Helena Curtis
Professor Warner
English 112B
May 10 2011
Adventure in the Outdoors
The purpose of this annotated
bibliography is to explore a specific theme and gain materials of that theme to
pass on to young adults in a classroom. The list of materials included in this
annotated bibliography shows a diverse range of books, movies, poems etc. The
diversity of material in this bibliography is important as it shows young
adults that they can look further into movies, poetry or even graphic novels of
themes or subjects that spark their interests and allows them to gain new
knowledge of the world
For this annotated bibliography
project, I decided to research and explore a range of novels, movies and poems
that focus specifically on adventure through nature and the outdoor world. I
believe that this specific focus will allow young adults to be reminded of the
beauty of the outdoors and what adventures can be sought from being physically
outside of the classroom.
Young adults spend more and more of
their time being in the classroom or at home and sometimes teenagers even feel
so bored that they turn to gangs or negative behavior that in the end do more
harm than good to their lives. Therefore, allowing teenagers to explore the
realm of outdoor adventure will open their eyes to a possibility of beginning
their own journeys in the outdoors, allowing them to turn away from violence in
neighborhoods.
The material in the bibliography also
presents the possibility for young adults to travel to other parts of the world,
being a part of different cultures and experiencing new environments. In
essence, the material helps to remind young teenagers of the potential for
their lives to be full of adventurous journeys into the outdoor world.
Novels
Paulsen, Gary. Hatchet.
Aladdin Paperbacks. New York, 1996. Print.
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen describes the character
Brian Robeson, a thirteen year old teenager who survives alone in the Canadian
outdoors after being involved in a plane crash. Throughout the novel, Brian
learns how to survive in the wilderness, only supplied with a hatchet given to
him by his mother. The novel, beautifully written, shows young adults both the
adventures that Brian encounters in the outdoors and the inner struggles he
faces after learning about his parents� divorce. Through Hatchet, Paulsen shows young adults the possibility of
their own adventures in the outdoors and what inner struggles they too can
overcome.
Reference: �Hatchet�. Barnes and Noble. http://www.barnesand nobel.com. Print.
Paulsen, Gary. Guts.
Laurel Leaf. New York, 2001. Print.
Another superb novel by Paulsen is his
own description of his personal experiences in the wilderness. Paulsen writes
about how his own time spent in the outdoors became the inspiration for his
novel Hatchet. Among his stories are
his experiences of hunting as a teenager in the north woods of Minnesota,
training dogs for sleighing in the cold of Alaska and being a volunteer
Ambulance driver, observing chilling and fatal accidents. Guts is a novel that would be best to read after Hatchet and shows young adults that Gary
Paulsen�s experiences in the outdoors are very real. The novel also further
represents how young adults can connect too to different environments in the
wilderness.
Reference: �Guts�. Barnes and Noble. http://www.barnesand nobel.com. Print.
Golding, William. Lord
of the Flies. Penguin Book. New York, 1959. Print
In
the classic book Lord of the Flies,
author William Golding writes of a group of school boys, stranded after their
plane crashes on a deserted island. Though the boys enjoy their freedom without
parents, they learn, with the help of the main character Ralph, how to pull
themselves together, build shelters and hunt for food. Life for the boys on the
island turns difficult as the character Jack, who leads the hunting, breaks
away from Ralph and the other boys and forms his own group who become close to
savages. The novel is a wonderfully written account of the difficulties the
boys face of surviving both on the island and with each other. It presents the
opportunity for young adults to explore and travel into the outdoors while also
reminding them of the importance of companionship and trust. This novel can
also be read by both younger and older teens.
Reference: �Lord of the Flies�. Barnes and Noble. http://www.barnesand nobel.com. Print.
Smith, Roland. Peak.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Florida, 2008. Print.
Peak introduces the fourteen year old
character Peak Marcello who is the son of mountain climbing parents. One day,
Peak is caught climbing a skyscraper and is nearly sent to a youth prison.
However, his father convinces the judge to take Peak away from the area and
persuade him to climb Mount Everest. This novel written by Roland Smith provides
young teens a chance to imagine the cold, mountain climate and Peak�s
experiences of the dangerous journey. The journey Peak takes up Mount Everest
reflects young teens� own challenges in life and how important it is to work
through them.
Reference: �Peak�. Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com. Print.
Hill, David. Take it
Easy. Penguin Group. May, 1997. Print.
Take
it Easy by New Zealand author
David Hill could be read alongside The
Lord of the Flies as it portrays young teens having to learn to survive in
New Zealand bush. The main character Rob finds that he has problems talking to
his father after his mother dies and decides to escape on a camping journey
with other teenagers. Though Rob finds hiking fun, the group�s guide dies on
the trip and the teenagers realize that they have to survive by themselves to
make it safely home. Rob, being an experienced camper, eventually decides to
step up and assume responsibility as a leader. The novel, with a gripping
narrative, depicts to young adults both the importance of patient leadership
and also shows the environment of the New Zealand bush.
Reference: �Take it Easy�. Amazon. http://www.amazon.com. Print.
MacPhail, Catherine. Underworld. Bloomsbury, 2004. Print.
Another thrilling novel, written by Catherine MacPhail and set on an island in the North Sea, depicts a group of teenagers who visit a cave expedition with their teacher Mr. Marks. Underworld describes how the teenagers Axel, Liam, Zesh, Fiona and Angie lead very different lives and are unable to get along together, so when they are forced on this school trip, it is their worst nightmare. However, on the cave expedition the entrance collapses and Mr. Marks falls and becomes injured; the teens are trapped in the cave and must work together to find a way out. This chilling adventure book is another example of a group of teens working together and shows how important it is to understand other people before judging them. The story is an exciting novel for both younger and older teenagers to read.
Reference: �Underworld�. Amazon. http://www.amazon.com. Print.
Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Penguin Books, 1985. Print.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is another timeless classic that depicts
two main characters Huck Finn and Jim who both escape, Huck from his abusive
father and Jim from slavery. They both voyage together on a raft down the
Mississippi river and become supportive friends, learning about each other but
also themselves. Young adults will appreciate the detailed descriptions of the
Mississippi river and how Huck and Jim both grow throughout the journey,
prompting young teens to take their own journey. This classic also reminds young
adults of important periods in history and how Huck and Jim can escape the
perils of slavery together as they take on their journey down the river.
Reference: �The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn�. Barnes and Noble.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com. Print.
Speare, Elizabeth George. The Sign of the Beaver. Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc. New York, 1983. Print.
Elizabeth
George Speare writes a wonderful novel about Matt who is thirteen years old in
the book The Sign of the Beaver. In
the novel Matt is left to guard his father�s cabin in the outdoors but his gun
is stolen by a stranger and Matt realizes that he has no way to protect
himself. Though he luckily becomes friends with an Indian boy named Attean and
Matt learns from him about ways to survive in the wilderness and also about
Attean�s way of life in the Beaver clan. Speare�s novel is important for young
adults to read as not only is it adventurous and captivating but the book also shows
how young teens can learn to appreciate and understand different cultures
around the world. It also acts as a reminder of the importance of diversity in
our world and appreciating each different culture.
Reference: �The Sign of the Beaver�. Barnes and Noble.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com. Print.
Gilbert, Elizabeth. The
Last American Man. Penguin Books. New York, 2002. Print.
The
author Elizabeth Gilbert has written many fantastic novels, among them Eat, Pray, Love and The Last American Man. Although this novel is intended for older
readers, I included this novel in the bibliography as I think older teenagers
could also read the book and appreciate its important messages. The Last American Man details the life
of Eustace Conway, who left home at aged seventeen and currently lives in the
Appalachian Mountains. The novel writes about Conway�s childhood and how he
learned many techniques of living in the wilderness and surviving on his own.
The detailed description of Conway�s life sends young adults a reminder of the
importance of preserving our natural world and will leave them wondering about
their own connection to nature, away from modern society as it is now.
Reference: �The Last American Man�. Barnes and Noble.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com. Print.
Poetry
Whitman,
Walt. �Song of the Open Road�. Walt
Whitman The Complete Poems. Penguin Books, 1997. Print.
Walt
Whitman, one of the greatest American writers of all time and author of the
poem �Song of the Open Road� details the importance of the outdoors, the open
road and how everyone can experience the freedom associated with a journey.
Although the poem is quite long for young teens, it could be broken down and
read aloud in the classroom to help teenagers read and analyze it in small
groups. This poem is just one among many of Whitman�s marvelous writing but
this particular poem introduces young adults to the freedoms of travel and
exploration.
Reference: �Song of the Open Road�. http://www.princeton.edu/~batke/logr/log_082.html. Print.
Film
Into the Wild. Dir. Sean Penn. Perf. Emile Hirsch,
Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt. Paramount Vantage. September 21, 2007. DVD.
The
movie Into the Wild directed by Sean
Penn, is based from the novel Into the
Wild by Jon Krakauer, a mountaineer and writer. The movie can be watched
while reading the novel or it can be watched on its own by older teenagers.
Like The Last American Man, Into the Wild also depicts man�s
connection to nature and the outside world. The movie shows the life of
Christopher McCandless, a top student at Emory College, who abandons his
possessions, money and life at college for a life on the road until he ends up
in the Alaskan wilderness. Into the Wild
both as a movie and a novel portray to young adults the thrilling opportunity
to escape modern life and return to freedom in the natural world. It also shows
young adults how Christopher McCandless meets many different people on his
travels that change his life, further allowing young adults to understand the
possibility of meeting different people that can influence their own lives.
Reference:
�Into the Wild�. The Internet
Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758758/. Print.
Graphic Novel
Herg�.
Adventures of Tintin: (Adventures of
Tintin Series: Three-In-One #1), Vol. 1. Little Brown Books. May, 1994.
Print.
Herg��s
Tintin, although directed towards
children, is still loved by all ages. These graphic novels depict the main
character Tintin and his dog snowy, describing their adventures together to
different countries of the world
and uncovering mysteries alongside the character Captain Haddock. Some
of the Tintin graphic novels include,
�Tintin in Tibet,� �The Blue Lotus� and �The Crab with the Golden Claws� although
the whole series of these graphic novels are superb at representing the theme
of adventure. I decided to add the series of Tintin to the bibliography as it can be read by younger teens and
importantly bring young readers closer to the different geographical and
cultural areas that Tintin visits. Reading a few strips of Tintin in the classroom may also help capture the attention of
young adults who sometimes become bored of reading longer, text heavy novels.
Reference: �About Tintin�. Tintin�.com. http://www.tintin.com/. Print.