Study guides: books, letter i

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

“I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” is a chronicle of the first 16 years of Maya Angelou's life. She is one of the most heard and visible figures of the African American women movement both in terms of her literary and social activity. "The Caged Bird" starts with Maya, whose full name is Marguerite, she is traveling together with siblings to stay with their grandparents...

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

“In Cold Blood” is more than just a thriller or a detective story. Truman Capote wrote a truly diverse and multidimensional text that tells a story of a real quadruple murder in the USA. The murder happened in Kansas in 1959 and immediately after it, the author went down to interview the locals. The book was published six years after in 1966. The murderers were caught and executed...

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs

“Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl” is a novel written in 1961 by Harriet Ann Jacobs. It is an autobiography and presents female outlook into slavery. Being a very sentimental text, it depicts the reality of author living through slavery and buying the freedom for herself and her children. The author started writing the book right after moving to New York. She wanted the women of...

Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence

The whole play is dedicated to the depiction of a single trial that took place in real history: the Scopes (Monkey) Trial that happened in 1925. John T. Scopes, a teacher was accused of teaching his students the theory of evolution created by Charles Darwin. This case was depicted in history inaccurately for a long time, used to propagate either one or the other point of view, but the final...

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

“Invisible Man” is a novel that requires an adult reader. Ralph Ellison wrote it in 1952 and put all social and intellectual issues surrounding racial issues into the text. He also employed all his creative skills making the novel a fusion of jazz sounds, surreal events, different writing styles and extraordinary characters.  The evil doesn’t have a face. Who is this man...

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn

Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is a science fiction story that raises lots of philosophical questions. What can be considered an intelligent being? Is humanity something that exists exclusively for humans? What can uncontrolled technical progress lead to? When the world discovered Koko the Gorilla, a gorilla able to communicate with people and express her emotions, feelings and even attitude to the...

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

This book is considered one of the best children’s books ever written and there is a reason for it. It is historical fiction, based on life of a real Lone Woman whom the author named Karana in the book. The vivid depiction of the wild nature of the Island of the Blue Dolphins Karana lives on, invites the readers to explore the story of this island and Karana’s lost tribe. Once upon a...

Ivanhoe by Walter Scott

Ivanhoe is a romantic novel written by Walter Scott and telling us about the story of the descendant of one of the last Anglo-Saxon noble families under the Norman reign. The interest in medieval culture and ballads inspired Scott to vividly depicts tournaments, battles of honor, fair ladies who need to be rescued and other traditional topics of the knightly literature. Though, more pragmatic...