By Lily Bourne and Madeline Crowley
Tragically, our time in Chris Haskett’s AP Lang class comes to a close. To commemorate our educational time in Room 26, we have compiled a comprehensive review of the supplemental literature perused throughout the course. Although our reviews of these works may vary in reverence, we are grateful to carry more portable scholarly knowledge into next year; this class has provided us with the right stuff to succeed!
Catcher in the Rye:
Most people either loved it or hated it. If reading about the life of a whiny teenage boy sounds intriguing to you, you will like this book, but this was not the case for us. While I (Madi) admit that I did find some parts of this book slightly funny and relatable, the sort of wild adventures that Holden Caulfield embarks on made it hard for me to internalize the deeper meaning of the book and take it seriously. I (Lily) found Holden to be so insufferable that reading the book made me frustrated, and it was not the vibe I was looking for during my happy summer months. However, Chris Haskett’s slightly unhinged recap of the entire plot and its symbolism was quite entertaining, making the overall experience a little more bearable.
Great Expectations:
An underrated classic, Great Expectations defied our expectations. While the book was incredibly lengthy, the fact that Charles Dickens originally wrote it in installments made it a tad easier to digest piece by piece. Overall, it had a far more engaging plot and interesting characters than most other English class literature has had thus far. It also provided good evidence for about half of all the argumentative essays I (Lily) ever wrote. We are constantly reminded of this wonderful work of literature with Chris Haskett’s daily references to pip and his “portable knowledge.” Plus, we can’t deign to mention Elle Seguin’s southern impression of Miss Havisham during our Jerry Springer Show, which made the book a truly unforgettable experience.
Their Eyes Were Watching God:
This book was mostly forgettable but had some good moments. We both appreciate the significance of this book in the literary world but weren’t overly impressed by the storyline itself. On the upside however, the characters, specifically Janie’s many husbands, made for another hilarious Jerry Springer episode. Finally, we recommend that you listen to the audiobook version of this book to get around that difficult-to-understand free indirect discourse.
The Right Stuff:
As Mr. Haskett knows, we do not like this book. I (Lily) spent many a class period bemoaning the incredibly long, jargon-filled chapters, begging for the misery of The Right Stuff to end. Both of us agree that the many class periods spent rhetorically analyzing each chapter could have been spent in a more productive way–like actually writing rhetorical analysis essays. While we do acknowledge that the book had a few intriguing moments and it was interesting to read about a nonfiction event for a change, the sheer length of this novel was absolutely unnecessary and upsetting to read. In the end, watching the movie was just as interesting and taught me (Madi) everything I really wanted to know about the US making it to space in the span of 3 hours rather than a month of reading.
Great Gatsby:
Although such a classic piece of junior year literature, so far we have spent the least amount of time on this novel than any other. Possibly, Mr. Haskett has just been saving the best book for last but having assigned it amid AP exams, the dreaded 9 week plan, senior nights, and ASB interviews, needless to say, it was not at the forefront of our busy minds. However, from the parts that we managed to get through, we enjoyed the character of Gatsby and liked the more contemporary tone compared to that of The Right Stuff. Hopefully, we will be able to finish this admittedly short novel soon, as it’s allegedly very engaging!