Julia Karpinski

12/6/06

Annotated Bibliography

 

The Great Depression and Young Adult Literature

            History has always intrigued me and is a subject that I have always enjoyed learning about. Most teenagers hear the word history and automatically think that they are going to be bored to death. I think that it is an extremely important subject to teach. One reason is that history always repeats itself and in order to keep from making the same mistake twice, then one must learn from the past. Another reason is that, it is important to know where we come from and the past lineage that has preceded us. To be an educated person you have understand that where we are today is a direct result of advancements made in the past decades and centuries.

            When trying to teach our teenagers these past topics in history, it is important to teach them using material that they can relate too. The stories that they read need to have a timeless quality that the students can relate too today. A topic in history that intrigues me is the great depression. This was a very tragic time period in U.S. history and in order for it not to happen again, the nation has to learn how to prevent it from re-occurring. There were many events going on all over the U.S. as a result of the great depression.

            Each of the novels and sources that I have chosen cover a many different events that were going on in during the great depression. Four of the sources relate to the south and racism that was going in this time period. The two Steinbeck novels are about migrant workers and take place from Oklahoma to California. Another source is a book of poetry, depicting the stories of two boys growing up during the depression. I have included a story of two twin girls dealing with everyday life taking place during the 1930s. There is also a historical book full of facts about the great depression. The last book that I included is our textbook, Literature for Today�s Young Adult by Kenneth Donelson and Allen Pace Nilsen. This book is an important resource to help find the qualities to look for in a good historical fiction or non-fiction book.

            Listed below are some qualities that make up a good historical novel (from Literature for Today�s Young Adult, 96):

�      A setting that is integral to the story

�      An authentic rendition of the time, place, and people being featured

�      An author who is so thoroughly steeped in the history of the period that he or she can be comfortably creative without making mistakes

�      Believable characters with whom young readers can identify

�      Evidence that even across great time spans people can share similar emotions

 

1. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, March 2002.

 

            This novel takes place in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama during the great depression. The story is told through the eyes of eight year old Scout Finch. The book spans three years and the trial of a black man accused of raping a white woman. Many themes are covered are race issues, class, racial injustice, friendship, childhood innocence, and the trials of growing up.

 

2. To Kill a Mockingbird. Dir. Robert Mulligen. Perf. Gregory Peck, Robert Duval, Mary Bedham. Universal Pictures, 1962.

 

            The film was taken from the book by Harper Lee and was made in 1962, two years after the book was originally published. The film has won numerous awards including many Golden Globes and Academy Awards. The leading actor was Gregory Peck, playing Atticus Finch.

 

3. A Time to Kill. Dir. Joel Schumacher. Perf. Matthew McConaughey, Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey. Warner Bros, 1996.

 

            Matthew McConaughey, a young, attractive and highly skilled attorney is faced with the toughest case of his life, one that on many occasions may also threaten it. In the southern Mississippi town of Canton, the K.K.K. is active and the tension is high when the black majority is angered at the raping and slaying of a black man's 10-year-old daughter. Against Jake's advice, the distraught father takes revenge, gunning down the two criminals in the local courthouse. Racial hatred heightens with the suspense and conflict threatens to break out regardless of the verdict. Jake must decide, along with his new, eager assistant whether he and his family can run the risk of defending the man.

http://www.movieweb.com/movies/film/45/2245/summary.php

4. Taylor, Mildred. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. New York: Puffin Books, 1997.

 

            This novel takes place in Mississippi in the 1930s, and represents Black Americans during this time period. It�s a story of an African American family fighting to stay together in the face of racist�s attacks, illness, poverty, and betrayal. It is told through the eyes of Cassie Logan and how her understanding of the world becomes less innocent and she learns the truth behind different events. This book can often be compared to Harper Lee�s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird.

5. Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. New York: Penguin Books 1992.

            This story takes place during the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s. A farm family, the Joads, from Oklahoma is featured and the novel follows their story as they travel to California. The family is driven off of their farm and forced to leave their lives behind and forced to become migrant workers. The story tells their trial and tribulations as the travel across the country as they face many hardships. The book won the Noble Peace Prize for Literature.

6. Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.

            Taking place in California, during the great depression, a friendship is followed in this legendary novel. Friends, George and Lennie, redefine what it means to be working stiffs. Their comradery is born out of Lennie�s utter dependence on George to survive and keep the duo out of trouble. In the end all goes wrong and George is powerless to save his old friend from demise and is forced to do the deed himself.

7. Box, Thad. Me 'N' Alvin: Growing Up in the Great Depression. Philadelphia: Xlibris Inc., 2001.

            This is a book of thirty-two long narrative poems about the great depression. The poems are the stories of two boys during this time period. The poems follow the boys as they are growing up.

8. Mcelvaine, Robert S. The Great Depression: America 1929-1941. Three Rivers Press: New York, 1993.

 

            This is an historical novel about the great depression. It is very factual stating the events that happened during those tragic years. Historian, Robert Mcelvaine, researched the social, economic, and political conditions of the time period as if he were living in this time. This book gives a good view into the lives of everyday Americans and their struggles in particular. This is a great reference book for certain events that took place.

9. Stolz, Karen. Fanny and Sue: a novel. Hyperion Books: New York, 2003.

            This book takes place during the great depression. Identical twin sisters, for whom the novel is named, take turns narrating chapters that span their school years in St. Louis with their warm, spirited parents and little brother, Baby Bob. Their world is full of hobos, streetcars, soda fountains and the terror of polio, but there isn't much depth behind these well-drawn set pieces. The major events of the novel-Fanny burns her arm on the stove; their mother miscarries; the girls assume each other's identities in pursuit of the same boy; Sue's boyfriend moves to Chicago; their uncle loses his job and his home-are generally resolved within a chapter or two, and there are few lasting repercussions or character transformations. The relentlessly cheerful tone makes Sue's recovery from scarlet fever seem no more significant than Fanny's victory at a roller-skating marathon. < http://www.amazon.com/Fanny-Sue-Novel-Karen-Stolz/dp/0786886056/sr=1-5/qid=1165390073/ref=sr_1_5/104-6803116-6677562?ie=UTF8&s=books>

10. Donelson, Kenneth L., Nilsen, Allen Pace. Literature for Today�s Young Adults. 7^th ed. Boston: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2006.

 

            This is a very useful resource for young adult literature. It includes information on all genres of books. Each chapter focuses on a different genre and also gives specific books as an example of books that follow that genre really well.