books that made one list (or another)

For this final paper you will pick from either one of the sections below. Both sections deal with book lists, but they are quite different.

Optional?

Paper 4 is optional. So why would you want to do it?

If you have missed paper1 or paper 2, you will be able to turn in paper 4 to take the place of that missed assignment (in many cases that will make the difference between passing and failing the course). You may also turn in paper 4 hoping to get a score higher than you earned on either paper 1 or paper 2; if you do earn a higher score, that higher score will completely replace the lower score (on the rare chance that you might get a lower score, you would still keep the higher score; paper 4 cannot hurt your grade; it might help it).

1. the newbery winners

The Newbery Award has been awarded to books that demonstrate excellence in writing from 1922 to the present. Each year there is a gold-medal winner and a couple of runner-up (honor) books. A running list of these can be viewed by clicking the link below:

If you choose this topic, pick any award winner (gold medal or honor book) from this list.

Paper 4 is not so different from your earlier papers. You are to analyze a book that is not on our reading list and write a four-full-page paper in standard MLA format that looks at a key idea or an issue or a theme or an unusual stylistic element (such as Nothing But The Truth being written as memos, newspaper reports, and so on or Out of the Dust relaying a historical period through open-form poems).

As with your history paper (if you chose topic 1), I recommend you go to your local library and sound out the librarian. Let him or her know what your assignment is and see if you can get some tips on really thought-provoking works.

the other list

In the last lecture we looked a bit at the subject of banned-and/or-challenged books. There is a long history of censorship in the U.S.; many of the books that have been prohibited, kept of book shelves, pulled from schools, taken to court have been works of children's literature.

Here, again, is a link to the about.com website's Banned Children's Books page; it has a list of some recent challenges, links to stories of book banning, a link to the American Library Association Banned Books site, and so on:

See if you can spot a book on this list (or another banned books list; there are many) that makes you exclaim, "Now why in heck is THAT on the list?" You want to select a book that is widely considered to have literary merit (often these books are assigned reading). You are allowed to select older books, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, or you can pick something much more recent, like the Harry Potter or Hunger Games books. Look up why the book(s) you've selected was challenged or ourtright banned (some books have odd histories; A Catcher in the Rye was banned when I was in high school, required reading eight years later when my brother entered high school, banned a few years later when it was found in the possession of a couple of serial killers, eventually required again but now moved down to middle school, and so on). You will find, for example, that To Kill a Mockingbird has often been challenged for "racism." But what does that really mean? The book shows racism, but the young protagonist actually reveals the cruel injustice of the town; when it was written the book opened quite a few eyes about conditions in the Jim Crow south; it certainly did not promote racism; it exposed it.

Your task is to weigh the claims leveled against the book against the actual literary value of the book. Has, for example, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone actually caused its hundreds of millions of readers to turn into juvenile witches and warlocks (as some groups fear)? What, really, are some of the ideas present in the book? Is it just about quidditch, or is the main focus on the gathering of different talents banded in friendship and aimed at stopping a common problem? Does it show that the kindness of genuinely caring individuals can help offset dysfunction at home? Analyze what the book is really about.

This is probably the harder of the two topics, because you may personally find Judy Blume offensive, but the reality is that the taboo subjects of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and Then Again Maybe I Won't are merely about experiences adolescents actually have. Do the books cause children's bodies to mature, or do they just describe what occurs commonly in ways parents are sometimes too squeamish to discuss.

Be sure to cite some examples in the early part of your essay that show why the book was banned; in the larger part of the paper (your literary analysis), quote and document examples that show the key theme or idea or issue that has caused the book to be labeled "literature."

reminder

By now you probably don't need this note, but it doesn't hurt to include it. Remember that this is not a book report, not a plot summary and bit of biography and a personal review on whether or not you liked the book; it is an exploration of some idea, and you will show your ability to think about what the implications of the book are.