Words Aptly Spoken: American Literature

Besides guiding students through the literary classics of great American authors such as Twain, Alcott, Thoreau, Emerson, and Hemingway, this reference also attempts to awaken a sense of critical analysis of the content and contextual history behind each of the selections. How did each of these individuals, writing as he or she did, impact American thought and culture? How will this generation similarly impact our thinking and culture for years to come?

Twenty-nine works, seven of which are published in their entirety, are listed according to the chronology of their appearance in the Challenge I program. Each includes Review and Thought Questions, as well as suggestions for a deeper study of vocabulary, characters, plot, timeline, themes, and quotes which will be valuable aids to students completing composition assignments.

Books Studied:

• "The Gift of the Magi" -O. Henry (included)
• "The Ransom of Red Chief" - O. Henry (included)
• "If" - Kipling (included)
• "If, for Girls" - McElvoy (included)
• "A Model of Christian Charity" (excerpt) - Winthrop (included)
• Essays to Do Good (excerpt) - Mather (included)
• "The Method of Grace" - Whitefield (included)
• "Paul Revere's Ride" - Longfellow (included)
• "The Song of Hiawatha" (excerpt) - Longfellow (included)
• The Sign of the Beaver - Speare
• The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Speare
• Johnny Tremain - Forbes
• The Call of the Wild - London
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Twain
• An Old-Fashioned Girl - Alcott
• Billy Budd- Melville
• The Scarlet Letter - Hawthorne (or this edition?)
• The Red Badge of Courage - Crane
• The Pit & the Pendulum - Poe
• Through Gates of Splendor - Elliot
• Born Again - Colson
• Starship Troopers - Heinlein
• Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Douglass
• Up From Slavery - Washington
• The Glass Menagerie - Williams
• To Kill a Mockingbird - Lee
• Walden - Thoreau
• "On Self Reliance" - Emerson
• The Old Manand the Sea - Hemingway