The Happiest Story Ever Told Is. . .
May 16, 2010 3:22 PM Subscribe
Please help me think of cheerful novels, plays, or even short stories suitable for an advanced high school freshman curriculum.
I teach English literature to high achieving high school freshmen at a private school. Unlike many public school teachers, I am given some leeway with my reading list. As the time to order books for next year rapidly approaches, my supervisor is suddenly asking me to alter my curriculum because he has decided we read too many "dark" books in my class. I do not need to adhere to any particular region or time period or anything like that in my selections because English I is just a general overview of various genres, but many of the classic Brit and American lit books are covered later in the school's curriculum. I suppose I do lean toward tragic and dark material, but after all, that is what so many of the classics I love are about! Please help me think of some great "happy" stories I won't dread teaching next year. My supervisor will be expecting classics, and we are a very conservative religious school, so nothing too risque, please.
If it helps, this is the current reading list so you have an idea of my students' ability. They handle these books quite well: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Fahrenheit 451, Of Mice and Men, and The Old Man and The Sea. We also do units on Greek mythology and poetry (some of which is definitely "happy" - think e.e. cummings, etc.).
I am asking anonymously because I don't want a professional question tied to my username. My throwaway email account is tragicteacher@gmail.com.
I teach English literature to high achieving high school freshmen at a private school. Unlike many public school teachers, I am given some leeway with my reading list. As the time to order books for next year rapidly approaches, my supervisor is suddenly asking me to alter my curriculum because he has decided we read too many "dark" books in my class. I do not need to adhere to any particular region or time period or anything like that in my selections because English I is just a general overview of various genres, but many of the classic Brit and American lit books are covered later in the school's curriculum. I suppose I do lean toward tragic and dark material, but after all, that is what so many of the classics I love are about! Please help me think of some great "happy" stories I won't dread teaching next year. My supervisor will be expecting classics, and we are a very conservative religious school, so nothing too risque, please.
If it helps, this is the current reading list so you have an idea of my students' ability. They handle these books quite well: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Fahrenheit 451, Of Mice and Men, and The Old Man and The Sea. We also do units on Greek mythology and poetry (some of which is definitely "happy" - think e.e. cummings, etc.).
I am asking anonymously because I don't want a professional question tied to my username. My throwaway email account is tragicteacher@gmail.com.
Three Men In a Boat. I enjoyed it immensely at that age.
posted by halogen at 3:39 PM on May 16, 2010 [3 favorites]
posted by halogen at 3:39 PM on May 16, 2010 [3 favorites]
Midsummer's Night or Much Ado would be great, but I'd hate to see them lose the chance to read R&J for the next four years, and your supervisor might not want too much Shakespeare.
Do you think you could get away with Jasper Fforde? I think Eyre Affair would be a great way to get kids interested in reading a lot more of the 'stuffy' old books. Maybe throw in some early Vonnegut; the synopsis isn't always lighthearted but the method often is (I vote for Sirens of Titan.
Also, how about some short stories? It's sad that they are being lost (I kind of think the internet is bring them back now.). The discussion of how they differ and are similar to long works, is a good intro to the nature of all narratives.
posted by Some1 at 3:41 PM on May 16, 2010
Do you think you could get away with Jasper Fforde? I think Eyre Affair would be a great way to get kids interested in reading a lot more of the 'stuffy' old books. Maybe throw in some early Vonnegut; the synopsis isn't always lighthearted but the method often is (I vote for Sirens of Titan.
Also, how about some short stories? It's sad that they are being lost (I kind of think the internet is bring them back now.). The discussion of how they differ and are similar to long works, is a good intro to the nature of all narratives.
posted by Some1 at 3:41 PM on May 16, 2010
addenda: Some Austen; almost anything, P&P being the default.
posted by Some1 at 3:42 PM on May 16, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Some1 at 3:42 PM on May 16, 2010 [2 favorites]
Northanger Abby or Emma, I read them when I was a teen. They are funny and classic, and teens can relate to them even now. My 11th grade English teacher was surprised that the class loved Man and Superman, by George Bernard Shaw. It was funny and heavy at the same time, which made us adolescent nerds very happy.
For what it is worth, I hated that sophomore English staple, A Clockwork Orange. Why, why did they make me read that?
posted by fifilaru at 3:44 PM on May 16, 2010
For what it is worth, I hated that sophomore English staple, A Clockwork Orange. Why, why did they make me read that?
posted by fifilaru at 3:44 PM on May 16, 2010
Could you get away with The Importance of Being Earnest?
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 3:47 PM on May 16, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 3:47 PM on May 16, 2010 [2 favorites]
The fact that you read Macbeth makes me want to suggest Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett, which makes frequent reference to Macbeth. Could be interesting to read the two back-to-back? I don't recall there being anything inappropriate for teens in it, but it has been some time since I read it, so my memory may be faulty; and at any rate, it wouldn't be "risque" at all.
posted by Janta at 3:49 PM on May 16, 2010
posted by Janta at 3:49 PM on May 16, 2010
I remember the same problem with my kid's reading lists in high school.
It may be trite, but To Kill a Mockingbird can't be beat. There is plenty of drama, but it is a life affirming story.
Consider Pride and Prejudice, or Rebecca.
Island of the Blue Dolphins? It may be a little young for your group.
And it is more recent, but I think that The Secret Life of Bees is beautifully written, with a lot of room for discussion.
posted by SLC Mom at 3:50 PM on May 16, 2010
It may be trite, but To Kill a Mockingbird can't be beat. There is plenty of drama, but it is a life affirming story.
Consider Pride and Prejudice, or Rebecca.
Island of the Blue Dolphins? It may be a little young for your group.
And it is more recent, but I think that The Secret Life of Bees is beautifully written, with a lot of room for discussion.
posted by SLC Mom at 3:50 PM on May 16, 2010
Huckleberry Finn may have dark moments, but overall it's pretty uplifting.
As for short stories, F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Ice Palace" and "Winter Dreams" stand out in my mind as dreamy and interesting to young minds. I was a junior I think. Beyond those, how about
"Main Street," by Sinclair Lewis, as relevant as ever now. Good luck.
posted by emhutchinson at 3:58 PM on May 16, 2010 [2 favorites]
As for short stories, F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Ice Palace" and "Winter Dreams" stand out in my mind as dreamy and interesting to young minds. I was a junior I think. Beyond those, how about
"Main Street," by Sinclair Lewis, as relevant as ever now. Good luck.
posted by emhutchinson at 3:58 PM on May 16, 2010 [2 favorites]
Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradbury. We read this in my freshman English class and I never forgot it.
posted by Vinegaroon at 4:04 PM on May 16, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Vinegaroon at 4:04 PM on May 16, 2010 [2 favorites]
How about a newer book? The Life of Pi by Yann Martel won the Man Booker Prize and it was a very enjoyable story. The premise seems preposerous (boy on a lifeboat with a man-eating tiger, hyena, orangutan and zebra) but it was a great, well-written story.
Given that I am WAY past freshman year in HS (nearly 2 decades) and that it has been a couple years since I read it, I can't remember if it is too advanced for that level. But it was a super fun read and I do not recall anything risque at all.
posted by murrey at 4:05 PM on May 16, 2010
Given that I am WAY past freshman year in HS (nearly 2 decades) and that it has been a couple years since I read it, I can't remember if it is too advanced for that level. But it was a super fun read and I do not recall anything risque at all.
posted by murrey at 4:05 PM on May 16, 2010
if you want to include fantasy, Bridge of Birds is a fun read, entirely age-appropriate (iirc).
posted by rmd1023 at 4:29 PM on May 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by rmd1023 at 4:29 PM on May 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
To brighten up my Lit course for bright kids of a similar age I taught Roald Dahl short stories. Great for irony, narrative structure, characterisation, black humour/ why we laugh, the challenge to traditional authority and class constructs etc.
When I have taught romance, I have started the unit with some Mills n Boon reading which sets a lively, fun tone and makes reading Austen afterward a bit easier.
posted by honey-barbara at 4:32 PM on May 16, 2010
When I have taught romance, I have started the unit with some Mills n Boon reading which sets a lively, fun tone and makes reading Austen afterward a bit easier.
posted by honey-barbara at 4:32 PM on May 16, 2010
Jane Eyre (and the aforementioned Mockingbird) were the ONLY non-depressing books I read from The Classics in school. Jane Austen isn't that depressing either. (Man, I loathe classics. I have real life for depressing shit, thanks.)
Cheers to you for finding non-depressing books, btw. I can totally understand why kids don't want to read if all they are ever allowed to read in school are books that made me want to start drinking heavily.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:32 PM on May 16, 2010
Cheers to you for finding non-depressing books, btw. I can totally understand why kids don't want to read if all they are ever allowed to read in school are books that made me want to start drinking heavily.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:32 PM on May 16, 2010
P.G Wodehouse is funny, easy to read, and small.
Candide by Voltaire could be a goer.
The Riddle of The Sands could be considered the prototypical spy novel a la Tom Clancy, it's quite enjoyable.
Of Sea, Sand and Stars (I think that's the order...) by Antoine St Exupery would be loved by many teenagers.
O'Henry wrote a great many entertaining short stories.
Many of the Noel Coward plays - Blithe Spirit, for example - could be quite popular.
Sherlock Holmes is a perennial favourite, the bonus being you have a bucketload of ancillary texts (movies, plays, updated novels) to play with.
posted by smoke at 4:49 PM on May 16, 2010
Candide by Voltaire could be a goer.
The Riddle of The Sands could be considered the prototypical spy novel a la Tom Clancy, it's quite enjoyable.
Of Sea, Sand and Stars (I think that's the order...) by Antoine St Exupery would be loved by many teenagers.
O'Henry wrote a great many entertaining short stories.
Many of the Noel Coward plays - Blithe Spirit, for example - could be quite popular.
Sherlock Holmes is a perennial favourite, the bonus being you have a bucketload of ancillary texts (movies, plays, updated novels) to play with.
posted by smoke at 4:49 PM on May 16, 2010
I'd recommend I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith. The protagonist/barrator is absolutely charming, and it's a very cheering and uplifting book.
posted by Phire at 5:07 PM on May 16, 2010
posted by Phire at 5:07 PM on May 16, 2010
How about Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest?" You seem to do a lot of Greco-Roman stuff - how about Roman comedy? Plautus?
posted by dd42 at 5:34 PM on May 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by dd42 at 5:34 PM on May 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
I like the Decameron. Fun and lighthearted read, and if you want to, it's easy to critique storytelling technique using the Decameron stories as an example.
posted by ctmf at 5:36 PM on May 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by ctmf at 5:36 PM on May 16, 2010 [1 favorite]
Thirding The Importance of Being Earnest. I read that in high school and loved it.
What about James Thurber's works?
posted by SisterHavana at 6:30 PM on May 16, 2010
What about James Thurber's works?
posted by SisterHavana at 6:30 PM on May 16, 2010
I'm thinking you don't need comedies per se, but just works whose tone isn't relentlessly depressing; here's a mixed bag:
You can't take it with you (we read this early in high school and loved it)
The Skin of Our Teeth (this might be too irreverent? would want to preview it)
Seconding the Importance of Begin Earnest
Mark Twain - fun, interesting, classic, has shorter and longer works
Austen - yes
Poe - dark but fun
Sherlock Holmes or other classic genre stuff (mysteries, westerns, sci fi)
A Shakespearean comedy?
Chaucer is bawdy and funny, ditto Decameron
Alexander Pope, eg the Rape of the Lock
Gargantua and Pantagruel?
Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles (short stories so you can choose just a few, certain to inspire good discussion)
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God is a classic, dark but with love; some of her short stories would also work
Greek comedies
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:54 PM on May 16, 2010
You can't take it with you (we read this early in high school and loved it)
The Skin of Our Teeth (this might be too irreverent? would want to preview it)
Seconding the Importance of Begin Earnest
Mark Twain - fun, interesting, classic, has shorter and longer works
Austen - yes
Poe - dark but fun
Sherlock Holmes or other classic genre stuff (mysteries, westerns, sci fi)
A Shakespearean comedy?
Chaucer is bawdy and funny, ditto Decameron
Alexander Pope, eg the Rape of the Lock
Gargantua and Pantagruel?
Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles (short stories so you can choose just a few, certain to inspire good discussion)
Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God is a classic, dark but with love; some of her short stories would also work
Greek comedies
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:54 PM on May 16, 2010
Of Sea, Sand and Stars - yes.
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:55 PM on May 16, 2010
posted by LobsterMitten at 7:55 PM on May 16, 2010
Of Sea, Sand and Stars (I think that's the order...) by Antoine St Exupery would be loved by many teenagers.
It's "Wind, Sand and Stars" but yeah it's an amazing, inspirational book for any age at all. I just suggested to it to my (grown up) book club as a matter of fact.
Just fyi there are one or two references to "Orientals" that could possibly be considered mildly offensive, but any reasonable person can understand they are a relic of their time and there is zero racist intent.
posted by drjimmy11 at 7:57 PM on May 16, 2010
It's "Wind, Sand and Stars" but yeah it's an amazing, inspirational book for any age at all. I just suggested to it to my (grown up) book club as a matter of fact.
Just fyi there are one or two references to "Orientals" that could possibly be considered mildly offensive, but any reasonable person can understand they are a relic of their time and there is zero racist intent.
posted by drjimmy11 at 7:57 PM on May 16, 2010
Selections from The Canterbury Tales (Wife of Bath is always popular and only a little risque)
Stoppard (Real Inspector Hound, Arcadia are good choices)
Ben Jonson maybe, like Volpone or The Alchemist; we read Congreve (The Way of The World), or like Some1 suggested swap in a Shakespearean comedy. In addition to the ones he mentioned, Twelfth Night is also a good one--well-known, funny, and has a great film version (Trevor Nunn's) you can show in class.
I have to second recommendations of Huck Finn and Roald Dahl. (Well Dahl isn't happy per se but I bet the kids will love it.)
posted by phoenixy at 8:44 PM on May 16, 2010
Stoppard (Real Inspector Hound, Arcadia are good choices)
Ben Jonson maybe, like Volpone or The Alchemist; we read Congreve (The Way of The World), or like Some1 suggested swap in a Shakespearean comedy. In addition to the ones he mentioned, Twelfth Night is also a good one--well-known, funny, and has a great film version (Trevor Nunn's) you can show in class.
I have to second recommendations of Huck Finn and Roald Dahl. (Well Dahl isn't happy per se but I bet the kids will love it.)
posted by phoenixy at 8:44 PM on May 16, 2010
I vote for Oscar Wilde, "Much Ado About Nothing", and P.G. Wodehouse. Maybe "Gulliver's Travels"? "Alice in Wonderland"?
And I do definitely support teaching some "lighter" works - I think it was Grade 11 in which we read "Death of A Salesman", "The Great Gatsby", "Macbeth", and "The Grapes of Wrath", and as a teenager dealing with depression, I can honestly say that English class that year made it worse (especially "Salesman").
posted by purlgurly at 8:51 PM on May 16, 2010
And I do definitely support teaching some "lighter" works - I think it was Grade 11 in which we read "Death of A Salesman", "The Great Gatsby", "Macbeth", and "The Grapes of Wrath", and as a teenager dealing with depression, I can honestly say that English class that year made it worse (especially "Salesman").
posted by purlgurly at 8:51 PM on May 16, 2010
Advising against the Harper Lee book. This review at Good Reads is a well-written criticism of Lee's decidedly weak and mediocre book. Please don't inflict it on any more high school students.
Children at that age love language play so I think Wilde's Importance of Being Earnest is a good suggestion. And The Decameron is also a good suggestion I feel and would provide you with a lot of flexibility in teaching.
posted by Pranksome Quaine at 8:59 PM on May 16, 2010
Children at that age love language play so I think Wilde's Importance of Being Earnest is a good suggestion. And The Decameron is also a good suggestion I feel and would provide you with a lot of flexibility in teaching.
posted by Pranksome Quaine at 8:59 PM on May 16, 2010
A few others I think we read around that age, and not dark (though not comedies):
Lost Horizon
The Miracle Worker
The Once and Future King
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:10 PM on May 16, 2010
Lost Horizon
The Miracle Worker
The Once and Future King
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:10 PM on May 16, 2010
A Confederacy of Dunces!
Catch-22
Seconding Candide and the Decameron
Don Quixote! (possible just selections)
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:26 PM on May 16, 2010
Catch-22
Seconding Candide and the Decameron
Don Quixote! (possible just selections)
posted by Lutoslawski at 9:26 PM on May 16, 2010
I would have LOVED to have read Jasper Fforde in school! I actually think that his book could contribute a lot to discussion of other literature, especially the classics. Read Jane Eyre and then The Eyre Affair and you can talk about allusions and a bunch of other literary devices.
Would it be possible to pick stuff to start out the beginning of the semester/year with and then ask your students what kind of things they'd be interested in reading and pick from that? I don't know to what extent things need to be approved beforehand or not, especially in terms of book availability. If students have a say in things, they're more likely to be engaged in it.
posted by naturalog at 10:29 PM on May 16, 2010
Would it be possible to pick stuff to start out the beginning of the semester/year with and then ask your students what kind of things they'd be interested in reading and pick from that? I don't know to what extent things need to be approved beforehand or not, especially in terms of book availability. If students have a say in things, they're more likely to be engaged in it.
posted by naturalog at 10:29 PM on May 16, 2010
Ray Bradbury's short stories.
Wilson Katiyo's A Son of the Soil - not entirely happy, but life-affirming
My 9th grade lit class loved Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible (all of a sudden every kid in school was reading it; pretty cool), although that has its dark side, too.
Nthing Jane Austen. But also RL Stevenson.
PG Wodehouse is entertaining and also great for studying comic style.
I think one other thing to take into consideration is how you approach a text with the class. Some "dark" works can be studied for aspects that have nothing to do with being dark and depressing. Perhaps if your curriculum plan emphasized that? But I also agree with the posters who comment that piling on the "days.. dark and dreary" in high school can be a bit overwhelming for the students, who really are at a challenging point in their lives.
posted by bardophile at 11:32 PM on May 16, 2010
Wilson Katiyo's A Son of the Soil - not entirely happy, but life-affirming
My 9th grade lit class loved Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible (all of a sudden every kid in school was reading it; pretty cool), although that has its dark side, too.
Nthing Jane Austen. But also RL Stevenson.
PG Wodehouse is entertaining and also great for studying comic style.
I think one other thing to take into consideration is how you approach a text with the class. Some "dark" works can be studied for aspects that have nothing to do with being dark and depressing. Perhaps if your curriculum plan emphasized that? But I also agree with the posters who comment that piling on the "days.. dark and dreary" in high school can be a bit overwhelming for the students, who really are at a challenging point in their lives.
posted by bardophile at 11:32 PM on May 16, 2010
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posted by zerbinetta at 3:36 PM on May 16, 2010