertwined. At least, no way *we* would have been able to make sense of all those events, people, and interconnections. re: the Lit. choices Seriously, these are all heavy "downer" books with hugely meaty themes in which you really NEED to understand historical context to get the significance of what is going on; you really do need to schedule more time to read/think and reflect/discuss so they don't drown you. Esp. since you also have to have time for historical readings not even listed here. And frankly, if it were me, I would only choose 2 of the heavy works at most to do, and then intersperse with some lighter short stories or humorous novel of the time. I'm going to be very radical here and suggest you go with a completely different option: 1. If you must cover this in 9 weeks, cut to the bone the Literature and focus on the History so you will understand what is going on. Cut most of the Literature; substitute some short stories; take time on the really big important classic: 1-2 days = Our Town 5-6 weeks = All Quiet on the Western Front 2-3 weeks = short stories, a novella, poems SKIP: Passage to India Brideshead Revisited The Grapes of Wrath Night Catch-22 POSTPONE: Cry the Beloved Country (this is set after WW2, so it belongs in your next history period) 2. If you must stick to a 9 week schedule, then focus to help keep clarity -- stick with either American or World focus on both the history and the literature to keep them in synch: AMERICAN TRACK 2 days = (1901-1913) = Our Town 4-5 weeks = (1930s) The Grapes of Wrath 4-5 weeks = (1943 / WW2) = Catch-22 (add a few light short stories to balance out the types of literature covered and to lighten the mood a little) OR WORLD TRACK 4-5 weeks = (1915-1919 / WW1) = All Quiet on the Western Front 4-5 weeks = CHOOSE ONE: (1920s) Passage to India -- OR -- (1920-1940) Brideshead Revisited 1-2 days = EXCERPTS: Night (add a few light short stories to balance out the types of literature covered and to lighten the mood a little) POSTPONE: Cry the Beloved Country (this is set after WW2, so it belongs in your next history period) 3. Trash your schedule and the Biblioplan schedule and do justice to this time period -- take 18 weeks to cover 1900-1945: 1901-1913 = Our Town (Wilder) -- turn of the century US 1910-1915 = A Day of Pleasure (Singer) -- pre-WW1 Poland 1915-1919 = All Quiet on the Western Front (Remarque) -- WW1 1920s = a few Wooster & Jeeves short stories (PG Wodehouse) -- humorous 1920s 1920s = The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) -- "Lost Generation", post-WW1 1930s = The Grapes of Wrath (Steinbeck) -- US Great Depression/Dust Bowl 1940s = Catch-22 (Keller) -- WW2, US, military 1940s = EXCERPTS: Night (Wiesel) -- WW2, Europe, death camps - POSTPONE: 1948 = Cry the Beloved Country (fits in better thematically with Civil Rights of 1950s) BEST of luck in your planning and execution of your schedule! Warmest regards, Lori D. Edited August 24, 2012 by Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 I love the way that Lori D thinks through how the works can be connected. The only thing that I might add is that you have two books that directly address the question of modern warfare. But both of them come from the same perspective, war is useless and the military structure is not rational. Now a veteran is probably the first person who will tell you about the strange and irrational aspects of military service, from "stupid sailor/soldier stories" to "would you believe they made us do this". But there is also a modern tendency to say that all war is wholly bad, and worse than all of the alternatives that did not involve war. When you are dealing with the question of WW2, where you can't escape the fact that there were 2-3 very different visions of what European government and freedom should be like, where there were invasions of other countries, The London Blitz, and camps for imprisoning citizens and exterminating "Others"; I think that to spend your book time on a work that focuses on satirizing the absurd misses the point. Yes, several of the classic (or at least frequently read) works that are based in this period are satire or at least based in humor, irony or the absurd. The Caine Mutiney, Mr. Roberts, perhaps even Slaughterhouse Five. But I think that part of their impact was that they originally were read by a generation that had an intimate experience with the war. Satire is often more accessable, seen as more modern and relevant. But I wonder if a heavy use of satire alters our perception of the era. Having complained, I'm at a momentary loss for replacement fiction. I'm thinking that there are books that present (what for me is) a more nuanced view of the war - one in which there is much that is absurd or unglamorous, but that is still necessary and worth doing. The Caine Mutiny might be one. The Cruel Sea may be another (though it might be obscure outside military readers). We listened to Berlin Diary several years ago and I thought that was incredible - though it is memoir not fiction. Tales of the South Pacific might be one, but I've not read these stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 Lori D... I completely understand what you are saying. I know 10 weeks (I found one more LOL) is not ideal but 17dd and I decided that we wanted to cover Modern one more time (she's a senior) and she wants to be sure to get past the world wars this time. I have decided that for her last year I'm going to ease up a bit on the essays required (she still will write plenty just not for everything) and we are going to read and talk... talk and read. It's a time period we both want to cover again and are looking forward to so many of these books. It's our last hurrah together I guess. As far as specifics go, I did plan to watch Our Town but I was figuring we'd read it too. You are right that isn't necessary. I absolutely loved Our Town so I scheduled a little overdo LOL. And I cut Catch-22. Sebastian(a lady) had a great point that Catch-22 and All Quiet are from similar perspectives and dd said she'd be more apt to read Catch-22 on her own some day. oh and twice I reminded myself to move Cry, the beloved out of this time but I kept forgetting to move it on the spreadsheet. So here's what I've got for these 10 weeks: All's Quiet on the Western Front The Grapes of Wrath Night We will watch: Glass Menagerie Band of Brothers Passage to India Brideshead Revisited Laurence of Arabia History books (still working through this): Guns of August Citizen Soldiers Heather PS - you guys are very good at this... want to whittle down my post WWII to present list too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 PS - you guys are very good at this... want to whittle down my post WWII to present list too? Why not? Btw, I love Stephen Ambrose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted August 24, 2012 Author Share Posted August 24, 2012 (edited) Why not? Btw, I love Stephen Ambrose. Ok - you asked for it. Here's my unedited literature list for post WWII to present. I don't know how we ended up in 12th grade without having read Kurt Vonnugut. My rising 8th grader has already read Fahreinheit 451. Oops. There are so many great ones that I feel like there are lots I've passed over. I should have made a huge list and then cut from there instead of trying to decide along the way. This is the list I've done the least amount of work on so if you have more ideas, I'm completely open. I've only read The Good Fight by Ambrose and liked it very much. Do you know if he has any good books for the post WWII time periods or topics? Cry, the Beloved Country The Chosen Fahreinheit 451 The Crucible The Stranger Lord of the Flies Waiting for Godot Slaughterhouse-five The Kite Runner Brave New World Heather Edited to add that Caine Mutiny looks amazing. I might have to think about that. I do know it's also a Bogart movie but I think with the topic it might be more effective to read it. Edited August 24, 2012 by Heather in VA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 When you are dealing with the question of WW2, where you can't escape the fact that there were 2-3 very different visions of what European government and freedom should be like, where there were invasions of other countries, The London Blitz, and camps for imprisoning citizens and exterminating "Others"; I think that to spend your book time on a work that focuses on satirizing the absurd misses the point. The London Blitz are an American football team. The Blitz happened across the UK - covering cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Swansea, Belfast & others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Cry, the Beloved Country The Chosen Fahreinheit 451 The Crucible Lord of the Flies Brave New World These are the ones I would keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 The London Blitz are an American football team. The Blitz happened across the UK - covering cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Swansea, Belfast & others. Correction noted. "The London Blitz" is a formula often used in US media and textbooks but I see how it would diminish the impact to other parts of the country. Do you have any upper level fiction recommendations for the era? I confess that most of the suggestions I'm coming up with have American authors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freerange Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Suggestions for books from a non military, mostly British, perspective: Nella Last's War (which was televised as 'Housewife, 49' if you want to go for the DVD version)- diary written by a housewife in northern England The Great Fortune by Olivia Manning The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak The End of the Affair by Graham Greene is set in London during (& after) the Blitz The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas - if possible, read it without knowing what it's about. Operation Mincemeat is a fascinating non fiction book - . You could take a look through the archives here. For WW1 you can't study literature without also include the work of war poets Wilfred Owen & Siegfried Sassoon. Post WW2, what about some Le Carre? Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathmom Posted August 25, 2012 Share Posted August 25, 2012 Skip Passage to India. I read it a few years ago and would never make anyone read it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted August 26, 2012 Share Posted August 26, 2012 What about Remains of the Day? This is set before/during the war, isn't it? I struggle with coming up with fiction for WW2, because the histories and memoirs are so incredible. I feel as if in many ways, the fiction can only be second best. I agree with you on the WW1 poets. I also really liked Some Desperate Glory. Le Carre is an interesting suggestion. I really liked Smiley's People. A Small Town in Germany is also very well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.