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A Retired English Teacher Looks at High School Required Reading and Cringes

As the new school year approaches, Our retired English teacher looks back at some of the books he has had to teach over the years… and cringes. Not because they are all bad books, mind you; there are some very fine works here. He cringes because he feels there is a stultifying sameness to these selections, as if teachers and administrators are out to impress each other more than they are out to engage young readers. Oh well…
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1984 (Orwell)
1984
1
Orwell
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mark Twain)
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
2
Mark Twain
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Adventures of Tom and Huck, #1) (Mark Twain)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Adventures of Tom and Huck, #1)
3
Mark Twain
Aeneid (Virgil)
Aeneid
4
Virgil
The Allegory of the Cave (Plato)
The Allegory of the Cave
5
Plato
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Animal Farm
6
George Orwell
Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank)
Anne Frank: the Diary of a Young Girl
7
Anne Frank
Beowulf (Tr. Seamus Heaney)
Beowulf
8
Tr. Seamus Heaney
Canterbury Tales (Coghill Trans.)
Canterbury Tales
9
Coghill Trans.
The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
The Catcher in the Rye
10
J.D. Salinger
A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)
A Christmas Carol
11
Charles Dickens
The Crucible (Arthur Miller)
The Crucible
12
Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman (Arthur Miller)
Death of a Salesman
13
Arthur Miller
A Doll's House (Henrik Ibsen)
A Doll's House
14
Henrik Ibsen
Dubliners (Joyce)
Dubliners
15
Joyce
Ethan Frome (Edith Wharton)
Ethan Frome
16
Edith Wharton
Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)
Fahrenheit 451
17
Ray Bradbury
The Fall of the House of Usher (Edgar Allan Poe)
The Fall of the House of Usher
18
Edgar Allan Poe
Farewell to Manzanar (Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston)
Farewell to Manzanar
19
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston
Flowers for Algernon (Daniel Keyes)
Flowers for Algernon
20
Daniel Keyes
Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
Frankenstein
21
Mary Shelley
Gilgamesh (Tr. Stephen Mitchell)
Gilgamesh
22
Tr. Stephen Mitchell
The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
The Great Gatsby
23
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Hamlet (Shakespeare)
Hamlet
24
Shakespeare
Heart of Darkness (Signet)
Heart of Darkness
25
Signet
The House of the Seven Gables (Hawthorne)
The House of the Seven Gables
26
Hawthorne
The House on Mango Street (Sandra Cisneros)
The House on Mango Street
27
Sandra Cisneros
The Iliad (Homer)
The Iliad
28
Homer
Inferno (Dante Alighieri)
Inferno
29
Dante Alighieri
Julius Caesar (Shakespeare - Signet)
Julius Caesar
30
Shakespeare - Signet
Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
Lord of the Flies
31
William Golding
MacBeth (Shakespeare)
MacBeth
32
Shakespeare
The Major Sherlock Holmes Stories (Doyle)
The Major Sherlock Holmes Stories
33
Doyle
The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare - Signet)
The Merchant of Venice
34
Shakespeare - Signet
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Shakespeare-Signet)
A Midsummer Night's Dream
35
Shakespeare-Signet
Mythology (Hamilton)
Mythology
36
Hamilton
Night (Elie Weisel)
Night
37
Elie Weisel
The Odyssey (Homer)
The Odyssey
38
Homer
Oedipus the King and Antigone (Sophocles)
Oedipus the King and Antigone
39
Sophocles
Of Mice and Men (John Steinbeck)
Of Mice and Men
40
John Steinbeck
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