Related Texts: Classics
and Contemporary Fiction
Classics and adult fiction usually have more complex plots and characters, which gives you more to discuss in an essay. They also often have a more sophisticated writing style, so English teachers (and markers!) like them better than young adult novels - especially for advanced students. Don't forget that classics have been around a long time, so your markers have studied and/or taught them before and will know them even better than you!
However, many young adult novels are equally complex and well-written, which is why they've won awards in adult as well as children's literature competitions. It's how well you analyse and write about your related text that counts, not how well-known it is.
I haven't put much in here yet, so check back in a few weeks!
· Tan, Amy. The Bonesetter’s Daughter This novel depicts the intense relationship between LuLing Young and her daughter Ruth, exploring the mysteries of her mother’s past in superstition-ridden rural China and the tensions of Chinese immigrant life in America.. Focus on the way layers of secrets and ambiguity create patterns of alienation and belonging through the juxtaposition of rural Chinese and contemporary American life, and look for repeated symbols and metaphors. Recommended for advanced students (because it’s long and you can’t spend the whole essay on the plot!)
· Dickins, Charles. Oliver Twist. Orphaned early in life, Oliver Twist finds a sense of belonging in Fagin’s band of pickpockets. Focus on the imagery used to create an atmospheric setting and the emotive language used to make you empathise with particular characters. Pay attention to Fagin’s need to belong as well as the boys. You could also use the film to assist your understanding of the novel (see above), but don’t fix them up!.
· Franklin, Miles. My Brilliant Career. This Australian classic tells the story of Sybella, an intelligent and viviacious 16 year old who lives in rural Australia at the end of the C19th, from her initial alienation from ‘normal’ female roles to her romance with Harry Beecham from the nearby farm to her acceptance and fame as an author. Discuss the impact of first person and stream of consciousness on the reader, and investigate the role of the Australian landscape in defining Sybylla’s psyche. Recommended for advanced students.
· Hoseini, Khaled, The Kite Runner this novel
· McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsong. Talented musician, Menolly embarrasses her family by wanting to pursue a career is a harper even though she’s a girl. This fantasy novel depicts struggle against all the odds to change the ‘rules’ after her accidental discovery of dragon-lizards, which will save her colony. Focus on the way the landscape is used to portray Menolly’s emotions as well as types of orders and questions in the dialogue to establish her role in the hold and the hall.
· Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. Alienated from her stereotypical female peers during her internship at a prestigious women’s magazine in New York, the talented Esther becomes increasingly depressed and is committed to a mental asylum by her family. Discuss how Esthers narrative voice and tone (esp the internal monologue) and explore the various motifs (media, mirrors, photographs, blood) and symbols (bell jar, tree, headlines,) used to depict Esther’s resistance to traditional feminine roles and her eventual recognition of herself as an empowered individual. Some notes about this book can be found at http://www.shmoop.com/bell-jar/ and there is an academic essay at http://www.sylviaplath.de/plath/wagner2.html. that might be useful.
· Provost, Anne. Falling. A fascinating look at how and innocent person can become a violent racist and the shocking results of not taking action against others’ evil. Pay particular attention to the way hate creates a sense of belonging as strong as love (eg when Caitlin reveals her background, p 202 and at the protest, p214, 216). How does the first person narration and the mundane realism of the description position you to accept racism? What symbols and dialogue differentiate Caitlin, Bennoit and Lucas? How is the past gradually revealed?
· Pullman, Phillip. Northern Lights. The strongest sense of belonging in the His Dark Materials universe is between a person and their soul/daemon. When children start to disappear, Lyra decides to investigate and . This text could be used by standard students on a simple level to discuss the role of daemons in creating the ultimate form of belonging or by advanced students who could analyse the author’s use of literary references to the biblical stories and Milton’s Paradise Lost.
· Rhue, Martin. The Wave. This quick read tells the true story of a history teacher who accidentally created a neo-Nazi club in his school as an experiment to show his class why people followed Hitler. A fantastic text highlighting the benefits and problems associated with belonging. Ask Ms Carmyn for a study guide which highlights the techniques in this novel. There is a film of this text, but it doesn’t have many techniques to talk about; the novel is better
· Salinger, J D. The Catcher in the Rye.The ultimate classic young adult novel about a teenage boy who feels alienated from all the “phonies” he sees around him. Discuss the first person narrator’s use internal monologue, colloquial voice and carefully controlled tone t5o directly address the reader (second person).. Look for motifs such as graffiti, ducks and the red hat, metaphors such as the carousel and literary allusions. An excellent study guide can be found at http://www.shmoop.com/catcher-in-the-rye/.
The Secret River by Kate Grenville. The Text Publishing Company 2006 (2005). ISBN-13: 9781921145254. 336 pp. This is superb – a wonderfully readable account of William Thornhill, transported to the colony in 1806, with his wife Sal and his children. William has grown up on the meanest of London streets and has known hunger and fear, but never anything as alien as the foreign world of Sydney Cove: ‘How could air, water, dirt and rocks fashion themselves to be so outlandish?’ This is the ultimate emancipist story and a revelation into the inability of the settlers to understand the indigenous sense of belonging to the land.
This is for Advanced Level students.
· Paul Gallico, The Snow Goose
· Ken Kesey, Kes
· Geraldine Brooks, March
· Lionel Shriver, We Need To Talk About Kevin
· Alice Sebold , The Lovely Bones
· Yann Martel, The Life of Pi
· Jay Kopelman, From Baghdad With LoveBenjamin Zephaniah, Refugee Boy
· Amit Chaudhuri, A New World
· kathy Lette, Puberty Blues (also a film)
· Ting-xing Ye, Throwaway Daughter
· Bilkuei, Cola, Cola's Journey
· Hayes, Rosemary, Mixing it
· Sis, Peter, The Wall: growing up behind the Iron curtain
· A Foreign Wife - Gillian Bouras
· Always Adam - Sheldon Oberman
· An imaginary Life - David Malouf
· Animal Farm - George Orwell
· Antigone – Sophocles
· Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
· Desire Under the Elms - Eugene O'Neill
· Digger J Jones - Richard J Frankland
· Diptych - Robert Gray
· Fancy Nancy - Jane O'Connor
· First they Killed My Father - Luong Ung
· Geography Club - Brent Hartinger
· Getting It - Alex Sanchez
· Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
· Inside Black Australia - Kevin Gilbert
· Jane Eyre - Sandy Welch
· Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
· Mutt Dog - Stephen Michael King
· Nine Hours North - Tim Sinclair
· Not Old Enough - Charlotte Middleton
· Notre Dame de Paris - Victor Hugo
· Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
· One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
· The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith - Thomas Keneally
· The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells
· The Island - Armn Greder
· The Mysteries of Belonging - Marjorie Salvodon
· The Rope Ladder - Nigel Richardson
· The Secret River - Kate Grenville
· The Spare Room - Kathryn Lomer
· The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
· The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier
· Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
· Two Tough Teddies - Kilmerry Niland
However, many young adult novels are equally complex and well-written, which is why they've won awards in adult as well as children's literature competitions. It's how well you analyse and write about your related text that counts, not how well-known it is.
I haven't put much in here yet, so check back in a few weeks!
· Tan, Amy. The Bonesetter’s Daughter This novel depicts the intense relationship between LuLing Young and her daughter Ruth, exploring the mysteries of her mother’s past in superstition-ridden rural China and the tensions of Chinese immigrant life in America.. Focus on the way layers of secrets and ambiguity create patterns of alienation and belonging through the juxtaposition of rural Chinese and contemporary American life, and look for repeated symbols and metaphors. Recommended for advanced students (because it’s long and you can’t spend the whole essay on the plot!)
· Dickins, Charles. Oliver Twist. Orphaned early in life, Oliver Twist finds a sense of belonging in Fagin’s band of pickpockets. Focus on the imagery used to create an atmospheric setting and the emotive language used to make you empathise with particular characters. Pay attention to Fagin’s need to belong as well as the boys. You could also use the film to assist your understanding of the novel (see above), but don’t fix them up!.
· Franklin, Miles. My Brilliant Career. This Australian classic tells the story of Sybella, an intelligent and viviacious 16 year old who lives in rural Australia at the end of the C19th, from her initial alienation from ‘normal’ female roles to her romance with Harry Beecham from the nearby farm to her acceptance and fame as an author. Discuss the impact of first person and stream of consciousness on the reader, and investigate the role of the Australian landscape in defining Sybylla’s psyche. Recommended for advanced students.
· Hoseini, Khaled, The Kite Runner this novel
· McCaffrey, Anne. Dragonsong. Talented musician, Menolly embarrasses her family by wanting to pursue a career is a harper even though she’s a girl. This fantasy novel depicts struggle against all the odds to change the ‘rules’ after her accidental discovery of dragon-lizards, which will save her colony. Focus on the way the landscape is used to portray Menolly’s emotions as well as types of orders and questions in the dialogue to establish her role in the hold and the hall.
· Plath, Sylvia. The Bell Jar. Alienated from her stereotypical female peers during her internship at a prestigious women’s magazine in New York, the talented Esther becomes increasingly depressed and is committed to a mental asylum by her family. Discuss how Esthers narrative voice and tone (esp the internal monologue) and explore the various motifs (media, mirrors, photographs, blood) and symbols (bell jar, tree, headlines,) used to depict Esther’s resistance to traditional feminine roles and her eventual recognition of herself as an empowered individual. Some notes about this book can be found at http://www.shmoop.com/bell-jar/ and there is an academic essay at http://www.sylviaplath.de/plath/wagner2.html. that might be useful.
· Provost, Anne. Falling. A fascinating look at how and innocent person can become a violent racist and the shocking results of not taking action against others’ evil. Pay particular attention to the way hate creates a sense of belonging as strong as love (eg when Caitlin reveals her background, p 202 and at the protest, p214, 216). How does the first person narration and the mundane realism of the description position you to accept racism? What symbols and dialogue differentiate Caitlin, Bennoit and Lucas? How is the past gradually revealed?
· Pullman, Phillip. Northern Lights. The strongest sense of belonging in the His Dark Materials universe is between a person and their soul/daemon. When children start to disappear, Lyra decides to investigate and . This text could be used by standard students on a simple level to discuss the role of daemons in creating the ultimate form of belonging or by advanced students who could analyse the author’s use of literary references to the biblical stories and Milton’s Paradise Lost.
· Rhue, Martin. The Wave. This quick read tells the true story of a history teacher who accidentally created a neo-Nazi club in his school as an experiment to show his class why people followed Hitler. A fantastic text highlighting the benefits and problems associated with belonging. Ask Ms Carmyn for a study guide which highlights the techniques in this novel. There is a film of this text, but it doesn’t have many techniques to talk about; the novel is better
· Salinger, J D. The Catcher in the Rye.The ultimate classic young adult novel about a teenage boy who feels alienated from all the “phonies” he sees around him. Discuss the first person narrator’s use internal monologue, colloquial voice and carefully controlled tone t5o directly address the reader (second person).. Look for motifs such as graffiti, ducks and the red hat, metaphors such as the carousel and literary allusions. An excellent study guide can be found at http://www.shmoop.com/catcher-in-the-rye/.
The Secret River by Kate Grenville. The Text Publishing Company 2006 (2005). ISBN-13: 9781921145254. 336 pp. This is superb – a wonderfully readable account of William Thornhill, transported to the colony in 1806, with his wife Sal and his children. William has grown up on the meanest of London streets and has known hunger and fear, but never anything as alien as the foreign world of Sydney Cove: ‘How could air, water, dirt and rocks fashion themselves to be so outlandish?’ This is the ultimate emancipist story and a revelation into the inability of the settlers to understand the indigenous sense of belonging to the land.
This is for Advanced Level students.
· Paul Gallico, The Snow Goose
· Ken Kesey, Kes
· Geraldine Brooks, March
· Lionel Shriver, We Need To Talk About Kevin
· Alice Sebold , The Lovely Bones
· Yann Martel, The Life of Pi
· Jay Kopelman, From Baghdad With LoveBenjamin Zephaniah, Refugee Boy
· Amit Chaudhuri, A New World
· kathy Lette, Puberty Blues (also a film)
· Ting-xing Ye, Throwaway Daughter
· Bilkuei, Cola, Cola's Journey
· Hayes, Rosemary, Mixing it
· Sis, Peter, The Wall: growing up behind the Iron curtain
· A Foreign Wife - Gillian Bouras
· Always Adam - Sheldon Oberman
· An imaginary Life - David Malouf
· Animal Farm - George Orwell
· Antigone – Sophocles
· Cloudstreet - Tim Winton
· Desire Under the Elms - Eugene O'Neill
· Digger J Jones - Richard J Frankland
· Diptych - Robert Gray
· Fancy Nancy - Jane O'Connor
· First they Killed My Father - Luong Ung
· Geography Club - Brent Hartinger
· Getting It - Alex Sanchez
· Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
· Inside Black Australia - Kevin Gilbert
· Jane Eyre - Sandy Welch
· Mostly Harmless - Douglas Adams
· Mutt Dog - Stephen Michael King
· Nine Hours North - Tim Sinclair
· Not Old Enough - Charlotte Middleton
· Notre Dame de Paris - Victor Hugo
· Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
· One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey
· The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith - Thomas Keneally
· The Invisible Man - H.G. Wells
· The Island - Armn Greder
· The Mysteries of Belonging - Marjorie Salvodon
· The Rope Ladder - Nigel Richardson
· The Secret River - Kate Grenville
· The Spare Room - Kathryn Lomer
· The Time Machine - H.G. Wells
· The Virgin Blue - Tracy Chevalier
· Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe
· Two Tough Teddies - Kilmerry Niland