 |
Nineteen Eighty-Four is a compelling novel, written in the period just after W.W.II. It details the life of one man, Winston Smith, and his struggles with an undoubtedly fascist government. The book is set approximately in the year 1984, in which Winston’s society is ruled by a governing force known as “The Party”. At the [...]
Introduction
The Internet is a vast network of computers and other mini-networks all linked together so that everyone can find information, purchase products, or meet new people. It is easily assessable from home for anyone that has a computer and a modem or at a local library. It has made a huge impact since its introduction [...]
Recently while having a get together with some friends we were relating some experiences that seem quite pertinent to the subject of how communication is or will change. David the son of my friend Jackie was at a loss when told to call home. It seems our young guest had never had to use a [...]
How do you secure something that is changing faster than you can fix it? The Internet has had security problems since its earliest days as a pure research project. Today, after several years and orders of magnitude of growth, is still has security problems. It is being used for a purpose for which it was [...]
Main CharactersLaura Wingfield – She is the crippled and very shy daughter of Amanda who keeps her hard pressed to finding a husband.
Tom Wingfield – As Laura’s sister, he is also pressed by his mother to find his sister a gentleman caller, and to keep the job at the shoe factory to support the family.
Amanda [...]
Type of Work:
Presentational life dramaSetting
Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire; 1901 to 1913
Principal Characters
Stage Ma Beer, the play’s all-wise narrator
Dr. and Mrs. Gibbs, an ordinary small- town physician and housewife
George Gibbs, their son
Mr. and Mrs. Webb, a news editor and his wife
Emily Webb, their daughter
Simon Stimson , the town drunkard and church choir organist
A conglomeration of other [...]
Type of Work:
Fantasy novelSetting
London, England; late nineteenth century
Principal Characters
Dorian Gray, an extremely handsome young man
Basil Hallward, Dorian’s older friend, a portrait artist
Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian’s vile tempter
Sibyl Vane, Dorian’s actress-lover
James Vane, Sibyl’s brother
Story Overveiw
As Basil Hallward artfully put the finishing touches on his full-length portrait of an extraordiiiarily beautiful young man, Lord Henr Wotton paid [...]
Type of Work:
Comic, farcical playSetting
London, and a country house in Hertfordshire, England; the 1890s
Principal Characters
Jack Worthing, gentleman of the Manor House; also known as “Ernest”
Celcily Cardew, Worthing’s pretty young ward
Miss Prism, Cecily’s governess
Algernon Moncrieff, Worthing’s friend
Lady Augusta Braknell, Algernon’s aunt
Gwendolen Fairfax, Lady Bracknell’s daughter
The Reverend Canon Chasublc, Rector of Woolton
Story Overveiw
While Algernon Moncrieff and his [...]
Type of Work:
Fantasy / science fiction novelSetting
England; late nineteenth century, and hundreds of thousands of years in the future
Principal Characters
The Time Traveler, an inquisitive, scientific man
Weena, a future woman
Story Overveiw
One Thursday evening, four or five men assembled for dinner at a friend’s home near London. But as the evening passed, their host failed to appear. [...]
Type of Work:
Historical romantic fictionSetting
Judea and Rome; during the time of Jesus Christ
Principal Characters
Judah Bur-Hur, a Jew
Ben-Hur’s mother and sister
Tirzah
Messala, a Roman citizen; Judah’s childhood friend, and later hated enemy
Arrius, a Roman commander
Simonides, an aged Hur servant
Mallach, Simonides’ servant
Story Overveiw
(The tale begins with an account of Jesus humble birth, the adoration of the infant by [...]
Type of Work:
Satirical novelSetting
Europe and frontier South America; mid-eighteenth century
Principal Characters
Candide, a naive young man
Pangloss,Candide’s tutor and philosopher friend
Cunegonde, the beautiful daughter of a baron
Cacambo, Candide’s servant and companion
Martin, a later traveling companion
Story Overveiw
Candide, the illegitimate son of a Baron’s sister, was sent to live with the Baron at his beautiful castle in Westphalia.
The Baroness [...]
Type of Work:
Social and political satireSetting
England, 1547
Principal Characters
Edward Tudor-young Prince of Wales
Tom Canty-a pauper boy
Miles Hendon-a kindhearted noblemen
Story Overview
A boy was born on an autumm afternoon to a poverty-stricken Canty family. With the state of London’s sixteenth-century economy staring them in the face, the family did not want the child.
On the same day another English [...]
Type of Work:
Social satireSetting
England; 6th-century, during the reign Of King Arthur
Principal Characters
Hank Morgan, the Connecticut Yankee “Boss”; in reality a 19th-century mechanic
King Arthur, King of England
Merlin, Arthur’s court magician
Sandy, Hank’s sixth-century wife
Story Overveiw
Hank Morgan, born in Hartford, Connecticut, was head superintendent at a vast arms factory. There he had the means to create anything – [...]
1. The Author and His Times Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Clemens, was born in Florida, Missouri in 1835. When he was four, his family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, the setting for many of his books. His father died when he was 12. After his father died, he went to work as a printer’s [...]
Type of Work:
Tragic love storySetting
Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia; nineteenth century
Principal Characters
Robert Jordan, an American fighting with Spanish Loyalists
Anna Karenina, a beautiful young woman
Alexey, her cold, vindictive husband
Count Vronsky, a young military officer who falls in love with Anna
Stepan Oblonsky, Anna’s spendthrift brother Dolly, Stepan’s frustrated wife
Kitty, Dolly’s sister
Levin, Stepan’s rusticc friend, and Kitty’s suitor
Story [...]
Type of Work:
Natural history essaySetting
Walden Pond, Concord, Massachusetts; 1845 to 1847
Journal Overveiw
(The summer of 1845 found Henry David Thoreau living in a rude shack on the banks of Walden Pond. The actual property was owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great American philosopher. Emerson had earlier published the treatise entitled “Nature,” and the young Thoreau [...]
Type of Work:
Rustic, sentimental novelSetting
Salinas Valley, California; 20th-century depression years
Principal Characters
Lennie Small, a clumsy, simple-minded giant of a man
George Milton, Lennie’s friend and protector
Candy, a ranch swamper
Slim, a farm hand
Crooks, a Negro stable worker
Curley, the ranch owner’s virulent son
Curley’s wife
Story Overveiw
George and his ponderous friend Lennie followed a dusty path leading to the banks of [...]
Type of Work:
Social / political criticismSetting
Oklahoma and California; 1930s
Principal Characters
Tod Joad, a recent parolee in his mid-twenties
Ma and Pa Joad, a strong, middle-aged Oklahoma couple
Noah Joad, their strange eldest son
Al, their wild sixteen-year-old
Rose of Sharon, eldest Joad daughter, married and pregnant
Gramma and Grampa Joad, an earthy old couple
Jim Casy, a preacher and, later, a [...]
Introduction
John Steinbeck was born in California’s Salinas Valley in 1902. He grew up there, about 25 miles from the Pacific coast and this was the setting for many of his books. Steinbeck went to Stanford University in San Francisco in 1919 to study literature. He left, however, in 1925 without a degree. After college he [...]
Type of Work:
Conceptual horror novelSetting
Switzerland; late 1700s
Principal Characters
Robert Walton, an explorer attempting to sail to the North Pole
Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a “monster”
Clerval, Frankenstein’s friend
The Monster, Frankenstein’s angry, frustrated, and lonely creation
Story Overveiw
His ship surrounded by ice, Robert Walton watched with his crew as a huge, misshapen “traveller” on a dog sled [...]
Type of Work:
Romantic fantasySetting
A remote island; fifteenth century
Principal Characters
Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, cast away on an island in the sea
Miranda, his beautiful daughter
Alonso, King of Naples
Ferdinand, Alonso’s son
Antonio, Prospero’s wicked brother, and false Duke of Milan
Sebastian, Alonso’s brother
Gonzalo, a kind philosopher
Trinculo and Stephano, two drunken courtiers
Ariel, Prospero’s spirit servant
Caliban, Propero’s grotesque slave-monster
Story Overveiw
A [...]
Type of Work:
Dramatic, farcical comedySetting
Warwickshire, England and Padua, Italy; sixteenth century
Principal Characters
Christopher Sly-an indolent, fat tinker
Baptisa Minola-a rich Italian gentlemen
Bianca-his refined, youngest daughter
Katherine-his sharp-tongued, eldest daughter
Gremio-Bianca’s rich and elderly suitor
Hortensio-Bianca’s other suitor
Petruchio-Hortensio’s friend
Lucentio-a rich and colorful gentlemen
Tranio-Lucentio’s servant
Story Overveiw
The hostess of the inn bellowed at the drunken tinker, berating him for the glasses he had [...]
Type of Work:
Romantic tragedySetting
Verona, Italy; Fifteenth century
Principal Characters
Romeo, son of the house of Montague
Juliet, daughter of the Capulet household
Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin
Mercutio, Romeo’s friend
Tybalt, Juliet’s cousin
Lady Montague, the clan’s matriarch
Lady Capulet, Juliet’s mother
Juliet’s ribald nurse
Friar Lawrence, a Franciscan Monk
Story Overveiw
For a very long time the Capulets and the Montagues had been feuding. Harsh words often led [...]
Type of Work:
Tragic, romantic dramaSetting
Venice and the island, Cyprus; early sixteenth century
Principal Characters
Othello, the Moor of Venice, a black military man acclaimcd for his conquests
Desdemona, his wife, the beautiful daughter of a government official
Iago, Othello’s devious ensign
Emilia, lago’s wife, and attendant to Desdemona
Cassio, Othello’s devoted lieutenant
Story Overveiw
Othello, Moorish commander of the armed forces of Venice, [...]
Type of Work:
Romantic comedySetting
Messina, Italy; sixteenth century
Principal Characters
Don Pedro, Prince of Arragon
Don John, his jealous brother
Clatidio, a young Florentine lord loyal to Don Pedro
Benedick, a witty bachelor and another ally of Pedro
Leonato, governor of Messina
Hero, Leonato’s daughter
Beatrice, Hero’s cousin, also known for her sharp wit
Borachio, aide to Don John
Story Overveiw
After quashing the attempt of his [...]
Type of Work:
Comedic dramaSetting
Renaissance Venice and Belmont
Principal Characters
Antonio, the merchant
Bassanio, his young friend, in love with Portia
Portia, a beautiful and wealthy young woman
Shylock, a rich Jew
Jessica, Shylock’s lovely daughter
Story Overveiw
Whenever Bassanio needed money he would go to his older friend Antonio, a wealthy Venetian merchant. Now Bassanio needed a sizable loan for a certain “enterprise.” [...]
Type of Work:
Tragic fatalistic dramaSetting
Eleventh-century Scotland
Principal Characters
Macbeth, a noble Scottish chieftain
Lady Macbeth, his wife
Batiquo, Macbeth’s warrior-friend
Fleatice, Banquo’s son
Duncan, King of Scotland, a gentle and perfect ruler
Macduff, a rebel lord
Three Witches
Story Overveiw
On a stormy night, Scottish armies managed to suppress a rebellion, largely through the valor of two noblemen Macbeth and Banquo. They had also frustrated [...]
Type of Work:
Tragic dramaSetting
Medieval England
Principal Characters
Lear, King of Britain
Cordelia, his faithful daughter
Regan and Goneril, his two mean-spirited daughters
The Dukes of Cornwall and Albany, their husbands
The Earl of Gloucester
Edmund , the Earl’s treacherous son
Edgar, the Earl’s true son (later disguised as a madman)
The Duke of Kent, Cordelia’s loyal helper
Lear’s Fool, a comical character
Story Overveiw
England’s aged King [...]
Type of Work:
Tragic dramaSetting
Rome,- 44 B.C
Principal Characters
Julius Caesar, popular Roman general and statesman
Brutus, a prominent and devout Roman, and close friend to Caesar
Cassius, a conspiring enemy of Caesar
Marcus Antonius, Caesar’s supporter, a brilliant politician
Story Overveiw
Rome was in an uproar. General Julius Caesar had just returned after having defeated his rival, Pompey His many military triumphs [...]
Type of Work:
Historical, fictional play Setting
London, England; 16th century
Principal Characters
Henry VIII, Tudor King of England
Katherine of Aragon, Queen of England
Anne Bullen, Henry’s lover and subsequent queen
Wolsey, ambitious Cardinal of York
Duke Buckingham, Wolsey’s adversary
Duke of Norfolk and Duke of Suffolk, also Wolsey’s enemies
Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury
Story Overveiw
Two noblemen, the Dukes [...]
Type of Work: Tragic drama
Setting
Elsinore, Denmark; c. 1200
Principal Characters
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and son of the former king The Ghost, Hamlet’s dead father
Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, and Queen of Denmark
Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle and new stepfather, and now, King of Denmark
Polonius, Claudius’chief counselor
Laertes, Polonius’ son
Ophelia, Polonius’ obedient daughter
Horatio, Hamlet’s faithful friend
Story Overveiw
Prince Hamlet bitterly opposed the marriage [...]
Type of Work:
Romantic comedySetting
France; Duke Frederick’s court and Forest of Arden; 1500s
Principal Characters
Duke Senior, exiled rightful ruler
Duke Frederick, usurper of his brother’s dukedom
Oliver and Orlando, sons of Sir Rowland de Boys
Adam, long-time servant to Sir Rowland
Rosalind, Duke Senior’s daughter
Celia, Duke Frederick’s daughter
Phebe, a shepherdess
Silvius, a shepherd with unrequited love for Phebe
Touchstone, a “motley fool” jester [...]
Type of Work:
Romantic metrical poemSetting
Sixteenth-century Scotland
Principal Characters
James Douglas, outlawed uncle of the Earl of Angus
Ellen Douglas, his daughter (The Lady of the Lake)
Roderick Dhu, a rebel Highland chief of Clan Alpine, and protector of the Douglas’s
Allan-bane, the Douglas’ minstrel and devoted servant
James Fitz-James, a Saxon Lowlander Knight
Malcolm Graeme, Ellen’s young love
Story Overveiw
James Fitz-James, a Saxon [...]
4 Main Characters:Holden Caulfield- A young teenager who is kicked out of Pencey High because of several fails and a lack of motivation. He avoids telling his parents of his failings and wanders the streets of New York. He is confused, as well as opinionated.
Phoebe Caulfield- The younger sister of Holden. They have a good [...]
as told to Rusticiano da Pisa and edited by Francis R, Gemma; originally titled A DESCRIPTION OF THE WORLD
Type of Work:
Autobiographical adventure
Settings
Venice, Italy and overland to Eastern China (Cathay)
Principal Characters
Marco Polo, a young nobleman, traveling merchant and adventurer
Niccolo Polo, Marco’s father, also a merchant
Maffeo Polo, Niccolo’s brother and business partner
Kublai Khan, Emperor of China, descendent [...]
Type of Work:
Gothic horror storySetting
An ancient English manor house; nineteenth century
Principal Characters
An unidentified Narrator
Roderick Usher, the Narrator’s gravely
ill friend Lady Madcline, Roderick’s even more in firm sister
Story Overveiw
(Classical gothic imagery – drippingly dark surroundings and terrifying ghostly symbols – is used throughout this tale to evoke a sense of fear and forboding that present-day novels [...]
Book Overveiw
(The Republic is an examination of the “Good Life”; the harmony reached by applying pure reason and justice. The ideas and arguments presented center on the social conditions of an ideal republic – those that lead each individual to the most perfect possible life for him. Socrates Plato’s early mentor in real life – [...]
Type of Work:
Futuristic, cautionary novel
Setting
London, in the mythical country of Oceania; 1984 (in the future)
Principal Characters
Winston Smith, a rebel against society
Julia, his lover
Mr. Charrington, an elderly antique shop owner
O’Brien, the only member of the Inner Party Winston trusts
Story Overveiw
As Winston Smith entered his apartment building, he passed a familiar poster. “It was one of those [...]
Type of Work:
Social and philosophical commentarySetting
Antwerp; early sixteenth century
Principal Characters
Sir Thomas More, emissary for Henry VIII
Peter Giles, More’s friend
Raphael Hythloday, world traveler and witness to Utopia
Book Overveiw
Thomas More toured Antwerp on a diplomatic mission for his king, Henry VIII. There, More’s friend, Peter Giles, introduced the young ambassador to Raphael Hythloday, an educated sailor who [...]
Main charactersAlceste – He is in love with Celimene and very cynical about people and the way they act.
Celimene – She is conceited and shallow being everything that Alceste dislikes in a person.
Philinte – He is a good friend of Alceste but just the opposite in character since he is less frank and more sincere [...]
Type of Work:
Narrative, epic poemSetting
Hell, then Heaven, then newly-created Earth; all “in the beginning”
Principal Characters
Satan, earlier called Lucifer, a fallen angel
Adam, the first man
Eve, the first woman
God the Father
God the Son
Various angels and demons
Story Overveiw
(Recounted here is the story of Man’s fall,
Of Man’s First Disobedience, and the Fruit
Of that Forbidden Tree,whose mortal taste
Bought Death into [...]
Type of Work:
Dramatic playSetting
New York and Boston; 1949
Principal Characters
Willy Loman, a disgruntled traveling salesman
Linda, his wife
Biff, Willy’s favorite and most athletic son
Happy, another son
Play Overveiw
(Like many plays, this one shifts back and forth in time and place. We view much of the Loman family’s daily life through the eyes and mind of the father.)
Nobody believes [...]
Introduction
Arthur Miller was an American playwright who was born in 1915. He grew up in New York to a Jewish family. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 1938 where he began to distinguish himself as a playwright. His first plays were Honors at Dawn (1936) and No Villain (1937) which won the University [...]
Type of Work:
Allegorical novelSetting
The high Seas; early nineteenth century
Principal Characters
Ishmael, a teacher-seaman (and narrator)
Queequeg, a hardened and savage harpooner
Ahab, captain of the Pequod
Starbuck and Stubb, Ahab’s first and second mates
Fedallah, Captain Ahab’s Parsee servant and seer
Story Overveiw
A Massachusetts schoolmaster, Ishmael chose to give up the comfort and security of his classroom and fulfill his romantic [...]
Commentary
In the mid-nineteenth century, when Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital – an exhaustive work of more than one thousand pages – factory conditions were often intolerable, wages were at best barely adequate, and there were few groups or governments who advocated reform. Therefore, Marx took it upon himself to define “Capitalism,,, explain and condemn Capitalist [...]
Type of Work:
Political and philosophical discourseBook Overveiw
“It is customary for those who wish to gain the favour of a prince to endeavour to do so by offering him gifts of those things which they hold most precious.” To Machiavelli, his own most precious possession was the “knowledge of great men,” which he acquired through experience [...]
Type of Work:
Romantic narrative poemSetting
Plymouth, Massachusetts; 1621
Principal Characters
Miles Standish, a soldier and protector of the colony
John Alden, his younger, bookish friend
Priscilla, a young Puritan woman
Play Overveiw
On a spring afternoon in 1621, Captain Miles Standish, a short, powerfully-built man of middle age and a recent widower, stood in his house, surveying with pride his well-polished weapons [...]
Type of Work:
Adventure novelSetting
Northland (Alaska); the goldrush of the 1890s
Principal Characters
Buck, a large, intelligent and well-bred dog
Spitz, a cruel lead sled dog
John Thornton, Buck’s Northiand master
Story Overveiw
Buck, a huge four-year-old Scottish Shepherd-Saint Bernard cross-breed, lived a life of ease at Judge Miller’s Santa Clara Valley estate. As the judge’s loyal companion, working with his sons, [...]
Type of Work:
Social commentarySetting
Zenith, a mythical Midwestern American city; 1920s
Principal Characters
George F. Babbitt, a middle-aged real estate agent
Myra, his wife
Ted, their teenage son
Paul Reisling, George’s buddy from college
Zilla, Paul’s nagging wife
Tanis Judique, George’s mistress
Seneca Doane, a radical lawyer and George’s former college friend
Story Overveiw
As another day began in Zenith, sleeping George Babbitt fought to ignore [...]
Type of Work:
Symbolic dramaSetting
Southern Alabama; early 1930s
Principal Characters
Atticus Fitch, an attorney and single parent
Scout (Jean Louise Finch), his daughter, a young six-year old tomboy (and the story’s narrator)
Jem (Jeremy Finch), Scout’s older brother
Arthur “Boo” Radley, a mysterious, reclusive neighbor
Tom Robinson, Atticus’ Negro client
Story Overveiw
When Jem was nearly 13 years old his arm was badly broken [...]
Main CharactersGregor Samsa – Man who supported his family but mysteriously turned into a roach one day.
Grete Samsa – The sister of the roach man who fed and took care of the roach.
Herr Samsa – The father of the roach who had to return to work when his son couldn’t.
Frau Samsa – The mother of [...]
Type of Work:
Early psychological thriller
Setting
England; nineteenth century
Principal Characters
The “governess,” an unnamed twenty- year-old woman
Mrs. Grose, an older housekeeper
Flora, an eight-year-old girl
Miles, a ten-year-old boy
Story Overveiw
At Christmas time, a group of people in an old country home swapped ghost stories. One story tl)at particularly chilled tl-te group involved the visitation of a ghost to a young [...]
Type of Work:
Poetic dramaSetting
Norway, Morocco and Egypt; nineteenth century
Principal Characters
Peer Gynt, a non-heroic Norwegian farm boy
Aase, his mother
Solveighis faithful love
The Troll King
The Button Molder, a “judge” of humanity
Story Overveiw
“Peer, you’re lying!” cried Aase to her son – and he was lying. He had been weaving a fantastic tale of a ride he’d taken on a [...]
Main CharactersTorvald Helmer – He is a lawyer who has been promoted to manager in the bank.
Nora – She is Torvald’s wife who is treated like a child by Torvald’s but leaves in the end because of it.
Krogstad – He is the man Nora borrowed money from to pay for the trip to Italy.
Dr. Rank [...]
Introduction
Aldous Huxley was born on July 26, 1894 in Surrey, England. He majored in literature at Oxford College. After Oxford he did journalism work. Huxley wrote four volumes of poems before his first novel Chrome Yellow (1921). Huxley wrote 45 novels but it was Brave New World that established his fame.
Brave New World is a [...]
Type of Work:
Symbolic dramaSetting
North Coast of Cuba; early twentieth century
Principal Characters
Santiago, an old, weathered fisherman
Manolin , a boy, Santiago’s young fishing companion
The Marlin, a gigantic fish
Story Overveiw
Eighty-four days had passed since Santiago, the old fisherman, had caught a fish, and he was forced to suffer not only the ridicule of younger fishermen, but near-starvation as [...]
Type of Work:
Romantic war novelSetting
Spain; 1937
Principal Characters
Robert Jordan, an American fighting with Spanish Loyalists
Maria, Jordan’s lover
Anselmo, Jordan’s elderly guerilla guide
Pablo, a drunken guerilla leader
Pilar, Pablo’s strong and commanding wife
El Sordo, another guerilla leader
Rafael, a gypsy member of Pablo’s band
Story Overveiw
Robert Jordan, the young American, could think of nothing but the bridge as he and his [...]
Type of Work:
Psychological realismSetting
Italy and Switzerland; World War I
Principal Characters
Fyederic Henry, an American in the Italian army
Catiteritte Barkley, a British nurse
Rinaldi, an Italian surgeon and Frederic’s friend
Miss Ferguson, a British nurse and Catherine’s friend
Story Overveiw
Lieutenant Frederic Henry, a handsome young American, had returned from leave in southern Italy to the front, where he served in [...]
Type of Work:
Impressionistic fictionSetting
Boston, Massachusetts; seventeenth century
Principal Characters
Hester Prynne, a condemned adulteress
Pearl, her daughter
Arthitr Dimmesdale, one of the community’s ministers
Rodger Chillingsworth, Hester’s estranged husband (his assumed name)
Story Overveiw
Condemned to wear a bright red “A” over her breast wherever she went, Hester Prynne had been convicted of adultery by Boston’s Puritan leaders; a child had been [...]
Four main characters (and one-sentence description of each)Tess Durbeyfield – She is the main character who is raped, then married, but shunned by her husband because of the rape while before they were married, he had an affair.
Alec d’Urberville – He is a man believed by the Durbeyfield’s to be a relative, but Tess finds [...]
Type of Work:
Characterization and psychological novelSetting
“Wessex,” England; 1869 to 1873
Principal Characters
Bathsheba Everdene, a capricious young lady
Gabriel Oak, a dependable shepherd
Mr. Boldwood, a staid, wealthy farmer
Sergeant Frank Troy, an unscrupulous soldier
Fannie Robin, Troy’s secret lover
Story Overveiw
Gabriel Oak quietly scrutinized his new neighbor from across the hedge. Bathsheba Everdene appeared to be an overly-proud woman, but he [...]
Type of Work:
Detective mystery novel
Setting
San Francisco; 1920s
Principal Characters
Sam Spade, a young hard-boiled detective
Miles Archer, Spade’s older partner Brigid O’Shaughnessy, a beautiful young woman (alias Miss Wonderly)
Joel Cairo, an effeminate gangster-type
Casper Gutman, a rotund, older man
Iva Archer, Archer’s wife and Spade’s mistress
Story Overveiw
Effie Perine, secretary to private detective Sam Spade, opened his door to announce that [...]
1. The Author and His Times William Gerald Golding was born on September 19, 1911 in Cornwall England. His father was a schoolmaster and his mother was a suffragette. His parents had wanted him to study science, so he did from grammar school until the second year of college. After his second year of college, he [...]
Type of Work:
Allegorical poetic dramaSetting
Germany; eighteenth century
Principal Characters
Faust, a scholar who is offered knowledge by the Devil
Mephistopheles (Mephisto, the Devil), the great Satanic tempter
Gretche (Margaret), a young woman who falls in love with Faust
Martha, Gretchen’s neighbor and friend
Play Overveiw
In heaven, while angels sang praises to God and his grand creations, heaven and earth, Mephistopheles entered [...]
Type of Work:
Human dramaSetting
New York City and Long Island; 1922
Principal Characters
Nick Carraway, a young bond salesman from the Midwest, and the story’s narrator
Jay Gatsby, a rich, young racketeer
Tom Buchanan, a wealthy playboy
Daisy Buchanan, his beautiful wife, and Nick’s cousin
Jordan Baker, an attractive pro golfer, and the Buchanan’s friend
George Wilson, a gas station owner
Myrtle Wilson, his [...]
Main Characters
Caddy – The book tells her story in the first three sections discussing parts of her childhood and growth continuing with her illegitimate daughter in the third section.
Benjy – He is the narrator of the first section and 33 at the time, but has a mental illness which makes him deaf and dumb.
Quentin [...]
Type of Work:
Symbolic, life dramaSetting
English village of Raveloe; early nineteenth century
Principal Characters
Silas Marner, a lonely and miserly linen-weaver
Godfrey Cass, an insensitive, yet charming, young man
Dunstan Cass, Godfrey’s opportunistic brother
Squire Cass, Godfrey and Dunstan’s lewd, dull-witted father
Eppie, an abandoned little girl
Story Overveiw
Silas Marner, bent at his loom, was interrupted by some curious boys peering through his [...]
Type of Work:
Historical fiction
Setting
London and Paris during the French Revolution (1789-1799)
Principal Characters
Dr. Manette, a French physician, wrongfully imprisoned for 18 years
Lucie Manette, his daughter
Charles Darnay, a former French aristocrat who has repudiated his title and left France to live in England
Jarvis Lorry, the able representative of Tellson & Co., a banking house
Sydney Carton, a law [...]
Type of Work:
Adventure novelSetting
England, various ships at sea, and a small island near Trinidad; seventeenth century
Principal Characters
Robinson Crusoe, an Englishman
Friday, his island companion
Story Overveiw
Young Robinson Crusoe told his parents that he wished more than anything else to go to sea. His father bitterly opposed the idea, and warned his son that “if I did take [...]
Type of Work:
Natural history textFirst Published
1859
Complete Title
The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection , or the Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life
Book Historical Commentary
Charles Robert Darwin, the grandson of the English scientist Erasmus Darwin, studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and prepared for the ministry at Cambridge. Following his [...]
Four main characters (and one-sentence description of each)Henry Fleming (the youth) – Henry, the main character of the novel, was at first very excited to go to war joining the army against his mother’s wishes, but he finds war frightening and he becomes a coward to later become a hero.
Jim Conklin (the tall soldier) – [...]
Type of Work:
Historical romance
Setting
Upper New York region; 1757
Principal Characters
Hawkeye (Natty Bumppo), , a skilled white scout and frontiersman
Chingachgook, , Hawkeye’s lifelong Mohican (Delaware) friend
Uncas, , Chingachgook’s son and last heir to the title of chief of the Mohican tribe
Major Duncan Heyward, , Hawkeye’s Scottish soldier-friend
David Gainut, , a psalm singer, and comical, naive, self-proclaimed missionary
Magua [...]
Marlow – Young man who decides that it would be exiting to travel into Africa hunting ivory and does so by taking the place of a dead steamboat captain.
Kurts – Famous man among the ivory seekers who has lived and hunted on the continent for a while and has exploited the savages becoming much like [...]
Type of Work:
Lyrical fantasy balladSetting
A sailing ship traveling the seas; late Medieval period
Principal Characters
The Ancient Mariner, a sailor-storyteller
The Wedding Guest, a listener
The Ship’s Crew
The Allbatross, a symbolic representation of God’s creatures – and Man’s guilt
The Hermit, a rescuer representing God
Story Overveiw
(Coleridge introduces his tale by describing an old gray-headed sailor who approaches three young men [...]
Type of Work:
Symbolic Spanish novelSetting
Spain; seventeenth century
Principal Characters
Don Quixote (Alonso Quejana), a retired country scholar turned knight-errant
Sancho Panza, a rustic farmer who becomes Don Quixote’s squire
Dulcinea del Toboso (Aldonza Lorenzo), a village girl
Story Overveiw
Alonso Quejana was an ordinary Spanish country gentleman, except in one particular: he was addicted to books of chivalry. He spent every [...]
Four main characters (and one-sentence description of each)1. Heathcliff – He is a bitter man tormented by the loss of his love Catherine and the abuse of his stepbrother, Hindley. He gains the Earnshaw inheritance and sets out to ruin Edgar Linton.
2. Catherine Earnshaw – She falls in love with Heathcliff, marries Edgar Linton because [...]
Type of Work:
Psychological romanceSetting
Northern England; 1800s
Principal Characters
Jane Eyre, an orphan girl
Mrs. Reed, Jane’s aunt, and mistress of Gateshead Hall
Edward Rochester, the once-handsome owner of Thornfield Manor
St. John Rivers, a young clergyman
Story Overveiw
Orphaned at birth, Jane Eyre was left to live at Gateshead Hall Manor with her aunt-in-law, Mrs. Reed. Jane remained at the estate for [...]
Type of Work:
Study of manners
Setting
Rural England; early nineteenth century
Principal Characters
Mr. Bennet, father of five daughters
Mrs. Bennet, his opinionated wife
Elizabeth, their intelligent middle daughter, and Mr. Bennet’s favorite child
Jane, Elizabeth’s beautiful older sister
Lydia, the Bennet’s impetuous youngest daughter
Mr. Binglcy, Jane’s rich and amiable suitor
Mr. Darcy, Bingley’s arrogant and wealthy friend
Reverend Collins, a conceited bore
Mr. Wickman,an army [...]
Type of Work:
Allegorical religious poemSetting
Hell, Purgatory and Paradise; A.D. 1300
Principal Characters
Dante, the Pilgrim
Virgil, the Poet, and Dante’s guide
Beatrice, Dante’s womanly ideal and religious inspiration
Story Overview
Prologue: Dante, realizing he has strayed from the “true way,. into worldliness, tells of a vision where he travels through all the levels of Hell, up the mount of Purgatory, and [...]
Type of Work:
Sentimental, life dramaSetting
A small New England town; mid 1800s
Principal Characters
Mrs. March (“Marinee”), mother of four daughters
Mr. March, her husband, and army chaplain in the U.S. Civil War
Meg, their 16-year-old daughter
Jo, 15, wants to be an independent writer (and serves as the novel’s narrator)
Beth, a frail girl of 13, the “heart” of her family
Amy, [...]
Type of Work:
Classical tragic drama
Setting
A desolate Scythian cliff; remote antiquity
Principal Characters
Prometheus, the fire-bearing Titan demigod
Hephaestus, an Olympian fire god
Might (kratos) and Force (Bia), beings representing Power and Violence
Oceanos, god of the sea, and brother to Prometheus
Io, a river princess
Hermes, Zeus the chief Olympian god’s winged messenger
A Chorus composed of the daughters of Oceanos, who converse, [...]