Henry David Thoreau: Walden Henry Adams: Education of Henry Adams Henry James: Daisy Miller Henry Miller Tropic of Cancer
Moby Dick (it all begins and ends there), Absalom, Absalom, The Great Gatsby, Leaves of Grass, The Waste Land.
This is a good start. Some others that haven't been named (in whetever order they hit me in the head): Grapes of Wrath Uncle Tom's Cabin The Old Man and the Sea For Whom the Bell Tolls As I Lay Dying Bartleby the Scrivener Red Badge of Courage Invisible Man The Call of the Wild 1984 Lolita Catch-22 A Farewell to Arms Of Mice and Men Man, so many more. It's hard to think of them at once...
I know its de riguer to trash it now, but On the Road. I'd put it ahead of Catcher in the Rye anyway.
Ouch. I can't believe I did that. I'm going to crawl into a hole now. I was just popping them out of my head, and 1984 got thrown in there. Perhaps because it seems so relevant here. I'll make up for it when I add to the list...or something. *crawls into hole*
Catcher is excellent and has become important standard HS reading for it's controversy as much as for the book itself. However IMO Mockingbird is about the most relevent of American novels for American's based on it's message. I dunno if i'm explaining myself right... IMO it's social comentary is incredibly powerfull and should be mandatory American HS reading because of it.
Yes, that's my point. They're both very good high school novels. And there's nothing wrong with that; I don't mean it pejoratively at all. But what we're discussing is the entire canon of "American classics." I think, on that list, they fall much farther down. I think Salinger was a better short story writer than a novelist. As for Mockingbird, it's a perfectly good novel--and very important--but there are many, many, many novels that provide outstanding social commentary and critique. Many do it better, and less bluntly, than this. I was just responding to your "Obviously..." statement, which made it sound as if those led the list of great American books, which I think is far from the case in most people's minds.
Oh, I meant the "obviously" as in being the standard. Its what we are taught in HS. Very few read recreationaly at that age and those books introduce most young Americans to "real" literature. So i began the list there. But i understand what your saying.
Actually, America was part of Oceania; that's why they used dollars. But Orwell was, of course, a writer from Airstrip One. Though I believe he was born in India, which, I believe, would be part Eurasia. I tell ya though. One would think it's an American novel, since American is certainly becoming more and more like the 1984 that Orwell warned us about.
Man, its amazing how many of these classics I hated while in high school. And I mean HATED. Especially of the mid 19th century generation. *shudder* Give me Roth and Bonfire of the Vanities any day of the week.
Damn straight. Read that baby in two sittings. My list off the top of my head: The Sound and the Fury The Great Gatsby Slaughterhouse Five Catch-22 Liar's Poker Into the Wild The last two are more contemporary, personal favorites of mine that I wanna toss in there. Also, I feel obliged to contribute Old Man and the Sea, even though I have a very bipolar opinion on it.
I dont think To Kill a Mockingbird has held up very well. It has an oversimplified message and is not even very-well written. No list is complete without Henry James (Portrait of a Lady). And it appears Thomas Wolfe (Look Homeward, Angel) has been all but forgotten.
Oh, nothin' wrong with American Pastoral or Human Stain. David Lee did have amazing lyrics like "Jump", however. Deep man. Deep.
Haven't read Human Stain. Didn't care for American Pastoral. The man has written a book, too. It's supposedly great in the way that interviews with Diamond Dave are great.
yes it is... I'm not surprised you hate that. Anything forced on you as a 17 year old sucks. But that one i read in college for the first time. I loved everything but the last three pages. I was beyond pissed at the end. so is it everything from the 19th century?