10th (or 11th) Grade Reading List American Literature

Familiarity with the classics of U.S. literature helps students maintain fluency and their reading level, and encourages independent reading. Certain titles appear frequently on high-school reading lists for 10th grade (or 11th) American literature study.   Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark TwainAutobiography - Benjamin FranklinCatch 22 - Joseph HellerThe Catcher in the Rye - JD SalingerThe Crucible - Arthur MillerDeath of a Salesman - Arthur MillerFahrenheit 451 - Ray BradburyFor Whom The Bell Tolls - Ernest HemingwayGrapes of Wrath - John SteinbeckThe Great Gatsby - F. Scott FitzgeraldMoby Dick - Herman MelvilleMy Antonia - Willa CatherNarrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass - Frederick DouglassOf Mice and Men - John SteinbeckOur Town - Thornton WilderThe Red Badge of Courage - Stephen CraneThe Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel HawthorneThe Sun Also Rises - Ernest HemingwayTo Kill a Mockingbird - Harper LeeUncle Toms Cabin - Harriet Beecher StoweWalden - Henry David Thoreau Literature programs vary by school district and relative reading level, but these titles occur regularly across the country. Most general-literature programs include literature from other cultures and time periods; this list focuses exclusively on authors considered representative of American writers. Besides being a solid reading list for high-school students, these American classics offer insight into American character and offer a shared cultural language even for adults. A well-read U.S. citizen will be familiar with most or all of these great books.