Hey Oles! High School English may seem like decades ago, but the books you were assigned to read back then are timeless. If you Spark Noted them the first time around, here are a few of the classics that are worth taking the time to read all the way through. Set them aside for a lazy weekend or Thanksgiving Break and enjoy!
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To Kill a Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
Published in 1960, Lee’s renowned novel is set in the tiny town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The story is focused on the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping of white woman, and the moral struggles that lawyer Atticus Finch faces as he attempts to defend Robinson. To Kill a Mockingbird addresses the racial injustices of the time period head on, and deals with the issues of class and tolerance in a way that sticks with readers for the long run.
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
A story characterized by teenage angst, The Catcher in the Rye follows the life of Holden Caulfield as he struggles to develop his own sense of identity after getting kicked out of his prep school. Holden travels to New York City and continually finds himself disenchanted with all of the “phonies” and the materialistic nature of society. His tale gives words to the feeling of disillusionment that many adolescents dealt with when coming of age, and still ring true today.
Night (Elie Wiesel)
Night is the harrowing true account of Elie Wiesel’s experience in the Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Buchenwald at the height of the Holocaust. The book is short, but packs a punch; at times it is hard to remember that the events described actually happened, they are so traumatic and heartbreaking. Wiesel’s work illustrates the tortuous impact that the camps had on his mind, body and spirit as his faith in humanity and God is diminished.
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
This novella tells the story of two migrant ranch workers, George Milton and Lennie Small, who are constantly on the move searching for new job opportunities during the Great Depression. Their dream is to settle down on their own piece of land, where simple-minded Lennie can take care of the rabbits. George and Lennie’s friendship is tested, however, when they find work on a farm and Lennie gets into trouble with the ranch owner’s wife.
Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
Published in 1931, Huxley’s dystopian novel tells of a society that practices psychological manipulation, altering human genetics and conditioning children in their sleep to behave according to the rules of their social caste. This story is particularly terrifying due to the fact that these practices don’t seem too far out of the question in this day and age. Huxley believed that his book was a reasonable prediction for how the world would end up in the future – his views on genetic engineering and drugs are interesting to look at in comparison to today’s society.
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cover photo, lee, salinger, wiesel, steinbeck, huxley
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