Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Novels

An Offprint from

Novelsfor Students

Novels for Students

Project EditorDavid Galens

EditorialSara Constantakis, Elizabeth A. Cranston,Kristen A. Dorsch, Anne Marie Hacht,Madeline S. Harris, Arlene Johnson, MichelleKazensky, Ira Mark Milne, Polly Rapp, PamRevitzer, Mary Ruby, Kathy Sauer, JenniferSmith, Daniel Toronto, Carol Ullmann

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Printed in the United States of America

ISSN 1094-3552

IntroductionPurpose of the Book

The purpose of Novels for Students (NfS) is toprovide readers with a guide to understanding, en-joying, and studying novels by giving them easyaccess to information about the work. Part of Gale’s“For Students” Literature line,NfS is specificallydesigned to meet the curricular needs of high schooland undergraduate college students and their teach-ers, as well as the interests of general readers andresearchers considering specific novels. While eachvolume contains entries on “classic” novels fre-quently studied in classrooms, there are also entriescontaining hard-to-find information on contempo-rary novels, including works by multicultural, in-ternational, and women novelists.

The information covered in each entry includesan introduction to the novel and the novel’s author;a plot summary, to help readers unravel and un-derstand the events in a novel; descriptions of im-portant characters, including explanation of a givencharacter’s role in the novel as well as discussionabout that character’s relationship to other charac-ters in the novel; analysis of important themes inthe novel; and an explanation of important literarytechniques and movements as they are demon-strated in the novel.

In addition to this material, which helps thereaders analyze the novel itself, students are alsoprovided with important information on the liter-ary and historical background informing eachwork. This includes a historical context essay, a

box comparing the time or place the novel was writ-ten to modern Western culture, a critical overviewessay, and excerpts from critical essays on thenovel. A unique feature of NfS is a specially com-missioned critical essay on each novel, targeted to-ward the student reader.

To further aid the student in studying and en-joying each novel, information on media adapta-tions is provided, as well as reading suggestions forworks of fiction and nonfiction on similar themesand topics. Classroom aids include ideas for re-search papers and lists of critical sources that pro-vide additional material on the novel.

Selection CriteriaThe titles for each volume of NfSwere selected

by surveying numerous sources on teaching litera-ture and analyzing course curricula for variousschool districts. Some of the sources surveyed in-cluded: literature anthologies; Reading Lists forCollege-Bound Students: The Books Most Recom-mended by America’s Top Colleges;textbooks onteaching the novel; a College Board survey of nov-els commonly studied in high schools; a NationalCouncil of Teachers of English (NCTE) survey ofnovels commonly studied in high schools; theNCTE’s Teaching Literature in High School: TheNovel; and the Young Adult Library Services As-sociation (YALSA) list of best books for youngadults of the past twenty-five years.

Input was also solicited from our advisoryboard, as well as educators from various areas.

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From these discussions, it was determined that eachvolume should have a mix of “classic” novels(those works commonly taught in literature classes)and contemporary novels for which information isoften hard to find. Because of the interest in ex-panding the canon of literature, an emphasis wasalso placed on including works by international,multicultural, and women authors. Our advisoryboard members—educational professionals—helped pare down the list for each volume. If a workwas not selected for the present volume, it was of-ten noted as a possibility for a future volume. Asalways, the editor welcomes suggestions for titlesto be included in future volumes.

How Each Entry Is OrganizedEach entry, or chapter, in NfS focuses on one

novel. Each entry heading lists the full name of thenovel, the author’s name, and the date of thenovel’s publication. The following elements arecontained in each entry:

• Introduction: a brief overview of the novelwhich provides information about its first ap-pearance, its literary standing, any controversiessurrounding the work, and major conflicts orthemes within the work.

• Author Biography: this section includes basicfacts about the author’s life, and focuses onevents and times in the author’s life that inspiredthe novel in question.

• Plot Summary: a factual description of the ma-jor events in the novel. Lengthy summaries arebroken down with subheads.

• Characters: an alphabetical listing of majorcharacters in the novel. Each character name isfollowed by a brief to an extensive descriptionof the character’s role in the novel, as well asdiscussion of the character’s actions, relation-ships, and possible motivation.

Characters are listed alphabetically by last name.If a character is unnamed—for instance, the nar-rator in Invisible Man–the character is listed as“The Narrator” and alphabetized as “Narrator.”If a character’s first name is the only one given,the name will appear alphabetically by that name.

• Variant names are also included for each char-acter. Thus, the full name “Jean Louise Finch”would head the listing for the narrator ofTo Killa Mockingbird,but listed in a separate cross-ref-erence would be the nickname “Scout Finch.”

• Themes:a thorough overview of how the majortopics, themes, and issues are addressed within

the novel. Each theme discussed appears in a sep-arate subhead, and is easily accessed through theboldface entries in the Subject/Theme Index.

• Style: this section addresses important style el-ements of the novel, such as setting, point ofview, and narration; important literary devicesused, such as imagery, foreshadowing, symbol-ism; and, if applicable, genres to which the workmight have belonged, such as Gothicism or Ro-manticism. Literary terms are explained withinthe entry, but can also be found in the Glossary.

• Historical Context: This section outlines thesocial, political, and cultural climate in whichthe author lived and the novel was created.Thissection may include descriptions of related his-torical events, pertinent aspects of daily life inthe culture, and the artistic and literary sensi-bilities of the time in which the work was writ-ten. If the novel is a historical work, informa-tion regarding the time in which the novel is setis also included. Each section is broken downwith helpful subheads.

• Critical Overview: this section provides back-ground on the critical reputation of the novel,including bannings or any other public contro-versies surrounding the work. For older works,this section includes a history of how the novelwas first received and how perceptions of it mayhave changed over the years; for more recentnovels, direct quotes from early reviews mayalso be included.

• Criticism: an essay commissioned by NfSwhich specifically deals with the novel and iswritten specifically for the student audience, aswell as excerpts from previously published crit-icism on the work (if available).

• Sources:an alphabetical list of critical materialquoted in the entry, with full bibliographical in-formation.

• Further Reading: an alphabetical list of othercritical sources which may prove useful for thestudent. Includes full bibliographical informa-tion and a brief annotation.

In addition, each entry contains the followinghighlighted sections, set apart from the main textas sidebars:

• Media Adaptations: a list of important film andtelevision adaptations of the novel, includingsource information. The list also includes stageadaptations, audio recordings, musical adapta-tions, etc.

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• Topics for Further Study: a list of potentialstudy questions or research topics dealing withthe novel. This section includes questions re-lated to other disciplines the student may bestudying, such as American history, world his-tory, science, math, government, business, ge-ography, economics, psychology, etc.

• Compare and Contrast Box:an “at-a-glance”comparison of the cultural and historical differ-ences between the author’s time and culture andlate twentieth century/early twenty-first centuryWestern culture. This box includes pertinent par-allels between the major scientific, political, andcultural movements of the time or place the novelwas written, the time or place the novel was set(if a historical work), and modern Western cul-ture. Works written after 1990 may not have thisbox.

• What Do I Read Next?: a list of works thatmight complement the featured novel or serveas a contrast to it. This includes works by thesame author and others, works of fiction andnonfiction, and works from various genres, cul-tures, and eras.

Other FeaturesNfS includes “The Informed Dialogue: Inter-

acting with Literature,” a foreword by Anne Dev-ereaux Jordan, Senior Editor for Teaching andLearning Literature(TALL), and a founder of theChildren’s Literature Association. This essay pro-vides an enlightening look at how readers interactwith literature and how Novels for Studentscanhelp teachers show students how to enrich theirown reading experiences.

A Cumulative Author/Title Index lists the au-thors and titles covered in each volume of the NfSseries.

A Cumulative Nationality/Ethnicity Indexbreaks down the authors and titles covered in eachvolume of the NfS series by nationality and eth-nicity.

A Subject/Theme Index, specific to each vol-ume, provides easy reference for users who may bestudying a particular subject or theme rather thana single work. Significant subjects from events tobroad themes are included, and the entries point-ing to the specific theme discussions in each entryare indicated in boldface.

Each entry has several illustrations, includingphotos of the author, stills from film adaptations (ifavailable), maps, and/or photos of key historicalevents.

Citing Novels for StudentsWhen writing papers, students who quote di-

rectly from any volume of Novels for Studentsmayuse the following general forms. These examplesare based on MLA style; teachers may request thatstudents adhere to a different style, so the follow-ing examples may be adapted as needed.

When citing text from NfS that is not attrib-uted to a particular author (i.e., the Themes, Style,Historical Context sections, etc.), the following for-mat should be used in the bibliography section:

“Night.” Novels for Students.Ed. Marie RoseNapierkowski. Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 234–35.

When quoting the specially commissioned es-say from NfS (usually the first piece under the“Criticism” subhead), the following format shouldbe used:

Miller, Tyrus. Critical Essay on “Winesburg, Ohio.”Novels for Students.Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski.Vol. 4. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 335–39.

When quoting a journal or newspaper essaythat is reprinted in a volume of NfS,the followingform may be used:

Malak, Amin. “Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’sTaleand the Dystopian Tradition,” Canadian Litera-ture No. 112 (Spring, 1987), 9–16; excerpted andreprinted in Novels for Students,Vol. 4, ed. MarieRose Napierkowski (Detroit: Gale, 1998), pp. 133–36.

When quoting material reprinted from a bookthat appears in a volume of NfS,the following formmay be used:

Adams, Timothy Dow. “Richard Wright: “Wearingthe Mask,” in Telling Lies in Modern American Au-tobiography (University of North Carolina Press,1990), 69–83; excerpted and reprinted in Novels forStudents,Vol. 1, ed. Diane Telgen (Detroit: Gale,1997), pp. 59–61.

We Welcome Your SuggestionsThe editor of Novels for Studentswelcomes

your comments and ideas. Readers who wish tosuggest novels to appear in future volumes, or whohave other suggestions, are cordially invited to con-tact the editor. You may contact the editor via e-mail at: ForStudentsEditors@gale.com.Or writeto the editor at:

Editor, Novels for StudentsGale Group27500 Drake RoadFarmington Hills, MI 48331–3535

I n t r o d u c t i o n

Nonfiction Classics forStudentsProvides detailed literary and historicalbackground on the most commonlystudied nonfiction essays, books, biog-raphies and memoirs in a streamlined,easy-to-use format. Covering 15-20works per volume, this reference seriesgives high school and undergraduatestudents an ideal starting point for

class assignments, term papers and special projects. Entriesprovide: a brief author biography; a general introduction toand summary of the work; an annoted list of principal charac-ters; general discussions of the organization and construction,historical and cultural context, and principal themes of thework; and original critical essays written by academics in thefield, supplemented by excerpted previously published essaysand a list of sources for further reading. In addition, entries typically include information on media adaptations; readingrecommendations; a list of study questions; and more.

Novels for StudentsContains easily accessible and context-rich discussions of the literary and historical significance of major novelsfrom various cultures and time periods.Entries provide: a brief author biogra-phy; a general introduction to andsummary of the work; an annoted listof principal characters; general discus-sions of the organization and con-

struction, historical and cultural context, and principal themesof the work; and original critical essays written by academics inthe field, supplemented by excerpted previously publishedessays and a list of sources for further reading. In addition,entries typically include information on media adaptations;reading recommendations; a list of study questions; and more.

Drama for StudentsFeatures detailed coverage of the playsmost frequently studied in literatureclasses. Entries provide: a brief authorbiography; a general introduction toand summary of the work; an annotedlist of principal characters; general discussions of the organization andconstruction, historical and culturalcontext, and principal themes of the

work; original critical essays written by academics in the field,supplemented by excerpted previously published essays; a list ofsources for further reading; and more.

Short Stories forStudentsEach volume presents detailed infor-mation on approximately 20 of themost-studied short stories at the highschool and early-college levels. Entriesprovide: a brief author biography; ageneral introduction to and summaryof the work; an annoted list of princi-pal characters; general discussions of

the organization and construction, historical and cultural context, and principal themes of the work; and original criticalessays written by academics in the field, supplemented byexcerpted previously published essays. In addition, entries typi-cally include information on media adaptations; reading rec-ommendations; a list of study questions; and more.

Epics for StudentsThis reference is designed to providestudents and other researchers with aguide to understanding and enjoyingthe epic literature that is most studiedin classrooms. Each entry includes anintroductory essay; biographical information on the author; a plotsummary; an examination of the epic’sprincipal themes, style, construction,

historical background and critical reception; and an originalcritical essay supplemented by excerpted previously publishedcriticism. In addition, entries typically include information onmedia adaptations; reading recommendations; a list of studyquestions; and more.

Shakespeare forStudentsThese accessible volumes provideessential interpretation and criticismof the Shakespeare plays most oftenstudied in secondary schools andundergraduate curricula. Each play istreated in approximately 50 to 75pages of text. Entries feature an intro-duction to the play, including a plot

summary, descriptive list of characters and outline of the generalcritical issues related to studying the play; annotated criticismreprinted from periodicals and academic journals and arrangedby general topic/theme; and lists of sources for further study.

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