English & U.S. History Paper 11 th Grade & NATURALISM

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce An American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist. He is best known for his short story, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" a realistic account of the horrors of war during the Civil War. Historical Connections: Journalism, Civil War AMBROSE BIERCE CIVIL WAR STORIES Available Online:

“…Tells the story of Edna Pontellier, a young wife and mother who, determined to control her own life, flouts convention by moving out of her husband’s house, having an adulterous affair, and becoming an artist.” Historical Connections: Women’s rights, Oppression KATE CHOPIN THE AWAKENING & SELECTED STORIES

“The Red Badge of Courage portrays the initial cowardice and later courage of a Union soldier in the Civil War.” Historical Connections: Civil War STEPHEN CRANE THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE

“This epic of urban life tells of small- town heroine Carrie Meeber, adrift in an indifferent Chicago. Setting out, she has nothing but a few dollars and an unspoiled beauty. Hers is a story of struggle— from sweatshop to stage success—and of the love she inspires in an older, married man whose obsession with her threatens to destroy him.” Historical Connections: Naturalism THEODORE DREISER SISTER CARRIE

“Paul Laurence Dunbar was "the most promising young colored man" in nineteenth- century America, according to Frederick Douglass, and subsequently one of the most controversial. His plantation lyrics, written while he was an elevator boy in Ohio, established Dunbar as the premier writer of dialect poetry and garnered him international recognition.” Historical Connections: African American life PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR SELECTED POEMS

Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman “A popular and prolific author, for most of her works she drew from the environment in which she had been born and brought up— the small towns and farms and villages of New England.” Historical Connections: Women’s issues, Puritans Available Online: MARY E.W. FREEMAN SHORT STORIES

“A terrifying tale about a woman driven to the brink of insanity by the "rest cure" she is ordered to follow by her doctor to relieve her postpartum depression.” Historical Connections: Feminist movement CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN THE YELLOW WALLPAPER & OTHER STORIES

“Transported from California to the subarctic climate of the Yukon, Buck is transformed from a domestic pet dog into a creature that reacts instinctively.” Historical Connections: Naturalism, Gold prospector, War correspondent JACK LONDON THE CALL OF THE WILD

“Considered one of the leading pioneers in American Naturalism, Frank Norris is read and studied for his vivid and honest depiction of life at the beginning of a lusty and developing new century. The Pit (1903) is a novel about speculation on the Chicago wheat exchange.” Historical Connections: Industrialization of agriculture FRANK NORRIS THE PIT: A STORY OF CHICAGO

“His controversial conviction that blacks could best gain equality in the U.S. by improving their economic situation through education rather than by demanding equal rights was termed the Atlanta Compromise, because Washington accepted inequality and segregation for blacks in exchange for economic advancement.” Historical Connections: Slavery BOOKER T. WASHINGTON UP FROM SLAVERY

“This inspiring memoir, first published in 1850, recounts the struggles of a distinguished African-American abolitionist and champion of women's rights. Sojourner Truth tells of her life in slavery, her self- liberation, and her travels across America in pursuit of racial and sexual equality.” Historical Connections: Slavery, Feminism SOJOURNER TRUTH NARRATIVE OF SOJOURNER TRUTH