Moby Dick by Herman Melville

 1. Before you read the novel, it would be useful to read some of the very helpful overviews of the story, characters and themes:
-  http://www.enotes.com/american-history-literature-cc/moby-dick
- Invitation to the Classics by Cowan and Guiness has a commentary on Moby Dick.
- http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/moby_dick.html
- How to Read Moby Dick

2. Read the novel. There is a free version on Kindle or you can listen to it for free on Librivox.

3. Watch the Gregory Peck movie. It is considered to be very faithful to the book.

4. Author Biography - research this using a variety of web resources. (You can also read Herman Melville: A Biography by Hershel Parker):
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/naal7/contents/B/authors/melville.asp
 http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/LIT/melville.htm
http://www.mobydick.org/
(Abby write an author profile as detailed in Excellence in American Literature)

5. Historical and Literary Context
- American Romanticism
http://www.english-e-corner.com/americanliterature/contents/Romanticism1/default.htm
-Whaling:
http://www.whalingmuseum.org/library/amwhale/am_mobydick.html
(Abby - write a Historical Approach Paper as detailed in Excellence in American Literature)

6. Read Unit 5 of Excellence in American Literature - and follow any trails you choose.

7. Abby - write a literary paper (750 words) on one of the topics in Excellence in American Literature.

8. Extra/honors reading - Billy Budd by Herman Melville. Selection of poetry by Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson. (the Dover Thrift editions have a good selection of poems) Read biographies of both poets too - I like the Poetry for Young People series for a quick intro)

9. Go through the List of Discussion Questions and prepare for the group meeting.