17._READING_BOOKS

foot-notes, quotation - poznámky pod čarou, citát

cover, dust jacket - obal, přebal knihy

paperback/hard back - brožovaná, tvrdý vazba

to issue, publish - vydávat

* BRITISH / AMERICAN LITERATURE – MAJOR REPRESENTATIVES AND THEIR WORKS

American architecture

- common themes:

the American dream, coming of age, justice and injustice, pursuit of happiness, war and peace, much of American

literature describes life in American or of Americans living elsewhere

-> history:

- native Americans did not write down their stories, they were transmitted orally from parents to children

- early colonists wrote down about the danger and hardship of their life in America

- in 17th and 18th century writers focused on religions and political issues and also on challenges of a new life

- then writers began to emphasize the importance of individual freedom and the individual sense of right and wrong

- in 19th century each state had its own laws and identities, there was tension between the states on the issue of

slavery (the Civil War - the North won, slavery was abolished) -> the reconstruction period started

- the South had to recover from the social, economic and physical destruction of the war

- people in the south were angry and wanted revenge -> racist groups (like Ku Klux Klan) emerged and terrorized

and discriminated against African Americans

-> Edgar Allan Poe

- famous 19th century writer and poet, was part of Romanticism movement

- the founder of the American novel, detective and horror story

- his stories dealt with people committing crimes, then obliged to live with feeling of guilty that eventually destroy

them, known for mysterious and macabre (děsný) tales

- was depressed and an alcoholic

- famous works: The Murder in the Rue Morgue, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Raven

-> Mark Twain

- icon of 19th century American literature, born in Missouri, real name Samuel Langhorne Clements

- worked on boats when he was younger

- known for his district humour

- famous works: The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn and the Adventure of Tom Sawyer

-> John Steinbeck

- born in California, worked with migrant worker in Oklahoma during Great Depression

- won the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize

- known for his realistic writing, sympathy and intolerance of exploitation of the weak

- famous works: Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, The Pearl

-> Toni Morrison

- born in Ohio to parents from the South

- focuses on the experience of Black Americans and slaves in the US

- won the Nobel Prize and the Pulitzer

- famous works - The Bluest Eye, A Mercy, Beloved

-> 21st century

- is marked by its literary diversity (style, subject)

- the voices of POC (People of Colours) and those from immigrant families are being highlighted:

Junot Diaz - Dominican American, Jumpa Lahiri - Indian American, Amy Tan - Chinese American,...

British literature

-> Charles Dickens

- he often used his own experience from his childhood (he had a difficult childhood)

- he describes truly the life of poor people in England in 19th century