When orphaned Pollyanna Whittier comes to live with her stern maiden aunt, the entire town of Beldingsville is affected by the bubbly nature of this lively eleven-year-old. Not only is she perpetually cheerful, she also brightens the lives of everyone she meets.How does Pollyanna manage to be so eternally optimistic? How does she spread her…
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a short story by Washington Irving set in a quiet, eerie village called Sleepy Hollow, located near the Tappan Zee River in New York. The story follows the adventures of Ichabod Crane, a superstitious and lanky schoolteacher from Connecticut who comes to the village to work and hopefully improve…
White Jacket, or The World in a Man-of-War is a novel by Herman Melville, published in 1850. The story follows the experiences of an unnamed sailor aboard the USS Neversink, a warship in the U.S. Navy. The narrative is presented in the form of a first-person account, providing readers with an intimate glimpse into life…
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, is a powerful novel published in 1852 that highlights the brutal realities of slavery in America. The story follows Uncle Tom, a kind and dignified enslaved man, who is sold by his owner, Mr. Shelby, to settle debts. Tom is taken to a cotton plantation in the…
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is set in 17th-century Puritan Massachusetts and explores themes of sin, guilt, and redemption. The novel begins with Hester Prynne, a young woman who is publicly shamed for committing adultery. As punishment, she is forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” on her chest, symbolizing her sin and ostracizing…
When orphaned Pollyanna Whittier comes to live with her stern maiden aunt, the entire town of Beldingsville is affected by the bubbly nature of this lively eleven-year-old. Not only is she perpetually cheerful, she also brightens the lives of everyone she meets. How does Pollyanna manage to be so eternally optimistic? How does she spread…
