From The Language of Literature
Diff. / Title / Author / Pgs / Context2 / Two Kinds / Amy Tan / 19 – 29 / Chinese-American Immigrants in 1949, impact of filial piety in youth
3 / After the Ball / Leo Tolstoy / 52 – 61 / High aristocracy, Russia, late 1800’s, lives ruled by chance
3
* / Selection from Earthly Paradise / Colette / 92 – 99 / Male & female gender roles in rustic France (proto-feminist)
2 / The Balek Scales / Heinrich Boll / 212 – 218 / Central European class struggles in early 1900’s
2 / On the Rainy River / Tim O’Brian / 267 – 280 / Vietnam draftee considers dodging, US Vietnam War, and war protest culture
2
* / The Pearl / Yukio Mishima / 285 – 294 / A lost pearl reveals the culture of deceit and suspicion in a group of old friends (Japanese-American)
2 / Love Must Not Be Forgotten / Zhang Jie / 397 – 408 / China (after Mao revolution) Changing marriage customs in China
3 / Brigid / Mary Lavin / 411 – 419 / Irish culture, depiction of Irish social values in marriage, honor, and death
3 / The Bear / Anton Chekov / 474 – 485 / Gender roles & a war between the sexes
2 / The Meeting / Jorge Luis Borges / 515 – 521 / Argentina, the history of Gauchos & old hate is related by the story of two daggers
2
* / Games at Twilight / Anita Desai / 545 – 552 / A children’s game represents the culture and historical struggles of India after independence
2 / Cabuliwallah / Rabindranath Tagore / 623 – 628 / The caste system is examined, India
1
* / As the Night the Day / Abioseh Nicol / 639 – 648 / Two Sierra Leone boys in colonized school
1 / By the Waters of Babylon / Stephen Vincent Benet / 714 – 723 / Rites of passage in Africa
1 / No Witchcraft for Sale / Doris Lessing / 745 – 451 / A an must choose between loyalty to his African heritage and his employer
2 / A Chip of Glass Ruby / Nadine Gordimer / 811 – 819 / Depicts the state of Indian workers in South Africa, Apartheid
3 / From Le Morte d’Arthur / Sir Thomas Malory / assort pages / Different stories of King Arthur & his knights
Rating Guide:
1 Straightforward application of previous learned concepts (particularly Africa), Low level reading, and/or easily researched
2 Standard challenge reading, directly applicable paths for research, and/or fits assignment well
3 Challenging reading selection, or potentially difficult research topic
From Responding to Literature
Diff. / Title / Author / Pgs / Context3 / Pyramus & Thisbe / Ovid / 7 – 11 / Greek myth, analyze tragic hero, apply to Jungian criticism
3 / From The Epic of Gilgamesh / (anonymous) / 42 – 56 / Babylonian myth, analyze tragic hero, apply Jungian criticism
3 / From The Persian Letters / Montesquieu / 83 – 90 / Folk tradition, French
3 / The Silver Mine / Selma Lagerlof / 91 – 102 / Folk tradition, Sweden
3 / Mussoco / Oscar Ribas / 102 – 112 / Folk tradition, Angola
2 / How Much Land does a Man Need? / Leo Tolstoy / 113 – 122 / Folk tradition, Russia, Class issues
2 / Lilies / Ru Zhijuan / 254 – 261 / China, heroic tale of an individual struggling against her culture
3
* / Selection from Earthly Paradise / Colette / 392 – 400 / Male & female gender roles in rustic France (proto-feminist)
2
* / The Name / Aharon Megged / 449 – 461 / A woman in Isreal struggles against traditions & her father’ dislike of her intended husband
2
* / The Heir / So Kiwon / 484 – 496 / Depiction of Post war Korea
2
* / Games at Twilight / Anita Desai / 497 – 504 / A children’s game represents the culture and historical struggles of India after independence
1
* / As the Night the Day / Abioseh Nicol / 517 – 521 / Two Sierra Leone boys in colonized school
1
* / The Interview / Ruth Prawer Jhabvala / 522 – 531 / The effects of British colonialism on India
3 / Tartuffe / Moliere / 540 – 587 / A Frenchman, representing the current cynical attitude in 1650 France, who hates the world, is influenced to change his mind
3 / A Piece of String / Guy de Maupassant / 588 – 595 / French; social commentary on the time leading up to World War I
2
* / The Pearl / Yukio Mishima / 596 – 606 / A lost pearl reveals the culture of deceit and suspicion in a group of old friends (Japanese-American)
2 / Vocational Counseling / Christa Reinig / 623 – 630 / An ironic interview with a computer Guidance counselor (compare to current Germany & US educational system)
1
* / Six Feet of the Country / Nadine Gordimer / 631 – 640 / Author of “Moment Before” and “Glass Ruby” on South Africa
3
* / The Night Face Up / Julio Cortazar / 692 – 700 / Cortazar uses Magical Realism to represent the struggles in Argentina
3
* / The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World / Gabriel Garcia Marquez / 701 – 708 / Marquez uses Magical Realism to represent the inequities of social class and poverty in Colombia
From Contemporary Short Stories
Diff. / Title / Author / Pgs / Context2
* / The Heir / So Kiwon / 20 – 32 / Depiction of Post war Korea
2
* / The Name / Aharon Megged / 43 – 55 / A woman in Isreal struggles against traditions & her father’ dislike of her intended husband
2 / A Visit to Grandmother / William Melvin Kelley / 56 – 63 / American South during the Civil right movement
2 / Everyday Use / Alice Walker / 64 – 69 / American South during the Civil right movement
2 / Rules of the Game / Amy Tan / 70 – 78 / Immigrant child struggles to learn the new “rules to the game”
2
* / Games at Twilight / Anita Desai / 91 – 98 / A children’s game represents the culture and historical struggles of India after independence
1
* / As the Night the Day / Abioseh Nicol / 99 – 110 / Two Sierra Leone boys in colonized school
2 / Seventeen Syllables / Hisaye Yamamoto / 111 – 120 / Depiction of Japanese-American immigrant life from, and the struggles of a child undergoing culture shock
3 / Initiation / Sylvia Plath / 132 – 140 / The initiation of a young girl into a sorority club, and her effort to revolt. Use feminist criticism.
2
* / The Pearl / Yukio Mishima / 166 – 176 / A lost pearl reveals the culture of deceit and suspicion in a group of old friends (Japanese-American)
2 / The Wooing of Ariadne / Harry Mark Petrakis / 177 – 185 / Machismo in an Greek immigrant community in America
1
* / The Interview / Ruth Prawer Jhabvala / 188 – 197 / The effects of British colonialism on India
1
* / Six Feet of the Country / Nadine Gordimer / 231 – 241 / Author of “Moment Before” and “Glass Ruby” on South Africa
3
* / The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World / Gabriel Garcia Marquez / 286 – 294 / Marquez uses Magical Realism to represent the inequities of social class and poverty in Colombia
3
* / The Night Face Up / Julio Cortazar / 295 – 302 / Cortazar uses Magical Realism to represent the struggles in Argentina
3 / I Sing the Body Electric / Ray Bradbury / 345 – 366 / Science Fiction, How can machine and humans interact?
3 / SQ / Ursula K Le Guin / 378 – 385 / An account of the future where everyone’s intelligence and sanity is measured by a test. Compare to the current standardized test movement in USA education.
2 / The Feeling of Power / Isaac Asimov / 389 – 395 / A futuristic example of “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”
* denotes the presence of the Short story in another book