I mentioned at the beginning of the course that during the third quarter you will be writing a term paper. Next quarter, I will give you more exact details of what that term paper will entail. For now, I want you to be aware that you will be choosing three significant novels from American literature as your primary sources for the literary term paper. The three novels should be somehow inter-related either by theme, by author, by setting, by literary movement, etc. For example:
-- Three novel by William Faulkner
-- Novels by three different authors dealing with the theme of the "American dream"
-- Three dystopian novels by three different authors
-- Three novels by three different Romantic authors
-- Three novels exploring frontier life
The three books you choose may NOT be any of the novels we are reading together in class this year. That means that you should start familiarizing yourself with other American novels, authors, and themes. To that end, I will be featuring snapshots of American novels that may interest you. I've done the first one below: Catch 22 by Joseph Heller. If you have a request for a novel you'd like to see included in a snapshot, let me know!
Would these novels have to be considered classics?
ReplyDeleteI'll give you the full criteria in person, but to give you the short but qualified answer: "no, but..."
ReplyDeleteThe works don't necessarily have to be "classics" but they do have to have significant (and recognized) literary merit. And they have to be approved by me -- and your parents.
A few appropriate novels that many people would not yet consider classics: "A Prayer For Owen Meany" by John Irving, "The Moviegoer" by Walker Percy, "Wise Blood" by Flannery O'Connor.
Okay, thanks. I was thinking "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeliene L'Engle. But I suppose that would be a novel of some merit.
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