English Literature (Top Classics)

8/4/2019 English Literature (Top Classics)

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English LiteratureThe American and British Classics



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:



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:



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:



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:



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:



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:



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:



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:



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.

Rating:



hamlet

great expectations

old man and the sea

death of a salesman

of mice and men

pride and prejudice

a raisin in the sun

wuthering heights

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English Literature (Top Classics)