By Rohan Keith Andresen ’12
THE ROUNDUP
In many middle school and high school English classes, classic assigned readings stress “coming of age situations.
However, Brophy’s English curriculum incorporates these quintessential archetypes with captivating literature.
The coming of age pieces range from “Catcher in the Rye” to “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” which impart an endless deluge of life lessons that teens learn through the experiences and mistakes of the characters.
Though Brophy’s curriculum includes these staple books of maturation, the classes here also choose books that double as entertaining reading.
Books like “The Alchemist” in Mr. Scott Middlemist’s ’87 Honors English 1 class, “Hey Nostradamus!” in Mr. John Damaso’s ’87 Honors English 2 class, and the play “A Streetcar Named Desire” in Mr. Tom Danforth’s ’78 Advanced Placement English 3 class all teach important lessons of coming of age, regret and jealous, while keeping the reader entertained and captivated from cover to back.
Mr. Damaso said when choosing books for his class, he looks to see if they can teach the students something from the curriculum.
For example, “The Tragedy of Julius Caesar” has a lot of rhetorical and literary devices that the students can see in use, according to Mr. Damaso.
However, he said he believes that the “prevailing impetus” when choosing a book is deciding whether it will engage the student to learn certain concepts and perk their curiosity.
There is a plethora of literary genres in the English department’s book list that can appeal to almost every type of student.
The sci-fi fantasy fanatic will find “Ender’s Game” an out-of-this world read, and with “Death of a Salesman” as the traditional, classic reader.
Lovers of poetry get their fair share of delight during the final months of sophomore year when all students participate in researching, annotating and writing poems during their Sophomore Research Project.
Similarly, students are able to explore the multiple facets of assigned literature throughout their years with short stories from Edgar Allen Poe to Henry Thoreau.
