Brunella
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
Posts: 1,441
|
Post by Brunella on Feb 6, 2008 20:14:59 GMT -5
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir As de Beauvior's most acknowledged work, The Second Sex lays the foundations of the feminine liberation, being regarded as a major feminist work. This essay displays de Beauvoir's concern over the constant perception of women as the "second" sex, as the "weak" sex, whereas the men are portrayed as the "normal" and "principal" sex. The author consolidates her work throughout a treatment of history and of several and diverging points of view.
Memoirs Of A Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvior The autobiography of French existentialist Simone de Beauvoir perpetuates more than the average remembrance of a lifetime. It allows the reader to imagine de Beauvoir's upbringing, the episodes that developed her character, her rebellion against the structured values with which she was bred, justifying, as well, her philosophical stance. Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter permits an insight of the author's development, in her professional life, as in her personal life, with a constant evocation of friends, mentors and love interests
|
|
|
Post by Dominique on Feb 6, 2008 23:29:03 GMT -5
They're great
|
|
|
Post by swissmiss on Feb 12, 2008 2:11:59 GMT -5
I haven't read this for a while, but here you go!
A Doll's House by Henrik ibsen is a short play set in the late 19th century that centers around Nora Helmer and her "awakening" from her domestic home life. She was constantly ruled by her husband, not allowed to have an independent life. One might say she was simply a doll in her own home, controlled by others. However, when her husband discovers that she had illegitimately borrowed money to save his life many years ago, she is finally able to find her independence.
|
|
|
Post by Dominique on Mar 4, 2008 5:36:41 GMT -5
Thanks I'm going to repost the list here to make it easier: Classics that still need descriptions include: Hedda Gabler by IbsenThe Dolls House by IbsenLegend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington IrvingDaisy Miller by Henry JamesPortrait of a Lady by Henry JamesDangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de LaclosThe Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe by Edgar Allen PoeSwann's Way by Marcel ProustTreasure Island by Robert Louis StevensonThe Jungle by Upton SinclairUncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe A Modest Proposal by Jonathon SwiftGulliver's Travels by Jonathan SwiftHamletOthelloRomeo and JulietIvanhoe by Sir Walter Scott Dracula by Bram StokerWalden by Henry David ThoreauThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark TwainEthan Frome by Edith WartonThe Age of Innocence by Edith WartonThe Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar WildeJourney to the Centre of the Earth by Jules VerneModern classics not done yet: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward AlbeeFahrenheit 451 by Ray BradburyIn Cold Blood by Truman CapoteMemoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir, 1949A Portrait of An Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce 1916 Ulysses James Joyce (1922)Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Diary Of Anne Frank by Anne FrankCold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, 1932 A Farewell To Arms by Ernest HemingwayA Moveable Feast by Ernest HemingwaySiddhartha by Hermann Hesse, 1922 Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse Of Mules and Men by Zora Neal Hurston Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale HurstonBrave New World by Aldous Huxley, 1932Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, 1961As I Lay Dying by William FaulknerLight in August by William Faulkner Time and Again by Jack Finney The Trial by Franz Kafka On the Road by Jack KerouacFlowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes The Stepford Wives by Ira LevinThe Naked and The Dead by Norman Mailer Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov, 1938 The Emperor Jones by Eugene O'Neill, 1921 Animal Farm by George OrwellThe Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Grapes of Wrath by Jonathan Steinbeck Of Mice and Men by Jonathan Steinbeck A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, 1943 The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Galapagos by Kurt VonnegutNight by Elie Wiesel A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, 1948 Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. The Complete Stories and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe by Edgar Allen PoeA collection of often macabre, mournful and downright eerie pieces by Edgar Allen Poe, a master of the gothic-horror genre. One of the best known works of this American writer is a poem entitled The Raven. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (1883)The main character of this adventure tale, Jim Hawkins, is a young boy who comes to possess a map to pirate Captain Flint's treasure. He, Squire Trelawney and Dr Livesey charter a ship and set off on the expedition. Difficulties quickly ensue when Long John Silver, who has been hired as the ship cook and is an old mate of Captain Flint's, begins to stir up mutinous sentiment. Journey to the center of the earth (largely written from wikipedia as I don't know much about it so feel free to correct)In this classic science fiction novel a professor, his nephew and a hired guide trek down a volcano in Iceland until they reach the center of the earth. Escapades involving prehistoric animals and natural disasters occur during this journey. While Verne did not believe the center of the earth is actually like the one he created in this book (his viewpoint is expressed through one of the characters), scientifically speaking the book has become dated due to advances in knowledge about the earth's core. I hope they're ok I'm a bit tired.
|
|
thenephilim
Collection of short stories published by an independent editor
Posts: 627
|
Post by thenephilim on Mar 5, 2008 15:23:18 GMT -5
I don't know if you have A Tree Grows in Brooklyn done yet (I didn't see it crossed out), so here is a summary for it:
Set in the beginning of the 20th century in Williamsburg, Brooklyn (NYC), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn follows the story of Francie Nolan as she comes of age despite the poverty her family suffers. She goes through a series of trials, tribulations, happiness, sadness, and a whole wide array of emotions, which she draws on as she writes her stories.
|
|
|
Post by swissmiss on Mar 5, 2008 15:41:49 GMT -5
I'm procrastinating my homework so I thought I'd do another one I hope it's ok! Their Eyes Were Watching God is a novel by Zora Neale Hurston set in the early twentieth century about the life of Janie Crawford, an African American woman in Florida. The book follows Janie's marriages to three very different men and the trials she had to face in each one. Though sometimes difficult to read because of its use of phonetically-written speech of the typical African American at the time, it gives an authentic and engaging view of the African American woman of the early 20th century.
|
|
|
Post by Dominique on Mar 6, 2008 19:55:59 GMT -5
Great guys That's weird it should have been on that list as not done, I think I will have to go through and check it soon.
|
|
Lu
Administrator
Posts: 5,469
|
Post by Lu on Mar 7, 2008 13:32:07 GMT -5
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury It was written in 1953. Guy Montag is a fireman in an unspecified future world where books are banned, his work consists in burning them and houses where they’re holded, in order to prevent any dissenting opinions. He’s not happy, surrounding by interactive television, slogans and with an indifferent wife who tries to hide her own unhappiness. One day he meets an unknown person and he will discover a very different world.
|
|
|
Post by Dominique on Mar 10, 2008 0:26:01 GMT -5
Dracula The epitome of the gothic-horror genre, this classic is told in a series of diary letters which are written by several narrators who come into contact with the vampire Count Dracula. While this is a fictional work it is based on some historical facts; the vampire's name is based on Vlad III Dracula of Transylvania who is thought to have killed between 20,000 and 40,000 people. Stoker did not invent the mythical vampire creature, but Dracula has shaped the way literature and popular culture represent the demon. Countless adaptations and appropriations of Dracula have been made, for instance the films Nosferatu, Dracula Dead and Loving it and Andy Warhol's Blood For Dracula.
|
|
oureternity
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
bam.
Posts: 1,568
|
Post by oureternity on Mar 10, 2008 1:49:05 GMT -5
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare.
"To be, or not to be..." Shakespeare's Hamlet is considered by many one of his greatest and most powerful tragedies. The play concentrates on Hamlet, the heart of the novel, for his very unique and mysterious personality. When Prince Hamlet's father dies, he immediately returns back to the country, to find his uncle being the new King and his mother's new spouse. Hamlet is absolutely overwhelmed with his father's death and his mother's new marriage, although when Hamlet's father ghost tells him the responsible for his assassination, the new King to be, his own uncle, Hamlet immediately seeks for revenge. From this point the play concentrates on Hamlet's doubts concerning his actions of revenge. Revenge includes with it many tragic endings and death, in Hamlet's case, against his own family.
A masterpiece 400 years old, yet relevant for all times, regardless of the time and place factor. Hamlet is an everlasting masterpiece.
|
|
oureternity
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
bam.
Posts: 1,568
|
Post by oureternity on Mar 10, 2008 1:50:34 GMT -5
I hope that's good enough, I learned it at school so I wrote very briefly. Fell free to correct any mistakes.
|
|
|
Post by Dominique on Mar 10, 2008 1:51:14 GMT -5
Great The Jungle by Upton Sinclair (1906)This novel depicts the underside of the American dream: corruption, poverty and unpleasant working conditions. The story revolves around the Rudkus family who are lured to America from Lithuania, their home country, by the promise of a better life. Instead they find themselves working in the back breaking Chicago stockyards, where everyone has their price and authorities must be paid off. A number of preventable accidents lead the family to tragedy.
|
|
oureternity
Collection of short stories bought by Random House
bam.
Posts: 1,568
|
Post by oureternity on Mar 10, 2008 15:10:16 GMT -5
I didn't notice R&J there, I'll try to do that one too!
Romeo & Juliet, by William Shakespeare. Before Romeo and Juliet met, they "belonged" to different people, they came from different families - absolute enemies. One might wonder how may two complete opposite destinies intertwine? When Juliet's father throws a ball, Romeo's family is absolutely forbidden to come. However, Romeo decides to sneak in, in order to see his beloved one, Rosaline. Juliet on the other hand, is being forced into marrying Count Paris. Everything turns upside down with one sight, the one single and first sight of love. When Romeo and Juliet see each other, they immediately fall in love. From this turning point, all through the play, Romeo and Juliet try to somehow be partners for life regardless of the consequences- their families and Juliet's future husband. Everything seems to get in their way of being together, and everything is being done in their power to prevent a tragic end to their vivid love, yet the very tragic end is inevitable. Romeo and Juliet's love story is one of the greatest, most touching love stories ever written.
|
|
|
Post by Dominique on Mar 10, 2008 22:47:59 GMT -5
Great! Ohhh classic section nearly finished! Once it's done ill post a list up of all the contemporary ones still to do. We'll get there!
|
|
Isa
Administrator
Posts: 6,995
|
Post by Isa on Mar 11, 2008 7:40:54 GMT -5
Ethan Frome:
In Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton moves away from the bourgeois society novels she's so famous for and sets the action of this novel in the dead of the New England winter, in a small town in Masschusetts. Drawing from her own failed marriage experiences and a brief affair, Wharton relates the story of Ethan Frome, a taciturn man stuck in an unhappy marriage, who struggles to come to terms with his feelings for another woman. Can love really come to life in the middle of this cold, harsh winter?
As I Lay Dying:
William Faulkner is one of the major figures of Modernism in literature, which is characterized by experimentation with language and literary conventions. Published in 1930, As I Lay Dying is one of the most famous novels to come out of the modernist movement. Fifteen different characters take turn narrating the story of the illness, death and funerals of Addie, the mother of the Bundren clan. The tale of their somewhat absurd journey to the town of Jefferson with Addie's coffin is filled with symbolism, thanks to which the famous "My mother is a fish" chapter takes on a whole lot of meaning. As I Lay Dying is a novel that most readers will want to read at least twice in oder to truly enjoy Faulkner's unique style.
|
|