The History About David Copperfield

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Honors English I

Semester 1 Annotated Bibliography (Final Copy)

Dickens, Charles. David Copperfield. New York: Tom Doherty Associations, 1964.

David Copperfield is one of the most famous books by Charles Dickens. The first chapter of this fiction book begins with the birth of David Copperfield. His great-aunt wanted a girl, but the child borne was a boy. Since then, Copperfield’s great-aunt never came back. David had a very good life growing up with his mother and his servant, Peggotty until his mother remarried to Mr. Murdstone. To Copperfield, he hated Mr. Murdstone more than anything. His stepfather beated him and later sent him far away to school. There, David Copperfield ran away after his mother’s death and began a life of his own.

A very unique feature that Charles Dickens had put into this novel is a partial true story of Dickens’s own life. In the world of classic novels, David Copperfield, in my opinion, is the best example of what an author can elaborate. And the reason we love it so much is because this book talks about ordinary life and is a Bildungsroman of David Copperfield, which not many books today have that characteristic. David Copperfield should be on anyone’s shelf who calls themselves a "reader".

Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. New York: Signet Classics, 1988.

This book contains one of the most fascinating plots and the best fought-back revenges I have ever read. The "Count of Monte Cristo" first started out as a sailor, then a captain, named Edmond Dantes. He was sent to prison of a false accusement in being a traitor to France. But all of this was planned out by those who envied him. In prison, he met an abbe whom he learned fighting skills, arithmetic, history, and lots of other skills and knowledge. When the abbe died, Dantes managed to escape from the prison and soon established himself as the Count of Monte Cristo, the wealthiest person in France. Then, he revenged all of his enemies in a very unique fashion.

If you are interested in a prison escape, then The Count of Monte Cristo is the perfect book for you. I guarantee you won’t stop reading it until you’re done and after you’re finished, you’ll want to read it again. And no wonder is this book a classic. It has a very complex plot and this is why it makes this fiction book truly unique.

Lowry, Lois. The Giver. New York: Random House, 1993.

The Giver is a very-well sorted book that talks about a boy named Jonas living in a world where everything is the assigned for everyone and everything is just black and white. At the ceremony of twelve which is , Jonas has been chosen to be a special person, the "Receiver". The receiver is someone who deserves to know the past the colors, memories, history, and also positive and negative figures. No one is supposed to know all this except Jonas. Everyone in his world perceived everything with no feeling, but Jonas had a different perspective. Jonas soon saw color after being the receiver and saw many other things others did not see.

It’s okay to call this book a scientific-fiction because first, it talks about the future and second, it has a futuristic perspective of what humans might think and do. I would strongly recommend people to read this book because it’s one of Lois Lowry’s best writing.

Cisneros, Sandra. House on Mango Street. New York: Knopf Doubleday, 1984.

This book contains a narrator or the main character named Esperanza and she begins the book by complaining about moving to different house every once in a while. Throughout the book Esperanza later faced many embarrassments and many adventures that established her thinking in the end of the book. One of the things I remember the most is how Esperanza dislike her name and how she wanted to eat in the school canteen but was sent back home.

House on Mango Street has been one of the "must-reads" for many years in elementary through high school. Why? It’s because the reader and the story could interact at a very high level. My guess on this book is that this has been the life of the author of this book, Sandra Cisnero. This book is one of very few that could actually bring the book and the reader to a single piece and I absolutely would recommend this to anyone.

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Harper Collins Publisher, 1999.

This book has won the Pulitzer Prize and school districts have assigned this book as a "must-read" in middle school or high school. The narrator in the story is Scout, or Jean Louise Finch, describing the world in her point-of-view. Her father, Atticus Finch, a lawyer, was a very kind and yet, strict man. After Scout started attending grade-school, her father received a case of fellow black man who people claimed of raping a white girl. Later, many racism occurred and brings out this book’s unique characteristics.

To many people, To Kill a Mockingbird is a phenomenal at describing racial tensions and discriminations in the south. Being Harper Lee’s only book, To Kill a Mockingbird is still very popular. Many critics reviewed that this book is one of the all-time best and I guarantee once you knew who all the characters were, you wouldn’t put the book down. I’m certain this will happen to every one of the readers.

Wells, H.G. The Island of Dr. Moreau. New York: Bantam Classic Book, 2005.

The Island of Dr. Moreau is one of the weirdest books I have ever read. It talks about an upper class gentleman named Prendick, finding himself shipwrecked in the ocean. A passing ship takes him aboard, and a doctor named Montgomery revives him. He explains to Prendick that they are bound for an unnamed island where he works, and that the animals aboard the ship are traveling with him. Prendick also meets a grotesque, bestial native named M'ling who appears to be Montgomery's manservant.

As a book, this book really catches the eye of many people. But to me, this book features some very unrealistic and weird stuff that I wouldn’t appreciate in real life. I would only recommend this book to people who like to read science fiction to read this book.

James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. New York: Dover Publication, 1991.

Widely recognized as one of literature’s most gripping ghost stories, this classic tale of moral degradation, The Turn of the Screw, concerns the sinister transformation of two innocent children into flagrant liars and hypocrites. The story begins when a governess arrives at an English country estate to look after Miles, aged ten, and Flora, eight. At first, everything appears normal but then events gradually begin to wave a spell of psychological error.

In the world of ghost stories, The Turn of the Screw, in my opinion, is the best example of what an author can elaborate into such a believable yet scary and anxious story. For those of us who like scary and adventurous stories The Turn of the Screw wouldn’t disappoint and should be on anyone’s shelf who considers them "brave".

Hemingway, Ernest. The Old Man and the Sea. New York: Scribner, 2003.

The Old Man and the Sea represents the best of the best of Hemingway’s writing. From this piece of novella, Hemingway won the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize of Literature. This book talks about an old man dealing with the unlucky manner of the sea and its fish. And with its vivid and precise, description, this book has its very own style of what a contemporary book should be like.

As a fiction book, this is the pinnacle of what a fiction can be. And Hemingway has done such a great job vividly describing every setting. Though many people don’t consider this as a full novel, a novella is an appropriate word to describe it.

Salinger, J.D. Franny and Zooey. New York: Hachette Book, 1991.

In the part, "Franny", it talks about her obsession with on of her books and how she’s going crazy. And in the part "Zooey", Zooey met Franny on the Monday after the weekend which Franny freaks out manages to calm Franny down.

Franny and Zooey is very significant to J.D. Salinger. First of all, this book describes the two youngest members of the Glass family (a fictional family J.D. Salinger uses in his writing). No matter what kind of books you read, this book is right for you. Though the characters are fictional, its story seems like a biography. No matter what kind of person you are, you will be attracted to this book after opening the first page.

London, Jack. The Call of the Wild. New York: Tom Doherty Associations, 1996.

Personally, I recall this book, Call of the Wild, as one of the best fiction books I have ever read in my entire life. Jack London made this book about a dog named Buck, who was sold to people in the north to hike up to Dawson for gold as sled dogs in the first chapter. Through a series of pain and suffering, Buck realized that dogs were no match for humans. But after being adopted by a man named John Thornton, Buck discovered how wonderful the wild can be and for once and for all, stay.

With too many books these days starting out a story with a complex plot and characters, this is an exception. It’s simple, elegant, beautifully-written and best of all, in a short readable fashion. In my opinion, Jack London has cracked it. Every sentence of this book flows and never anything is forced. It’s very much like a naturally-aspirated engines, they are just much smoother than a forced-induction engine. I say that this book is the best book I have read this year.