American Literature

Els marginats tracta de dues setmanes en la vida d’un noi de catorze anys. La novel·la explica la història de Ponyboy Curtis i les seves lluites amb el bé i el mal en una societat en què creu que és un marginat. Segons Ponyboy, hi ha dues classes de persones al món: els greasers i els socs. Un soc (abreviatura de «social») té diners, se’n pot sortir amb gairebé qualsevol cosa i té una actitud més llarga que una limusina. Un greaser, en canvi, sempre viu als marges i ha de vigilar-se les espatlles. Ponyboy és un greaser, i sempre n’ha estat orgullós, fins i tot disposat a barallar-se amb una colla de socs pel bé dels seus companys greasers, fins que una nit terrible el seu amic Johnny mata un soc. L’assassinat turmenta Ponyboy, fa que el seu món dividit en dos s’ensorri i li ensenya que el dolor se sent igual tant si ets un soc com un greaser.

"I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history," Arthur Miller wrote of his classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts. Based on historical people and real events, Miller's drama is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions; and when a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, self-righteous church leaders and townspeople insist that Elizabeth be brought to trial. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminates the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence. Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch-hunts" in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing, "Political opposition... is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence." WIth an introduction by Christopher Bigsby. (back cover)

The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized—and sometimes outraged—millions of readers. First published in 1939, Steinbeck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads—driven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man’s fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman’s stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck’s powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics.

Jsou Vánoce a Holden Caulfield byl právě vyloučen z další školy... Prchá před podvodníky z Pencey Prep a bloudí po New Yorku, kde hledá útěchu v prchavých setkáních — tlachá s cizinci v laciných hotelích, osaměle se potuluje po Central Parku, nechá se zbít pasáky a setkává se s bývalými přítelkyněmi, které ho srážejí. Město je krásné i strašné, se vší svou neonovou osamělostí a omšelou okázalostí, se směsicí pocitu možností a prázdnoty. Holden jím prochází jako duch a stále myslí na svou malou sestru Phoebe, jediného člověka, který mu skutečně rozumí, i na své odhodlání uniknout pokrytcům a najít život s opravdovým smyslem. Kdo chytá v žitě je klasika literatury o dospívání — elegie teenageřské odcizenosti, zachycující hluboce lidskou potřebu spojení a matoucí pocit ztráty, když necháváme dětství za sebou. Klasický román J. D. Salingera (1919–2010) o dospívající úzkosti a vzpouře byl poprvé vydán v roce 1951. Román byl zařazen na seznam 100 nejlepších anglicky psaných románů vydaných od roku 1923, který časopis Time sestavil v roce 2005. Modern Library a jeho čtenáři jej označili za jeden ze 100 nejlepších anglicky psaných románů 20. století. Kvůli častému používání vulgarismů a zobrazení sexuality byl často napadán u soudu a v 50. a 60. letech byl románem, který chtěl číst každý dospívající chlapec.

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues. As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

This single volume brings together all of Poe's stories and poems, and illuminates the diverse and multifaceted genius of one of the greatest and most influential figures in American literary history.

Henry Fleming has joined the Union army because of his romantic ideas of military life, but soon finds himself in the middle of a battle against a regiment of Confederate soldiers. Terrified, Henry deserts his comrades. Upon returning to his regiment, he struggles with his shame as he tries to redeem himself and prove his courage. The Red Badge of Courage is Stephen Crane’s second book, notable for its realism and the fact that Crane had never personally experienced battle. Crane drew heavy inspiration from Century Magazine, a periodical known for its articles about the American Civil War. However, he criticized the articles for their lack of emotional depth and decided to write a war novel of his own. The manuscript was first serialized in December 1894 by The Philadelphia Press and quickly won Crane international acclaim before he died in June 1900 at the age of 28.

A classic tale of love and morals in Puritan New England. The Scarlet Lettter is set in 1850s Puritan Boston and tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. This book is required reading in many high school and college English courses and is an American classic by Nathaniel Hawthorne.