Great Authors of the Realist Age 9 th Grade English By Steven
Dewhurst
Slide 3
Introduction Welcome to your 9 th grade Intro to Great
Literature course! During this unit, you will learn about many
famous realist authors and you will read some of their works. In
this presentation, you will learn about four well-known authors and
one work from each of them, and then take a short quiz. Have
fun!
Slide 4
Navigation Icons Usage previous/next slide icon return to title
slide icon return to main menu icon return to question icon
Slide 5
Main Menu QUIZ!!! Mark Twain Arthur Miller Ray Bradbury John
Steinbeck
Slide 6
Mark Twain Overview Born/Died: Nov 30, 1835 April 21, 1910
Notable Works: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court The
Chronicle of Young Satan (unfinished) Other Notable Events: became
a licensed steamboat captain in 1859 newspaper reporter for the
Virginia City Territorial Enterprise
Slide 7
Early Life born in Florida, Missouri in 1835; moved to Hannibal
at age 4, lived there until age 17 real name: Samuel Langhorne
Clemens worked as a storekeeper, lawyer, judge, and land speculator
had a negative outlook on life father died in 1847; mother became
leader of household, Twain quit school to provide for family
Slide 8
Writing Huckleberry Finn written over many years received much
negative criticism upon publication, even from his own wife became
very popular, regardless; had big influence on modern American
literature "All modern American literature comes from one book by
Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn Ernest Hemingway Huck Finns
success allowed Mark to earn a lot of money from future works
Slide 9
Huckleberry Finn and Romanticism Twain had a distaste for
Romantic literature Examples in Huckleberry Finn: Tom Sawyer: Hucks
friend; counters Hucks realistic mindset with fantastic stories of
adventure Sir Walter Scott: the name of a famous Romantic writer;
the name of a sunken steamboat on the Mississippi River
Grangerford/Shepherdson feud: parodies Shakespeares Romeo and
Juliet The Duke and the King: two characters that use false
personas to con the common folk out of money and valuable
possessions
Slide 10
Later Life Twain headed west in 1861 to look for gold and
silver (failed) got a job as a reporter, and his stories became
popular was well-known, popular author by 1869 married Olivia
(Livy) Langdon in 1870, and loved her very much; had four children
eventually, three of the children and Olivia died of disease Twain
lived out his remaining years as a broken man You have finished
this section. Click the icon to your right to return to the Main
Menu.
Slide 11
Arthur Miller Overview Born/Died: October 17, 1915 February 10,
2005 Notable Works: Death of a Salesman All My Sons The Crucible
Other Notable Events: married to Marilyn Monroe refused to help the
House of Un-American Activities Committee out communists
Slide 12
Early Life lived in Harlem, New York until the Wall Street
Crash of 1929; moved to Gravesend, Brooklyn attended University of
Michigan after high school wrote his first play, No Villain took
courses with professor Kenneth Rowe Rowes approach to playwriting
inspired Millers pursuits
Slide 13
Death of a Salesman Miller wrote the first actin less than a
day opened at Morosco Theatre on February 10, 1949 to critical
acclaim was Millers first success and most famous work won him the
triple crown of theatrical artistry: the Pulitzer Prize, the New
York Drama Critics Circle Award, and a Tony
Slide 14
Death of a Salesman (Cont.) play protagonist, Willy Loman, is
losing his touch as a salesman in old age Salesman criticizes the
American Dream: seemingly impossible to be financially successful
does comfortable living really make you happy? work ethic doesnt
equate to success pursuit of American Dream negatively affects
mental/physical health, family relations Willy struggles with all
of these issues
Slide 15
Later Life continued to struggle with the weightiest of
societal and personal matters last play of note was The Price
(1968), a piece about family dynamics third wife died in 2002;
planned to marry Agnes Barley, but died of heart attack in 2005 at
age 89 You have finished this section. Click the icon to your right
to return to the Main Menu.
Slide 16
Ray Bradbury Overview Born/Died: August 22, 1920 June 5, 2012
Notable Works: Fahrenheit 451 The Illustrated Man The Martian
Chronicles Other Notable Events: studied in local library as
substitute to college education wished works to be considered
fantasy rather than sci-fi had a distaste for TV, but wanted his
works to be adapted
Slide 17
Early Life born and raised in Waukegan, Illinois; later used
childhood events in short stories loved reading about magicians and
action and fantasy genres decided to become a writer between age
12-13; wanted to be immortalized with his work moved to Los Angeles
in 1934, joined the drama club studied in a library three days a
week for 10 years, since he lacked money for the college due to the
Depression
Slide 18
Fahrenheit 451 Controversy published in 1953; Bradburys
best-known work became an instant classic in the era of McCarthyism
for its exploration of themes of censorship and conformity gained
both praise and criticism/suspicion In 2007, Bradbury himself
disputed that censorship was the theme of Fahrenheit 451, instead
explaining the book as a story about how television drives away
interest in reading.
Slide 19
Fahrenheit 451 future where all books are banned and burned
penalty for possession of books is death or banishment from society
main character, Guy Montag, is a fireman who burns books meets a
strange girl, Clarisse; begins to start thinking for himself
conflict resides with Montags unwillingness to change/inner desire
for freedom friends and family begin to see changes; harder to hide
his intellectualism is it better to conform and be safe, or risk
safety to express individuality?
Slide 20
Later Life wrote for several hours every day throughout his
entire life wrote well into his 90s; daughters would write his
words for him ended up publishing over 30 books, 600 short stories,
etc. won many awards, but favorite was becoming the United States
Pavilions idea consultant for the 1964 Worlds Fair accepted his
branding as a science fiction/fantasy author; said that other
peoples opinions dont count to him You have finished this section.
Click the icon to your right to return to the Main Menu.
Slide 21
John Steinbeck Overview Born/Died: February 27, 1902 December
20, 1968 Notable Works: The Grapes of Wrath Of Mice and Men
Tortilla Flat Other Notable Events: dropped out of college to
pursue writing Won a Pulitzer Prize for The Grapes of Wrath served
as a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune during World
War II
Slide 22
Early Life father worked many jobs to keep family fed; mother
was a schoolteacher was shy, but smart; lived a modest but happy
life with his three sisters formed an early appreciation for the
landwhich would greatly inform his later writing decided to become
a writer at age 14 enrolled at Stanford University in 1919, but
dropped out in 1925
Slide 23
The Grapes of Wrath Overview published in 1939 about a family
starting a new life in California during the Great Depression
Widely considered Steinbeck's finest and most ambitious novel sold
10,000 copies per week earned Steinbeck a Pulitzer Prize in
1940
Slide 24
The Grapes of Wrath and the Depression John spent time with
affected families; was disgusted by the suffering they were subject
to settled on an approach after visiting a camp in Bakersfield, CA
was loved and hated upon publication: some loved its honest
portrayal of life during the Depression some accused Steinbeck of
expressing Communist ideals many Californian farmers were offended
at the books portrayal
Slide 25
Later Life became war correspondent during WWII Went to Gulf of
California with Edward F. Ricketts; collaborated on the book Sea of
Cortez continued to write in his later years awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 1962 died of heart disease on December 20,
1968 You have finished this section. Click the icon to your right
to return to the Main Menu.
Slide 26
Question 1 Which of these characters do not represent Twains
satirical views of Romanticism in Huck Finn? 1.Tom SawyerTom Sawyer
2.Twains wifeTwains wife 3.ShepherdsonsShepherdsons
Slide 27
Two Sides of the Same Coin Nope, sorry. Tom Sawyer is one of
the strongest representations of Romanticism in the novel. While
Huck is very realistic, Tom is constantly reworking stories of
adventure that he reads, which sometimes makes it difficult for
Huck to interact with Tom concerning real-world issues. Go ahead
and try again!
Slide 28
The Bad Sheep Not quite. In the novel, the Shepherdsons were
having a feud with the Grangerfords, which satires William
Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet. Twain cements his distaste for
Romanticism by taking the formula in an even more absurd direction,
in which the families no longer even remember why they are
fighting, but continue to do so anyway. Try again!
Slide 29
Transforming Love Correct! Mark never alludes to his wife in
the novel. He also held her in very high regard, hoping that she
would help him to become more cultured and proper. Well, time to
move on to the next question!
Slide 30
Question 2 Which of these claims does Death of a Salesman
criticize about the American Dream? 1.Comfortable living (i.e.
steady job, strong income, possessions) provides
happinessComfortable living (i.e. steady job, strong income,
possessions) provides happiness 2.Pursuit of financial success
strengthens ones mental and physical healthPursuit of financial
success strengthens ones mental and physical health 3.Strong work
ethic always brings successStrong work ethic always brings success
4.All of the aboveAll of the above
Slide 31
Cant Pay Your Way Out Yes, the fickleness of happiness stemming
from money is criticized. Willy believed that his efforts would
bring him happiness, but instead he became even more stressed as
time went on. However, theres a better answer. Go back and try
again!
Slide 32
Money on My Mind True, the main focus of the play is Willies
back-and-forth between reality and his mental illusions, but theres
still a better answer. Try again!
Slide 33
Love of Money is the Root of All Evil Correct! All of the
answers were criticisms from the play! You seem to be well-grounded
in reality, unlike a certain salesman we all know. You may move on
to the next question!
Slide 34
Work Hard. Play Hard? It is true that despite Willies vigorous
efforts, he was undercut as a man and a salesman, but theres still
a better answer. Why dont you try again?
Slide 35
Question 3 True or False: Ray Bradbury himself claimed that
Fahrenheit 451 was about television making people lose interest in
reading, rather than about more general themes of censorship and
conformity. 1.TrueTrue 2.FalseFalse
Slide 36
Maybe the Curtains Just Blue Nope, sorry. This is a great
example of how readers can be so sure that they understand the
message an author is trying to convey, but still end up getting it
wrong or looking too deep. It doesnt mean that your interpretations
cant mean anything to you, but sometimes that blue curtain is no
more than a blue curtain Try again!
Slide 37
TV Rots Your Brain Correct! Maybe you feel the same way as
Bradbury, or maybe you dont, but thats what he said! Its time to
move on to the final question! Just dont leave any burn marks
Slide 38
Question 4 Which of these statements about The Grapes of Wrath
is not true? 1.Farmers were offended by how the book portrayed
themFarmers were offended by how the book portrayed them
2.Steinbeck was accused of Communism because of the books
themesSteinbeck was accused of Communism because of the books
themes 3.The book was universally hated at the time of its
publicationThe book was universally hated at the time of its
publication
Slide 39
Importance Nope, sorry. Despite the fact that Steinbeck wrote
The Grapes of Wrath out of his heartache for these peoples living
conditions, many farmers were still offended by his work. Try
again!
Slide 40
Babys a Red Steinbeck was accused of expressing Communist
sympathies within the themes of The Grapes of Wrath. It was
actually quite common for the great writers of the time to be
accused of such things. Go ahead and try again!
Slide 41
Love It, Hate It Correct! Despite receiving a lot of negative
criticism, The Grapes of Wrath received a lot of positive attention
as well, and it has continued to grow in popularity as an excellent
example of the hardships of the Great Depression and also its
continued relevance to modern society. You may proceed to the end
of the presentation!
Slide 42
The End Congratulations, you have completed the Great Authors
of the Realist Age unit overview! Continue on to the next slide to
finish!
Slide 43
Sources "Arthur Asher Miller." Bio. A&E Television
Networks, 2014. Web. 24 Sep. 2014. "John Ernst Steinbeck Jr." Bio.
A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 08 Oct. 2014. "Ray Bradbury
Douglas." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 01 Oct.
2014. "Samuel Langhorne Clemens." Bio. A&E Television Networks,
2014. Web. 24 Sep. 2014. Shmoop Editorial Team. "The Grapes of
Wrath." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 8
Oct. 2014. You have finished this unit overview. Please click the
icon to your right to return to the title screen for the next
student.