Saturday, February 6, 2010

Top 10 Books Every High School Graduate Should Have Read

I was searching for a topic for my next blog post earlier this week, and my good friend and compulsive list-maker suggested this Top 10 list. I was too insecure in my own ability to create a list from scratch, so I consulted a few of my best English Student-Teacher friends and have compiled a list in no particular order (which is one of my greatest downfalls as a maker of lists).

1. Something by Shakespeare
This was on everybody's list. There are obviously several choices for high school readers in Billy's repertoire. I only read three of his plays in high school:
Julius Caesar, A Mid-Summer Night's Dream, and Othello -- all of which I enjoyed. Othello is still my favorite, but those surveyed also suggested Twelfth Night and Hamlet -- both of which I liked, but did not read until I was in college.
Some may complain and wonder why Shakespeare is such a given and must be so widely-read. It usually isn't difficult to get me to join the "we shouldn't necessarily do things just because that's how we've always done it" bandwagon, but I've got to support Shakespeare. I believe that his work should be canonized almost entirely because it has lasted so long. His words are still influencing the way that educated people speak and think nearly 4 centuries after his death, because he understood how people work and wrote honestly about human emotion and interaction. Getting high school students to read is 1/2 a literacy issue and 1/2 an issue of creating educated citizens. Shakespeare helps accomplish both of these, because, after all,
"...there be nothing new, but that which is
Hath been before..."


2.
1984 by George Orwell
This is one of my favorite works of all time. I read it for the first time in high school, and I remember all of my friends liking it too. As high school students, we probably enjoyed reading the risque business and felt empowered to "stick it" to Big Brother. Later, I came to be wary of all I heard about my government. But, now, it seems to be more important that George Orwell wrote the book in 1949, contemplating how the world would be 35 years later. The fear that was so pervasive at that time is shocking. Now I realize how many good lessons can be taught from this book....lessons that I had to learn on my own much later.

3.
Night by Elie Wiesel
This short work brings the horrors of the Holocaust home, and hits people right where they live. Once again, Wiesel's book has so many lessons to teach to high school students who have a difficult time seeing beyond themselves. This kind of experience can really broaden their worldviews.

4.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
This is a beautiful "coming-of-age" story of racial (in)justice in the deep South. High school students have been hearing about civil rights and racial inequality for their entire educated lives. Books like this show them the situation from a personal point of view, forcing them to think about what it must have been like to really deal with extreme prejudice. In many cases, it can make them think about prejudices in their own lives and show them how they may be treating others.

5.
Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
I didn't read this book until I was in college. It's a bit long for my taste, as far as a general high school read goes, but I think that it's important in the same way -- but perhaps not to the same degree -- that Shakespeare is. Twain is a Southern American classic that all educated people should read. When I was in high school, we took the Mark Twain shortcut by reading his short stories instead, which is a viable option when under a time crunch, but Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer are classic stories with their own lessons to teach. They can also be easy introductions to dialect reading.

6.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
This is my favorite book of all time. Period. The End. I read it in high school, but not for class. It is the perfect introduction to romantic British Lit. and can really stretch a high school student's mind with varied diction and syntax. I think that it can make teenagers feel like they are reading something a little "high brow" because of the language without being too far over their head. Plus, it's just a beautiful story, for which I'm a sucker.

7.
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I know several people who did not enjoy this book and wonder why in the world it is so widely read in high school English classes. I liked the book, but that's just personal taste. I think it's a perfect representation of the "Roaring '20s" and a satirical critique of the "American Dream." It asks the hard questions about what Americans had always prioritized and shows that when people, especially a whole nation, are short-sighted there are consequences to be paid. It's a great lesson in preparation.

8.
The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
This is another period piece about the strict societal rules in 17th century Puritan New England. This kind of work can beautifully highlight a history lesson on early America while providing a backdrop for difficult discussions about morality in the present.

9.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
I did not read this book until I was in college, but I think that it can be perfectly suited for a high school classroom as well. Hurston's beautiful story of an African American woman's struggle to see herself (and have others see her) as a person, a woman, and a worthy creature of God evokes compassion and sympathy in its readers. Especially for students who will not go on to college, Hurston's easy-to-read fiction is the perfect tool to expand a world-view.

10.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
This may have been one of my favorite books that I read while in high school. I think it is very interesting that no one the consulted panel mentioned this one. To some, Steinbeck is an acquired taste, but I love his writing. He has such an ease with words that it's no wonder he's been named as one of the greats. The plight of the Joad family and their 1930s westward journey is a classic story for teaching a wide variety of moral lessons along with literary devices and the exploration of literary merit.

What books did you read in high school that I've left out of this list? What books would be on your Top 10 list? If you were teaching High School English, what works would you be sure not to leave out?

4 comments:

  1. I only read four on your list as assigned reading in high school (my favorite Shakespeare is Macbeth, by the way), but they were four that I enjoyed, so they're good choices). I probably read P&P for the first time in high school, but it might have been college. I think I read Huck Finn in college, but don't quote me on that.
    But I'm here to confess that I have a very expensive degree in English, and I've never read four of the books on this list.
    As far as additions that I would make: if one had the time, I think Brave New World is a nice companion read to 1984, just for the comparison. I think that's the smartest thing my senior English teacher did.
    We also read The Hobbitt in 9th grade, which is a nice fantasy piece that non-fantasy people enjoy.
    I'd also recommend The Unvanquished by Faulkner. I wouldn't across-the-board recommend any other Faulkner for a high school student, but The Unvanquished is a great intro into Faulkner's postage stamp of native soil, deals with the Civil War and Reconstruction so it goes well with the American History they're also taking, and Faulkner is my fave.
    I have a soft spot for Hemingway too, but I prefer his short fiction to any of his novels.
    I also feel pretty strongly about the addition to something written in the last half or better yet quarter century to the high school canon. Of course, since it's been 13 years since I was in high school maybe that's a thing that happens now. Off the cuff, I'd pick The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.
    I'm going to be thinking about this for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I almost never enjoy books I'm forced to read, so I'm just going to say books that I think everyone should read. The big one that's not on Hailey's list is difficult. It's Les Miserables. But it's a hard read. But the experience is so worth it. I don't know, that was my big one. I had more to say about this when I didn't have to type it. Sorry to disappoint.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm so glad you included Shakespeare, but was thrilled to see that you didn't require Romeo and Juliet. It drives me crazy. I loved Gatsby when I read it in high school. It was the glimpse I had into the fact that literature could be downright scandalous. :-)

    I love your list. Is there another British author you would include? Maybe a Bronte sister or some Sherlock Holmes? Oooh! Or Frankenstein!

    And can you believe I haven't read "Their Eyes Were Watching God"? I know. Shame on me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can't belive that I'm just now commenting on this since it was totally my idea. NICE delivery by the way. This is a very solid list, and, like Ellen, I'm ashamed to admit that I've only read six of the books on it.
    I think that Dracula is a great read for high school students especially given the current vampire craze. It's a classic. It defined a genre. And, Dracula is written entirely in the form of letters and diary entries so it makes for a different style of literature than they might get elsewhere.
    I totally agree about Steinbeck, though I have to admit that I didn't get GoW when I read it in high school. East of Eden is my favorite of his (so far), but it's much longer than Grapes, and not as famous.
    I like Hemmingway too, and I agree with Ellen about his short stories being better than his novels. Old Man and the Sea is a nice compromise there. You could do a series of American short stories and novellas using Hemmingway, Poe, and somebody recent like Steven King (The Body is my first pick here.) or Neil Gaiman.
    I think that one really good choice for high schoolers that I never see people mention is Dumas. The Three Musketeers is long, but not too long, and his writing style is so fast-paced and action-packed that students can enjoy it.
    No Dickins? A Tale of Two Cities was the forced-to-read book that I most enjoyed in high school.
    I've also become convinced that high school students should be exposed to some religious literature in an academic setting before they graduate. It'd be nice to have them read something like the book of Job or the Joseph narrative from Genesis along with one of the gospels (Luke is my pick) and some selections from the Qu'ran. I'd stick those into a big section on mythology and read them along with Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology.
    Gulliver's Travels is another one that I read in Jr. High and absolutely loved. Anyway that's enough from me.

    ReplyDelete