Hamlet is a play written by the great William Shakespeare. It tells of the story of a young prince who is not only dealing with his father's sudden death, but his mother's lengthy recuperation period before she remarried: which was all of two months. Not to mention the fact that she married Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. Hamlet had a lot on his plate and began to act differently. He didn't trust anyone and even had "talks" with his father's Ghost who told him that Claudius was the killer. Out of all of the stories we read during this course, Hamlet would have to be one of my favorites because the plot line was so action-packed, and there were many times when Mrs. Tran would tell us that we had to stop reading for the day and we'd continue tomorrow and the whole class would moan because we wanted to know more. Shakespeare has a way of getting the audience connected with his work; and once you understand his language, you really do start to appreciate the value of his masterpieces.
Grendel by: John Gardner
Grendel was written by John Gardner and is basically Grendel's response to Beowulf. The beauty of this story is that we get to see other, softer sides of Grendel not depicted in Beowulf, which was more biased toward Beowulf. We see how he feels alienated from everyone else and even tries to "fit in" with the humans, but because of his stature, size, appearance, and his taste for human flesh, people either run away in fear or gather up in militias and come attack him. Although he is portrayed as an evil, heartless monster in Beowulf, we get to see Grendel as more of a three-dimensional character in this novel. We've all had times where we didn't fit in, but wanted to. We've had times when we acted out in order to get attention. And we've had those times when we got angry when nobody wanted to play with us. That's Grendel for you: he's still a child who get's himself caught up in trees and screams for his mother. He hasn't yet figured out the world yet, or the meaning of life which he deems to be not worth living anyway. Personally, I loved Grendel. The details were vivid and Gardner did an excellent job connecting the reader to the novel enough to make us feel empathy for Grendel despite his wrongdoings and his previous character assassination in Beowulf.
The Canterbury Tales by: Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer has truly outdone himself! The Canterbury Tales was truly one of my favorite readings throughout my journey as an AP English Literature and Composition student. The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English, that all happen to be poems. The poems all flow together and are all told from a different character's point of view. The prologue tells of how during the spring when flowers bloom and birds chirp, people go on religious pilgrimages. All of the character's are going to Canterbury and the narrator gives an idea to pass the time: they should have a story-telling contest. And thus, it begins, one story after another, (or should I say, one poem after another) all written in aa, bb, cc, dd, ee, ff, gg,...xx, yy, zz rhyme scheme over and over. I had enough trouble as it is trying to write all of the poems in one of the upcoming tabs on this website, I couldn't possibly dream about writing a whole volume of poems that intertwine with one another, and is told from several points of view! That's what makes The Canterbury Tales a literary masterpiece. He writes easy to follow poems that anyone can understand and comprehend. Which was exceptional, especially during his literary era when the average person couldn't read, let alone understand sophisticated works.
Jane Eyre by: Charlotte Bronte
Jane Eyre is a fictional autobiography of the title character, Jane. As a child, she was psychologically abused and cruelly mistreated. Orphaned at a young age and not a particularly beautiful child, Jane found solace in books and despite her many obstacles, she overcame them and found a true friend and true love. Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre during the Victorian Era of literature and Bronte's stylistic devices she employed in the novel are true to it's literary period. Bronte makes the reader feel for Jane and all she goes through. She becomes almost like a vigilante for young girls who don't conform to the normality that people of the Vicotrian period accepted. She was looked down upon. She held her ground. People either loved her or hated her. A lot of us as readers, in particular the reader's that march to the beat of their own drums, can identify with Jane because even though we may walk in a room with our heads held high and may seem to be brimming with confidence, behind closed doors when the mask and armor we wear comes off, we can no longer put up the facade that we have it all together, and we see that in Jane's character. That's what makes her story so powerful. Though it may seem to be simple, it touches our hearts because we may feel like we are Jane Eyre sometimes (or at the very least can see some of the things that happened to her as probable in our lives). This is Mrs. Tran's favorite core novel for AP Lit, and with good reason! I now appreciate Jane's story (fictional or not) because Jane Eyre is for the girls (or people) who aren't afraid to be themselves and to stand up for what they believe in.
Macbeth by: William Shakespeare
Macbeth is by far my favorite drama we've read this year. It has all of the things I love:: blood and guts, drama, comic relief, mystery, dramatic irony, murders, insanity, and just pure awesomeness! Macbeth is the epitome of passion vs. responsibility--his passion is for the crown, which does not belong to him but he has a duty as a human being to do the right thing (responsibility). This seems to be a recurring theme in Shakespeare's plays, but for some reason, this particular one I thoroughly enjoyed. Shakespeare created masterpiece after masterpiece that succeeds his death and continues to captivate the minds of audiences everywhere..
A Raisin in the Sun by: Lorraine Hansberry
A Raisin in the Sun is a play written by Lorraine Hansberry. It tells of a family's struggles of coping with their father's death, and deciding how his insurance money should be spent. Everyone has their own idea of how it should be done, but the family decides to move to a better neighborhood. Although I enjoyed the play, I can see why a person may not be as receptive to Hansberry's creation. This play was written in the late 1950's and tackles heavy topics like racism. Not many readers deal with such blatant racism like the Younger's do as an African-American family in the South-Side of Chicago, and even though it was only a little over fifty years ago, it's hard to remember life used to be that way over here. To me, the play is a classic, but a classic meaning that it doesn't succeed it's time period. I don't think the play holds the same power it did when it first came out.
The Color Purple by: Alice Walker
The Color Purple by Alice Walker is a great book. It is very vivid in it's details and although it very graphic, it is just graphic enough to make the reader really feel Celie's pain. She has been through a lot and it is amazing that she overcame all of those struggles. I love the book and the movie. The book is a little more graphic than the movie, but I had a stronger emotional connection to the book. I recommend that if you decide to read this book, you have a box of Kleenex handy because you'll be crying like a baby at the things you read. I don't want to spoil the book, you have to read it yourself!
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a popular favorite among high school readers. I can recall vividly how many students claimed that The Great Gatsby was the only book they actually read, and they enjoyed it. Set in the "Roaring 20's" in Long Island, New York the story tells of the great Jay Gatsby through the speaker's (Nick Carraway) eyes. There's love, lust, criminal behavior, mysteries, and world-famous parties. This book has been made into movies several times because people love it. I loved the book and I am so sad that Gatsby died! But read this book, I give it an A-. The only improvements I'd recommend is the ending, I felt it should have have more "umph."
The Crucible by: Arthur Miller
The Crucible is one of those plays that you will read and get mad at. It's a good play, and ultimately, good triumphs over evil at the end but while you're in the midst of reading, I think you'll find yourself being upset. The Crucible tackles such topics as adultery, witchcraft, discrimination, prejudice, and you truly see how people will turn on you in the blink of an eye. I found myself being upset with Abigail Williams, the play's antagonist. She was a liar, and a temptress, and she manipulated the other girls as well as all the others in the town. But that also made me mad at the townspeople too! How could they not see how she was boldly lying in their faces?! I felt that if John Proctor had told the truth of their affair sooner, things would have been a lot easier; but then again, there wouldn't have been much of an exciting plot line since it would have ended sooner. But I recommend this story to anyone who can stomach their disgust for liars and cowards. I personally find it very hard to digest my intolerance for other people's ignorance, but I managed to finish the play. And I must say, the ending is very rewarding, so if you want to read it, go ahead!
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Lord of the Flies is the story you get when you take a hypothetical situation (what would happen if a bunch of boys were stranded on an island?) and make a novel out of it. I love the book because it actually gives us a spectrum of human nature and we can try to figure out where we fall on that line. There's many conflicts as would be expected if a bunch of prepubescent boys were all stuck on a deserted island, but overall I enjoyed it. Personally, I prefer stories that capture my mind within the first few paragraphs, this took a little longer before I got into the book. So if there's anything I'd change, it would be the pace of the story and I'd add a more interesting first chapter.