Wednesday, January 26, 2011

For the Love of American Literature

Any American literature teachers, students, or researchers out there?  Anyone who just loves American literature?

Call for Feedback: American Literature Research Paper Pairings

Please review this list of possible options I plan to suggest to my American literature students for their research papers in the spring that focus on developing a comparative argument and supporting their writing with literary criticism.  In the past, students were sent off on their own to read and write about an American author.  It was daunting and most students didn't know where to start to find two works.  They'll still have options, but I want to help them along a little more and suggest pairings that will work and they'll enjoy.  Please add comments if you have any suggestions or email me at michellelblakely@gmail.com.


American Literature Research Paper Ideas for Sophomores: Please Give Feedback!

College Preparatory Level:
1.  Amy Tan, The Joy Luck Club
Gene Luen Yang, American-Born Chinese
Amy Tan, “Mother Tongue”
2.  Julia Alvarez, Saving the World or Before We Were Free
Laurie Halse Anderson, Fever
3.  David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, James A. Houston, Farewell to Manzanar
4.  Chaim Potak, The Chosen
Art Spiegelman, Maus I
5.  Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Flowers for Algernon
6.  Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun
Harlem Renaissance Poetry Selection
7.  Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Kurt Vonnegut, “Harrison Bergeron”
8.  Richard Wright, Black Boy
Richard Wright, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”
9.  Bobby Ann Mason, In Country
Thom Jones, “The Pugilist at Rest”
10.  Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
11.  John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
Karen Hesse, Out of the Dust

Honors Level:
1.  Amy Tan, Mother Tongue, The Joy Luck Club
2.  Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent
3.  David Guterson, Snow Falling on Cedars
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, James A. Houston, Farewell to Manzanar
5.  Chaim Potak, The Chosen
Art Spiegelman, Maus I5.  A Raisin in the Sun, Harlem Poets
6.  Michael Dorris, The Yellow Raft in Blue Water
Sherman Alexie, “This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona” or “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel”
7.  Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Kurt Vonnegut, “Harrison Bergeron”
8.  Richard Wright, Black Boy
Richard Wright, “The Man Who Was Almost a Man”
9.  Bobby Ann Mason, In Country
Thom Jones, “The Pugilist at Rest”
10.  Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
11.  John Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath
Karen Hesse, Out of the Dust
12.  Maxine Hong Kingston, The Woman Warrior
Adeline Yen Mah, Chinese Cinderella