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This paper discusses a thematic approach to introduce high school or college students to fiction that deals with minority groups. The author discusses how this thematic arrangement of novels may be a useful method for organizing a study of minority groups as represented in major works of American fiction. She discusses the initiation motif as a suggested frame of reference for this study, devoting the major portion of her paper to a discussion of how William Faulkner's "Go Down, Moses" and Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" can be used to illustrate this theme as it relates to racial interaction in American society. The author also suggests some other American novels dealing with minority groups that can be taught in thematic units. These include "The Adventures of Augie March" by Saul Bellow, "The Learning Tree" by Gordon Parks, and "Pocho" by Jose Villareal, and other novels which suggest the value fiction can have in presenting complex social problems in subtle and vivid ways. (DI)

This paper is a broad study of the field of black American Literature which outlines the important movements, stereotypes, and trends that have had significant influence upon the literature. The changing stereotypes and archetypes of blacks depicted in American literature from the early concept of blacks as "chattels" to the contemporary concept of black characters as "existential prototypes" is traced. The specific correlation between changing attitudes, the gradual achievement of civil rights for blacks, and changing stereotypes is noted. Specific sections deal with stereotypes, their changes and transmission in American fiction; trends, movements, and influences related to black literature; and, an evaluation of black literature. A select bibliography is appended. [This document has been reproduced from the best available copy.] (Author/RJ)

Based on the general research of Joseph Campbell in adventure plots from mythology, the author explores the simplified monomyth plots currently in frequent use in mass media programing. The close relationship of media fiction to mythic stories is established through the analysis of more than 25 stories resulting from media broadcasting. The media stories fell into herioc genres but also contained considerable amounts of non-heroic content; however, the serial fiction heroes were likely to act as rescuers of weaker characters rather than act as hero-characters involved in tests of bravery or strength. (CH)

The works of Eudora Welty challenge the abilities of the oral reader who wishes to interpret them properly. Her novel, "Losing Battles," requires careful attention to the narrative point of view as a guide to its various dimensions of meaning. The narrative shifts through the consciousnesses of various characters of four generations in a rural Mississippi community. The narrator is not a character in the novel; he stands outside the story, and yet he must convey a sense of participation and also establish time and place with summaries and descriptions. The novel's structure is somewhat elusive in the character study seems to be the controlling factor, but the concept of time also plays an important role in its development. The novel is historical and records detailed events, human sensibilities, emotions, and conflicts, and thus requires that the interpretative reader have extensive background information. The reader who interprets this novel must use his imagination to convey a feeling of its humorous and poignant testimony to human endurance. (RN)

The four lectures in this publication were composed with the common concern for making the study of high school English more effective and more delightful. Papers are (1) "Robert Frost's Chicken Feathers" by C. W. Geyer (discusses the influence of oral folklore and humor on Frost's poetry); (2) "Nature in Literature" by Gerhard T. Alexis; (3) "Understanding 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'" by Donald R. Fryxell; and (4) "The Class-Made Film as a Motivation to Writing" by Arthur R. Huseboe. (JM)

This literature-centered curriculum approach to English, grades 9-12, is proposed as a design to involve students in the learning experience. After an introductory explanation of the program's rationale and general procedures, each unit in the curriculum is outlined briefly; its content, objectives, suggested ability level, and procedures for teaching and testing are described; and a bibliography of instructional materials for students and teachers is listed. The course outline includes (1) preliminary required units in seventh and eighth grade English, which emphasize spelling, vocabulary, dictionary usage, library resources, grammar, speech, composition, and literary genre form, (2) a unit in the mechanics of English, required for students weak in the basics of grammar, (3) more than 40 elective [9-week] units in library resources; development of the language; composition; the research paper; creative writing; literary genres; American, European, Afro-American, and comparative literature; contemporary nonfiction; mythology; Shakespeare; the short story and novel; drama; poetry; speech; debate; the media; journalism; business and vocational English; and developmental and speed reading. (JB)

A study of the fictional treatment of the same theme--man's depravity--in "Lord of the Flies" and "Heart of Darkness" provides an approach to literary study which sharpens students' analytical skills through a comparison of the books and an exploration of the uniqueness of each. Although there are differences evident between the books (e.g., Golding provokes an emotional response while Conrad elicits an intellectual response; Golding's manner is direct while Conrad's style is indirect), the similarities in plot, in symbolic representation of evil, and in presentation of the theme offer stimulating areas for discussion. (Suggested topics for discussion and papers are given.) (JMC)