English I, Gifted

Welcome to Lafayette High School! The novels that are required reading over the summer are as follows: Need help with your reading - background information or guides to understanding?  Try the EBSCO data bank LITERARY REFERENCE CENTER.   This is provided free of charge for you by the Laf. Parish School System.  Link - http://search.ebscohost.com/    User ID = student   Password = ebsco

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo       One of the most widely read novels of all time, Les Misérables was the crowning literary achievement of Victor Hugo’s stunning career. Though he was considered the greatest French writer of his day, Hugo was forced to flee the country because of his opposition to Napoleon III. While in exile he completed Les Misérables, an enormous melodrama set against the background of political upheaval in France following the rule of Napoleon I. Les Misérables tells the story of the peasant Jean Valjean—unjustly imprisoned, baffled by destiny, and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized, ambiguously malevolent police detective Javert. As Valjean struggles to redeem his past, we are thrust into the teeming underworld of Paris with all its poverty, ignorance, and suffering. Just as cruel tyranny threatens to extinguish the last vestiges of hope, rebellion sweeps over the land like wildfire, igniting a vast struggle for the democratic ideal in France. A monumental classic dedicated to the oppressed, the underdog, the laborer, the rebel, the orphan, and the misunderstood, Les Misérables is a rich, emotional novel that captures nothing less than the entirety of life in nineteenth-century France. The version we use is translated by Charles E. Wilbur and edited and abridged by James K. Robinson.  The cover is dark green with yellow writing.     ISBN 0-449-3000211 Many web sites are availale for more information to guide you in your reading.  A good place to begin is a Reading Group Guide - http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_L/les_miserables1.asp

Billy Budd by Herman Melville      It is a time of war between nations, but on one ship, a smaller battle is being fought between two men. Jealous of Billy Budd, the "Handsome Sailor, " the envious Master-At-Arms Claggart torments the young man until his false accusations lead to a charge of treason against Billy. The version we use is by Washington Square Press (Enriched Classic). Copyright is by Simon & Schuster, 1972. However, any complete version of this classic will suffice.  Because this read is challenging, you may find it helpful to have a dictionary at your side and to make notes regarding main characters and the events surrounding them. For reading background information - http://www.penguinreaders.com/downloads/9780582342996.pdf   During the fall semester you must read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.  Again, any complete text version is fine. Testing on that novel will be at the beginning of the Spring semester.