ENGLISH 11 American Literature

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

In brief, eleventh grade English at Brunswick is a chronological study of American literature, focusing on some of the major works and movements that helped shape American literary history. The course examines a variety of literary topics, from the romantic vision of the “American Dream,” to the more realistic struggles of the human condition; from the celebration of the “Self” in New England Transcendentalism, to the dark, grotesque characters of the American Gothic. In addition, students explore works that reflect the changing role of women in American society, the African-American “experience,” and the impact of war on the individual. Readings include: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, as well as selections from Bradstreet, Wheatley, Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Dickinson, Eliot, and Hemingway.

SUMMER READING:                                US GOVERNMENT AMERICAN LIT SITE
Into The Wild
A Tale of Two Cities

EXAM REVIEW MATERIALS:
Student Power Points

ASSIGNMENTS