This 10th-grade teaching unit on Robert Sherwood's "Abe Lincoln in Illinois" consists primarily of sample teacher questions and student responses designed to lead the student to a discovery of values and an awareness of the character development of Lincoln. Included are a scene-by-scene analysis of Lincoln's character, six quotations…

The study shows that there are Spanish fairy tales which are parallels to some well-known fairy tales written in English. These fairy tales are not merely translations of the English, but have certain character and plot similarities that allow them to be compared. This study compares eight fairy tales--the English tale is discussed first, then the…

This book considers the right and the wrong ways to approach different types of novels. Trollope's "The Way We Live Now" is the starting point for chapters dealing with the conventions of realism as they are revealed in the presentation of characters, in the novelists' language, and in the tension between the autonomy of character and the demands…

"The Hope Chest," a short story by Jean Stafford, offers a challenge to the oral interpreter of literature because it demands that the performer demonstrate its complex narrative levels. There are five distinct facets in the personality of the central character, Miss Bellamy: a lonely, fearful old lady; a shrewd, hospitable mistress of…

Suggests that L.T. Meade, a writer of books for adolescent girls in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, shifted from writing pious and didactic novels to novels that challenged the traditional role of women, in order to meet the continually changing interests and needs of her readers. (JC)

Compares and contrasts the two nineteenth-century domestic romances, "What Katy Did" and "Jack and Jill" and examines how the protagonists grow into mature and capable women. (CRH)

Compares characterization in Western and African novels. Observes that the characters in African novels are principally mediums for exposing the sociopolitical situation. (FMW)

Discusses various critical interpretations of Zora Neale Hurston's personality and writing beginning in the Harlem Renaissance. Examines literary skirmishes and aesthetic debates between Hurston and Langston Hughes and Richard Wright beginning in the Harlem Renaissance period. Explores Black male and female writers' perspectives during this time.…

Reviews literature from the first quarter of the nineteenth-century Victorian period. Examines how several Victorian novelists constructed new kinds of heroic stories, combining moral instruction with dynamic storytelling for their young audience. (MG)

Examines some of the hegemonic forces at work in the complex social dynamics of the traditionally feminized elementary school setting. Demonstrates how the dominant culture manipulates the character of Ramona, who, if not silenced or entirely subdued by the end of the series, is at least much more civilized according to the norms of the classroom.…

Discusses how both novels share key thematic elements pertaining to the experiences of migrants from rural Appalachia to multiethnic industrial centers of the urban north. Notes that a focus on the authors' handling of material culture helps to point one with increased clarity and precision to the writerly method by which Attaway and Arnow convey…

Examines, via the multicultural feminist perspective, 16 young adult novels about non-white, non-American, or nonheterosexual characteristics concerning themes of oppression and resistance. Findings point to a greater variety of such themes than might have been found if only a liberal feminist lens had been used. (GR)

This paper reports on a project to construct a computerized database of the treatment of ethnic groups and foreign nations in American motion pictures. The project is being conducted in response to a need for a scholarly examination of how film depicts these groups and nations. Since these media presentations are important influences on public…

The purpose of this study was to apply a schema to adolescent novels, to determine what lessons the authors teach and what techniques they employ in their teaching. A historical review of literary criticism established a background for interpreting the educational function of literature. A schema of questions based on the historical background was…