Crash Course AP Literature

KEY DETAILS FOR THE MOST FREQUENTLY CITED

WORKS

The works listed below are shown in the same order as in the previous table, which

means the titles at the top of the table are the most frequently cited works.

The purpose of this chart is not to supplant your reading, but merely to give you a brief

glimpse of these works so you may choose several to read. It is important to your success

on the exam that you be familiar with several works from these lists. The tags below give

you an idea of themes and key literary elements for the work. Remember that you should

read widely, which means old and new works of British, American, and world literature.

For more detailed summaries and descriptions, consult a variety of Internet study guides.

Invisible Man by

Ralph Ellison,

published 1952

Genre: novel (modern)

Setting: 1930s, American South, New York (Harlem)

Main character: narrator is unnamed black man

Main Plot/Idea/Concept: search for self vs. the oppression of racism

Tags: blindness, racism, symbolism

Wuthering Heights

by Emily Brontë,

published 1847

Genre: novel (gothic)

Setting: 1700’s, Yorkshire England

Main characters: Mr. Lockwood (narrator), Nellie, Heathcliff, Catherine

Main Plot/Idea/Concept: Catherine is caught between her love for Heathcliff

and her desire to be a gentlewoman, but she decides to marry the genteel Edgar

Linton.

Tags: social class, love, revenge

Great

Expectations by

Charles Dickens,

Genre: novel (coming of age)

Setting: Kent and London, England, mid-19th century

Main characters: Pip, Joe, Mrs. Joe, Estella, Miss Havisham, Magwitch