— This week, we’re on to reading Ralph Ellison’s great novel about the black experience in America after World War II, Invisible Man. John will teach you about Ellison’s nameless narrator, and his attempts to find his way in a social order that dehumanizes him and renders him invisible at every turn. Ellison’s novel follows…
100 Years of Solitude Part 2: Crash Course Literature 307
— In this video, we continue our exhaustive look at One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. — — Transcript Provided by YouTube: 00:00 Hi, I’m John Green. This is Crash Course Literature. 00:02 And this week we’re continuing our discussion of Gabriel García Márquez’s 100 Years of Solitude. 00:07 It isn’t…
100 Years of Solitude Part 1: Crash Course Literature 306
— Our first of two episodes about Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s novel, 100 Years of Solitude. This week, we’re looking at the Buendia family, and their many generations of people with the same names. We’ll also look at the fascinating way the author thinks about time, and how time is represented in the book. Later, we’ll…
Lord of the Flies: Crash Course Literature 305
— This week, John i s talking about one of his least favorite novels, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. Lord of the Flies is a novel of ideas, and John doesn’t agree with the central idea of the novel, which diminished his enjoyment of the book. The central idea of the book…
Shakespeare’s Sonnets: Crash Course Literature 304
— This week, we’re learning about sonnets, and English Literature’s best-known purveyor of those fourteen-line paeans, William Shakespeare. We’ll look at a few of Willy Shakes’s biggest hits, including Sonnet 18, “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day,” Sonnet 116, “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediment,” and Sonnet 130,…
The Raft, the River, and The Weird Ending of Huckleberry Finn: Crash Course Literature 303
— This week, we’re continuing our discussion of Mark Twain’s ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.’ This is part two of our talk about Huck Finn, and this time we’re looking at the metaphors in the book, a little bit about what the metaphors like the Island and the River and the Raft might mean, and…
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Part 1: Crash Course Literature #302
— In which John Green teaches you about Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This week, we’ll talk a little bit about Samuel Langhorne Clemens, who wrote under the name Mark Twain, and how he mined his early life for decades to produce his pretty well-loved body of work. By far the best of…
Their Eyes Were Watching God: Crash Course Literature 301
— In which John Green reads Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God,” and talks to you about it. You’ll learn about Zora Neale Hurston’s life, and we’ll also look at how the interpretations of the book have changed over time. Also, this book will give you a healthy appreciation for the rabies…
Crash Course Literature Preview
— Crash Course Literature with John Green is back! Starting next week, we’ve got 9 new literature episodes for you. Here’s what we’re reading: Their Eyes Were Watching God – Zora Neale Hurston The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn – Mark Twain Sonnets – William Shakespeare (Particularly sonnets 18, 116, & 130) Lord of the Flies…
The Poetry of Sylvia Plath: Crash Course Literature 216
— In which John Green teaches you about the poetry of Sylvia Plath. When a lot of people think about Sylvia Plath, they think about her struggles with mental illness and her eventual suicide. Her actual work can get lost in the shuffle a bit, so this video really tries to focus on the poetry.…
Langston Hughes & the Harlem Renaissance: Crash Course Literature 215
— In which John Green teaches you about the poetry of Langston Hughes. Langston Hughes was a poet and playwright in the first half of the 20th century, and he was involved in the Harlem Renaissance, which was a cultural movement among African Americans of the time that produced all kinds of great works in…
Slavery, Ghosts, and Beloved: Crash Course Literature 214
In which John Green teaches you about Beloved by Toni Morrison.
In which John Green teaches you about Beloved by Toni Morrison.
PTSD and Alien Abduction – Slaughterhouse-Five Part 2: Crash Course Literature 213
— In which John Green continues to teach you about Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. (WARNING: When Slaughterhouse-Five was published, some of the crude language in the book caused controversy. We quote one mildly controversial line in this video. If you’re mature enough to read this book, you’re likely mature enough to tolerate this quote, but…
Aliens, Time Travel, and Dresden – Slaughterhouse-Five Part I: Crash Course Literature 212
— In which John Green teaches you about Kurt Vonnegut’s most famous novel, Slaughterhouse-Five. Vonnegut wrote the book in the Vietnam era, and it closely mirrors his personal experiences in World War II, as long as you throw out the time travel and aliens and porn stars and stuff. Slaughterhouse-Five tells the story of Billy…
Race, Class, and Gender in To Kill a Mockingbird: Crash Course Literature 211
— In which John Green teaches you MORE about To Kill a Mockingbird. In this installment, John teaches you about race, class, and gender in the American south, as seen through the eyes of Scout and Harper Lee. John will talk about how Scout learns about these aspects of the social order as she interacts…
To Kill a Mockingbird, Part I – Crash Course Literature 210
— In which John Green teaches you about Harper Lee’s famous (and only) novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. John will cover a bit about Harper Lee’s personal life, (seeing as this novel has some autobiographical elements) and her long association with Truman Capote, who figures as a character in the book. You’ll get an overview…