Mrs. Garrard
EN35
Independent Reading Project
Fourth Quarter IRP
Assignment Overview and Novel List
Overview
For this IRP, your final project will be completed through a cultural critical lens. As you read
and complete the assignments required, keep the following scenario in mind.
The year is 2118 and the world has undergone dramatic changes. New nations have risen and
fallen; the people adhere to traditions and norms that would be unrecognizable and
incomprehensible to us; and documentation of past civilizations and cultures has been lost due to
war and neglect. You are a sociologist working with a team on an archeological dig in the
former United States. Very little has been recovered from our culture, but one novel somehow
survived intact.
As the sociologist on the team, you are responsible for reporting to your nation regarding the
culture of the society that created the text. You have been given the following guidance for your
report:
 Describe the people’s everyday lives. Include information regarding occupations,
personalities, values, etc.
 Describe the environment. Include information regarding size of settlements – towns,
cities, metropolises, etc. Significant characteristics and impact of these details on the
culture.
 Describe the most significant issues facing the people of this society. Poverty,
discrimination, class systems, government injustices, etc.
 How did these issues impact the people and the culture?
 Most importantly – What is the lesson to be learned? Our new society continually seeks
to understand and avoid mistakes made by previous generations. How can we change or
mold our behavior in light of the lessons learned from this novel?
Your task is to complete the following:
 As you read, collect evidence demonstrating how the society functioned, what made up
the culture (values, issues, conflicts, etc.), and anything else that helps you to answer the
questions above. This should look something like a dialectical journal with an
explanation of each piece of evidence and its significance.
 Complete a 1 page informative mini-essay or briefing regarding the time period from
which this piece came.
 Write a speech that addresses the questions above in MLA format.
o Minimum of two pages typed
o Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced, title
Angelou, Maya
Bellow, Saul
Conroy.
Capote, Truman
Doctorow.
Erdrich, Louise
Frazier.
Gaines, Ernest
Guterson, David
Haley, Alex
Hillerman.
Huston, Zora Neale
Irving.
Kingsolver, Barbara
McCarthy, Cormac
Malamud, Bernard
Momaday, N. Scott
Morrison, Toni
Naylor, Gloria
Percy, Walker
Plath, Sylvia
Salinger, J. D.
Shaara, Michael
Silko, L.
Tan, Amy
Updike.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
Henderson the Rain King
The Great Santini; The Prince of Tides
In Cold Blood
Ragtime
Love Medicine
Cold Mountain
A Lesson Before Dying
Snow Falling on Cedars
Malcolm X
A Thief of Time
Their Eyes Were Watching God
The World According to Garp
The Bean Trees
All the Pretty Horses; The Crossing
The Magic Barrel; The Natural; The Assistant
House Made of Dawn
The Bluest Eye; Beloved
Mama Day
The Movie Goer
The Bell Jar
The Catcher in the Rye
The Killer Angels
Ceremony
The Joy Luck Club
Rabbit; Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit is Rich