Content Area EnglishTarget Course/Grade level 12
Unit Title - European Literature: Twentieth Century
Essential Questions: Why might the twentieth century be regarded as the Age of Anxiety? How do “dystopian” works
demonstrate the inherent problems of attempting to create a perfect society or perfect individual? How do authors of the 20th
century affirm the possibility of beauty and meaning? How is the philosophy of existentialism explored in literary works? What
conclusions can be drawn from analyzing concepts evaluated via the literature studied throughout the course of the year?
Unit Overview Through the close reading of “dystopian” works such as Pygmalion and 1984, students consider the problems inherent in fashioning a perfect
society or perfect individual. At the same time, they also consider how authors of the twentieth century affirm the possibility of beauty and meaning—for
instance, Federico García Lorca’s The Guitar, or Thomas Hardy’s “The Darkling Thrush.” Students also examine the philosophy of existentialism and the absurd
of reality through works of Albert Camus and other authors. Students ponder how historical context affects an enduring story or theme. Students complete
research papers in which they consult literary criticism and historical materials. They engage in discussions resembling college seminars, where they pursue
focused questions in depth over the course of one or two class sessions. At the close of the unit, students have the opportunity to research the literature they have
read over the course of the year and the concepts they have studied.
Standards/
CPI’s
RL.11-12.3
Unit Learning Targets
As a result of this segment of learning, students
will…

Read works of the twentieth century,
focusing on the earlier decades.

Consider aspects of modernism (such
as anxiety) in their historical context.

Explain both the breakdown and
affirmation of form and meaning in
modernist literature.
Memorize and recite a one- to twominute passage from one of the texts.
Include an introduction that discusses
one of the following issues:
Analyze dystopian and existential
literature, considering the problems
inherent in fashioning a perfect person
or society.
-How the passage deals with the
question of meaning and
meaninglessness
RL.11-12.6
RL.11-12.10
RI.11-12.5
W.11-12.7
W.11-12.8
SL.11-12.1(ad
Lessons and Activities
The learning experiences that will
facilitate engagement and achievement

L.11-12.6


Consider how poems in this unit
reflect on poetry itself and its
possibilities.
Write research papers in which they
consult literary criticism and historical
materials.
Suggested Activities:
Evidence of
Learning
Formative and
Summative
measures
Graded class
participation
Reading poetry, Oral Presentation:
-How the passage comments, directly or
indirectly, on historical events (SL.1112.4)
Art, Music and Media
Resources
Books, articles, text, etc.
Glencoe Textbook
Suggested literary selections
Graded class
discussion
Peer and Teacher
critique of
argumentative,
informational/exp
ository and
narrative writing
assignments
Novels
Brave New World by Huxley
1984 by Orwell
The Stranger by Camus
The Plague by Camus
All Quiet on the Western Front by Remarque
Novellas
The Metamorphosis by Kafka
Peer editing
Cooperative and
individual
research projects
and oral
Plays
Pygmalion by Shaw
Waiting for Godot by Beckett
Rhinoceros by Ionesco

Consider the implications of modern
versions of classical works.

Examine the musical allusions and
their meanings in twentieth-century
poetical works in seminars.

Pursue focused questions in depth
over the course of one or two class
sessions.

Understand absurdist and existential
philosophy as it applies to literature
and theatre.

Research the literature they have read
over the course of the year and the
concepts they have studied.
Examine all of the images depicted in
the works of art evaluated in this unit.
Do these works of art have anything in
common? Do they depict anything you
recognize? Do you think they were made
for a particular buyer, a patron, or just
because the painters wanted to make
them? How might you categorize each
work, besides “abstract”? How has the
artist evolved by the twentieth century to
be an unrestricted individual? Can you
see how these artists might be driven by
their own artistic tendencies or desires?
What are these paintings “about”?
(SL.11-12.1, SL.11-12.2, SL.11-12.3,
SL.11-12.4, SL.11-12.5)
Reading Literature, Argumentative
Writing
How do both Lorca and Hardy affirm the
possibility of beauty and meaning in
their works as authors of the twentieth
century? Use specific textual evidence to
support all of your claims and
counterclaims. (RL.11-12.4, SL.11-12.4,
W.11-12.5, W.11-12.7, W.11-12.8,
L.11-12.6)
Paying close attention to The Stranger’s
plot, how can Meursault be regarded as a
protagonist who portrays the philosophy
of existentialism? How does it apply to
Auden’s concept of anxiety? Write an
essay that uses specific textual evidence
to support your position. (RL.11-12.4,
SL.11-12.4, W.11-12.5, W.11-12.7,
W.11-12.8, L.11-12.6)
presentations
Benchmarks
Tests
Announced and
unannounced
quizzes
Three formal
analyses
Two narrative
writing
assignments
Two
informational/exp
ository writing
assignments
Four perspectives
in response to art
and literature
Nonfiction
Night by Wiesel
The Myth of Sisyphus by Camus
From The Voyage of Christopher Columbus
Poems
“The Guitar” by Lorca
“Encounter” by Mitosz
“Gather Not Gold and Precious Stones” by
Sodergran
“Lot’s Wife” by Szymborska
“Lot’s Wife” by Akhmatova
“The Darkling Thrush” by Hardy
“Four Quartets” by Eliot
“The Wasteland” by Eliot
“The World, My Friends, My Enemies,
You, and the Earth” by Hikmet
“Freedom to Breathe” by Solzhenitsyn
Informational Texts
Recitation of
poetry
Speeches
“Their Finest Hour” (House of Commons,
June 18, 1940) (Winston Churchill)
Essays
“Crisis of the Mind” (Paul Valéry)
“The Fallacy of Success” (G.K. Chesterton)
Media
Film adaptations of suggested works
Berlin Wall Crumbles by Joe Garner
Art
North Arlington Public Schools
La Madonne Ronde by Lempicka (1935)
Evaluate the setting and historical
context of Night. How is the plot of this
memoir affected by its time and place?
Use specific textual evidence to support
all of your claims and counterclaims.
(RL.11-12.4, SL.11-12.4, W.11-12.5,
W.11-12.7, W.11-12.8, L.11-12.6)
El Corredor by Villasenor (1976)
Dance on the Beach by Munch (1900)
Parana by Kelly (1995)
Don’t Forget by Goldberg (1964)
Sisyphus by Stuck (1920)
L’Envol by Chagall (1968)
Reading Literature, Informative
Writing
How do All Quiet on the Western Front
and The Stranger influence and
contribute to the existential movement?
Write an essay that uses specific textual
evidence to support an original, concise
thesis statement. (RL.11-12.4, SL.1112.4, W.11-12.5, W.11-12.7, W.11-12.8,
L.11-12.6)
What social values are discarded in the
dystopian works 1984 and/or Brave New
World? Write an essay that uses specific
textual evidence to support an original,
concise thesis statement. (RL.11-12.4,
SL.11-12.4, W.11-12.5, W.11-12.7,
W.11-12.8, L.11-12.6)
Research Paper:
Using texts from this unit or additional
outside sources, write a research paper
that answers the essential question: Why
(in literature) might the twentieth
century be regarded as the Age of
Anxiety? Use textual evidence to
support an original thesis statement
designed to answer this question. The
North Arlington Public Schools
paper should reflect your reasoned
judgment about the quality and
reliability of sources consulted (i.e., why
you emphasize some and not others), a
balance of paraphrasing and quoting
from sources, original thinking, the
anticipation and addressing of questions
or counterclaims, and the proper citation
of sources.
(RL.11-12.1, RL.11-12.2, RI.11-12.1,
RI.11-12.2, RI.11-12.7, W.11-12.7,
W.11-12.8)
North Arlington Public Schools