Five Novels of Conflict

Course Overview

In this course you will read and write about five novels that have emerged as American literary classics: Willa Cather's "My Antonia," John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men," Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine," Daniel Keyes' "Flowers for Algernon," and Barbara Kinsolver's "The Poisonwood Bible." Although they span nearly 100 years in American literary history, the novels share a common theme: individuals confronting and overcoming conflict. 

The following books are required for this course:

Bradbury, Ray. Dandelion Wine. Random House, 1985. ISBN 9780553277531

Cather, Willa. My Ántonia. Dover, 1994. ISBN 9780486282404

Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon. Bantam, 1994. ISBN 9780553274509

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. Harper Perennial, 1999. ISBN 9780060930530

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. Penguin, 1993. ISBN 9780140177398

(Alternative versions of each book may also be used, however all page numbers etc. referred to in the course are specific to the above versions.)

A demo version of the course is available at https://iu.instructure.com/courses/1589530.

NOTE: The novels in this course deal with mature but important themes

This course is designed for high-school seniors.

Prerequisite

English 9 and 10 strongly suggested, but not required.

Required Materials

The following books are required for this course:

Bradbury, Ray. Dandelion Wine. Random House, 1985. ISBN 9780553277531

Cather, Willa. My Ántonia. Dover, 1994. ISBN 9780486282404

Keyes, Daniel. Flowers for Algernon. Bantam, 1994. ISBN 9780553274509

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible. Harper Perennial, 1999. ISBN 9780060930530

Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. Penguin, 1993. ISBN 9780140177398