Kathy G Posted March 21, 2015 Share Posted March 21, 2015 Hi We are finishing our year of American Literature. My daughter is tired of death and dismay. Any suggestions on uplifting or happy Am Lit books to give us a break? She loved Twain and his sense of humor but we have read all of his. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Has she read The Help? The Mouse that Roared? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 The Ransom of Red Chief? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I absolutely loved My Antonia by Willa Cather. It was heartwarming and though it wasn't funny, it was a hopeful meditation on the power of the human spirit. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephinsocal Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Short stories of O. Henry, Bret Harte, James Thurber. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 So Big Giants in the Earth A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Uncle Tom's Cabin An Old Fashioned Girl (by Louisa May Alcott) The First $20,000,000 Is Always The Hardest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 What has she read? Many of the standard American Lit stuff can be uplifting if you look at different aspects of it. The Scarlet Letter for example. You can focus on how Hester is outcast, or you can focus on how she wears her choices proudly and in the end becomes an excelling member of society regardless of the choices. She chooses to decide about upmost moral character in the face of others treating her quite terribly and in the end winds up victorious. Walden is very similar. You can focus on how Henry David Thoreau is such a pompous blatherer who really needed an editor to take out a lot of the repeated downers on the soul's of society, or you can look at how he is deciding to forge a new way of living (albeit for a very short amount of time, in a pretty posh situation) which has caused him to re-evaluate much of the world in a very positive way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Poetry: The Chambered Nautilus I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day Old Ironsides Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Has she read any Thornton Wilder? I recommend The Bridge of San Luis Rey and The Eight Day for uplifting, but slightly more profound, and Theophilus North for fun. Steinbeck's Cannery Row is a hoot. Fitzgerald Short stories (not as depressing as his novels) Jack London 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather62 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Wow, I think you just described my own high school American Lit classes. Very eager to read more replies. The Help made me cry and Jack London is very depressing to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Yes, everybody's take will be different, I guess. I certainly wouldn't describe Jack London, Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Giants in the Earth as "happy" and "uplifting" but then those might be two totally different things when it comes to literature? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy G Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 I agree- everybody's take is different. I think part of the problem is that she is such an avid reader that she goes through so many books, and the focus of Am Lit means a lot of depressing titles. Her Twain assisgnment was Huck Finn and she read as much Twain as we could get, etc. She certainly didn't view Uncle Tom's Cabin, Red Badge of Courage,, Narrative of Frederick Douglass, Of Mice and Men, Scarlet Letter or Jack London as uplifting. She didn't like Steinbeck nor Hemingway. She thought Poe was morbid, but funny in an odd way. She did like Ransom of Red Chief, Last of the Mohicans. She loved Twain's sense of humor and appreciated Thoreau and Emerson. Honestly, I might just have her take a few week break and read through Anne of Green Gables series (for the upteenth time) to just be happy, then start again. As I list what she has read, I believe she has definitely had a good year of American Lit- much more than she would get in a public school so it may not matter, but we are in March and I don't want to start another type of Lit this year without getting a little prepared, so we may do some free reading. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephinsocal Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Stretch a point and throw in some Wodehouse? He's the best antidepressant I know, and he did spend time in America ;). Start with the Bertie and Jeeves stories. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Lovecraft? Not exactly uplifting, but certainly not depressing. He is sort of aliens meet Poe. Ruth in NZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 How about Cats Cradle by Vonnegut? That one is fun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Got another, what about tanglewood tales by hawthorn. Myths aren't depressing, are they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Oh, I'm on a role. What about Travels with Charley by Steinbeck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 What about classic biographies? The Double Helix The Story of My Life by Helen Keller Autobiography of Ben Franklin I'm sure there is more of these... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 If DD has read/discussed/written enough to complete a credit in American Lit., then just let her loose to read what would be enjoyable to her for the rest of the year, regardless of nationality of author. It's okay! :) Hmmm… I find it difficult to find American works that are happy AND uplifting AND are classics… Here are some that are not depressing at least. Not all are "classic literature". Many have a good dose of humor in them, or are interesting. And while sci-fi and fantasy often still have hard things happen in them, I think the high-interest aspect makes them worthwhile, and the ones listed here are not dark / depressing / hopeless… Best I can come up with at the moment. ;) Novels Tom Sawyer (Twain) To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee) something by Bill Bryson Short Stories Story without an End (Twain) Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Irving) Rip Van Winkle (Irving)Bride Comes to Yellow Sky (Crane)Gift of the Magi; Ransom of Red Chief; A Harlem Tragedy (Henry)The Lady or the Tiger (Stockton)The Most Dangerous Game (Connell)The Catbird Seat (Thurber) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Thurber)Revelation (O'Connor) -- and others by O'Connor; "Southern Grotesque"; black humor, with truth revealed Plays -- watch them! plays were MEANT to be experienced, rather than read - Our Town - Ah, Wilderness - The Front Page - You Can't Take It With You- Twelve Angry Men- Sunday in the Park with George Fantasy/Sci-Fi - Wizard of Earthsea, Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore (LeGuin) - Howl's Moving Castle (Jones) - Alphabet of Thorn (McKillip) - The Changling Sea (McKillip) - Beauty (McKinley) - The Blue Sword; The Hero and The Crown (McKinley) - A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet (L'Engle) - A Canticle for Leibowitz (Miller) - Anathem (Stephenson) -- great to read this paired with Canticle for Lweibowitz - Dune (Herbert) - Something Wicked This Way Comes (Bradbury) - The Doomsday Book (Willis) - I Robot (Asimov) - Jurassic Park (Crichton) Okay, these are inspiring to ME, but also involve some poignant/sad moments: - I Heard the Owl Call My Name (Craven) - The Joy Luck Club (Tan) - Gilead (Robinson) -- probably better appreciated by adults - The River Why (Duncan) -- some brief mature scenes; probably better appreciated by adults Threads with more ideas: "Need North American novels that are not depressing!!" "OK, last one for today… I promise" ("American Lit -- favorite light, funny, we-loved-this-book-because-it-made-us-smile titles") (NOT exclusively American works): s/o Steinbeck thread: I need novels that don't have a tragic/fatalistic worldview High School Literature suggestions that aren't so dark and depressing Help! Need some modern world literature that is not depressing! High literature which is encouraging Suggestions for meaty but not depressing classics for teenagers Looking for upbeat literature selections 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 How about Cats Cradle by Vonnegut? That one is fun. I love his books. LOVE I suppose they too are sometimes somewhat depressing, but not exactly. They are so different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EndOfOrdinary Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 What about some founding documents or some of the philosophy of our founding fathers? Founding Mothers by Cokie Roberts is also great to discuss the women who started our country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy G Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Thanks for all the suggestions. She has decided to read Theophilus North, Story of My Life by Helen Keller, Little Men (already read Little Women) and The Double Helix. that should keep us set for awhile! I appreciate the great ideas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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