Full title · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

author · Samuel Clemens, usually known by his pen name, Mark Twain

type of work · Novel

genre · Concerned with Tom’s personal growth and quest for identity, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer incorporates several different genres. It resembles a bildungsroman, a novel that follows the development of a hero from childhood through adolescence and into adulthood. The novel also resembles novels of the picaresque genre, in that Tom moves from one adventurous episode to another. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer also fits the genres of satire, frontier literature, folk narrative, and comedy.

language · English

time and place written · 1874–1875; Hartford, Connecticut

date of first publication · The novel appeared in England in June 1876, and six months later in the United States.

narrator · An adult who views the adult world critically and looks back on the sentiments and pastimes of childhood in a somewhat idealized manner, with wit and also with nostalgia

point of view · The narrator narrates in the third person, with a special insight into the workings of the boyish heart and mind.

tone · Satirical and nostalgic

tense · Past

setting (time) · Not specified, but probably around 1845

setting (place) · The fictional town of St. Petersburg, Missouri (which resembles Twain’s hometown of Hannibal)

protagonist · Tom Sawyer

major conflict · Tom and Huck perceive their biggest struggle to be between themselves and Injun Joe, whose gold they want and whom they believe is out to kill them. Conflict also exists between Tom and his imaginative world and the expectations and rules of adult society.

rising action · Tom and Huck’s witness of Dr. Robinson’s murder; the search for the boys’ bodies in the river when they escape to Jackson’s Island; Tom’s testimony at Muff Potter’s trial; Tom and Huck’s accidental sighting of Injun Joe at the haunted house; Tom and Becky’s entrapment in the cave

climax · Huck overhears Injun Joe’s plan to kill Widow Douglas, and Tom encounters Injun Joe when he and Becky are stranded in the cave.

falling action · Huck gets help from the Welshman and drives Injun Joe away from Widow Douglas; Tom avoids conflict with Injun Joe and navigates himself and Becky out of the cave; Judge Thatcher seals off the cave, causing Injun Joe to starve to death; Tom and Huck find Injun Joe’s treasure; Huck is adopted and civilized by Widow Douglas

themes · Moral and social maturation; society’s hypocrisy; freedom through social exclusion; superstition in an uncertain world

motifs · Crime; trading; the circus; showing off

symbols · The cave; the storm; the treasure; the village

full title · An American Tragedy

author · Theodore Dreiser

type of work · Novel

genre · novel of naturalism

language · English

time and place written · The 1906 murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette eventually became the basis for “An American Tragedy”. Theodore Dreiser saved newspaper clippings about the case for some 15 years before writing his novel. Clyde Griffiths was based on Chester Gillette, right down to the same initials

date of first publication · 1925

narrator · The narrator narrates in the third person

point of view · omniscient, third-person point of view

tone ·

tense · Past

setting (time) · The time is the first quarter of the 20th Century.

setting (place) · Kansas City, imaginary Lycurgus, New York

protagonist · Clyde Griffits

major conflict · the story of a man struggling against social, economic, and environmental forces

rising action · Raised by poor and devoutly religious parents, who force him to participate in their street missionary work, the ambitious but naïve and immature Clyde is anxious to achieve better things. His troubles begin when he takes a job as a bellboy at a local hotel. The boys he meets are much more sophisticated than he, and they introduce Clyde to the world of alcohol and prostitution. Clyde enjoys his new lifestyle and does everything in his power to win the affections of the flirtatious Hortense Briggs

climax · The novel contains several climactic events. However, the main climax–the turning point at which the conflict takes an irreversible turn for the worse–occurs when Roberta falls from the boat and Clyde allows her to drown.

falling action · The trail of circumstantial evidence points to murder, and the local authorities are only too eager to convict Clyde. Following a sensational trial before an unsympathetic audience, despite a vigorous defense by two lawyers hired by his uncle, Clyde is found guilty and sentenced to death.

themes · One man’s losing struggle against forces that shape human destiny, the pursuit of materialism

motifs · religion, capital punishment, abortion

symbols ·

full title · Martin Eden

author · Jack London

type of work · Novel

genre ·

language · English

time and place written · When Jack London wrote Martin Eden at age 33, he had already achieved international acclaim with The Call of the Wild, The Sea-Wolf and White Fang. However, London quickly became disillusioned with his fame and set sail through the South Pacific on a self-designed ketch called the Snark. On the grueling two-year voyage - as he struggled with tiredness and bowel diseases - he wrote Martin Eden, filling its pages with his frustrations, adolescent gangfights and struggles for artistic recognition. The character of Ruth Morse was modelled on Mabel Applegarth - the first love of London's life.

date of first publication · 1909

narrator · The narrator narrates in the third person.

tone · Pessimistic

tense · Past

setting (time) · at the dawn of the 20th century

setting (place) · Oakland,

protagonist · Martin Eden

major conflict ·

rising action · Martin Eden struggles to rise far above his destitute circumstances through an intense and passionate pursuit of self-education in order to achieve a coveted place among the literary elite. The main driving force behind Martin Eden's efforts is his love for Ruth Morse.

climax ·

falling action · Instead of enjoying his success, Eden retreats into a quiet indifference, only interrupted to mentally rail against the genteelness of bourgeois society or to donate his new wealth to working class friends and family.

themes · Social class, machinery,

individualism vs socialism

motifs · an attack on individualism (in the person of the hero, suicide, a 'success' story)

symbols ·

Date: 2015-01-02; view: 1422