LETTURE IN LINGUA

A gripping story that plunges its roots into our most feared nightmare. Through the eyes of Offred we are suddenly thrown into a surreal world which takes us back to the patriarchal world based on the Old Testament. Here women have been delegated to the role of homemakers and breeders.

The novel is set in an undetermined period in the future.in the territory that had originally been Massachusetts, USA. In the aftermath of terrible environmental disasters which resulted from chemical accidents birth-rates have dramatically fallen with a huge increase in sterility and stillbirths. Offred who has been kidnapped has been forced to become a handmaid in the new Republic of Gilead which is governed by a theocratic regime. Handmaids are young, fertile women who have been enslaved and destined to give birth to the future generations who will be brought up by the commanders and their wives.

Atwood paints a ruthless picture of American society using fiction to highlight the hypocritical side of a country that still harbours a puritanical legacy in the folds of its culture. We will witness the desperate struggle to survive and to regain human dignity that women have been deprived of.

The Iron Heel will engage the reader in a political fiction story that is considered one of the most powerful inspirations to the genre of dystopian novels.

The events narrated by London chronicle the rise of an oligarchic tyranny in the United States. Avis and Ernest Everhard, the protagonists of the book try to overturn the unfair economic system based on injustices and social inequities through a class struggle, but things are far from being easy when the Iron Heel of the Capitalist class is determined to keep the power in its hands.

In the book, London’s socialist views are openly displayed as is his visionary prediction of a future in which a newly established order will eventually triumph. The novel poses the question about the existence of an Iron Heel in our society and its modern meaning.

The text includes a variety of activities for the four skills and dossiers to discover more about cultural and historical aspects and Mp3 files.

Joseph Conrad’s short novel Heart of Darkness is regarded as a masterpiece of English literature for its vibrant denunciation of European colonialism and its inhuman exploitation by trading companies in Africa.

The protagonist, an experienced sailor named Marlow, tells his fellow travellers about a previous journey through the unexplored regions of Africa that took him to the ultimate limit between reason and folly. As captain of a steamer, his aim was to find Kurtz, an agent for an ivory trading company, whose tracks had been lost years before. Rumors and strange stories which revolve around Kurtz will lead Marlow to an extreme obsession with this mysterious man and eventually to their encounter in a remote village up the Congo River. More than a real expedition, this experience becomes for Marlow a spiritual and metaphysical journey within himself.

The text includes a variety of activities for the four skills and dossiers to explore and expand the cultural aspects associated with the story.

A misshapen superhuman embittered by societal isolation is the phenomenal output of an experiment never carried out before. The creator of this “patchwork human” is the science student Victor Frankenstein. The facts unravel mainly between the breath-taking sights of the Alps and the frozen expanses of the Arctic Ocean, both serving as optical emblems of endurance, unforgiving ordeals and relentless curiosity for exploration. In the background there is the story of a family: a hallmark among the shattered certainties of the tormented Victor, faced with his public and domestic responsibilities. He is a pioneering scientist, functional father to his nameless and identity-bereft “child” and treasured betrothed.

The text includes a variety of activities for the four skills and dossiers to explore and expand the cultural aspects associated with the story.

In Dubliners Joyce explores the lives of his fellow citizens in colonial Dublin, his native city, at the turn of the 20th century.

Through the power of astute observation and artistry, the writer reveals the deep-seated connections between the forces of family, religion and political subjection - forces that trap the characters into what Joyce called a moral paralysis.

The stories can be read independently or as part of an organic whole, a path from childhood to maturity which offers hidden clues to interconnections between characters, situations and themes.

Joyce’s innovative approach to the short story form has made this collection one of the most enduring masterpieces of European literature.

This volume includes an essential biography of the author, an extensive introduction, spot-on notes to the text and a wide range of activities for comprehension and analysis.

An eminent scientist, Dr Jekyll, his despicable alter ego, Mr Hyde, and a well-respected London lawyer, Mr Utterson are the main protagonists of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, one of the greatest classics of English literature. What lies behind the strange occurrences between Utterson’s old friend Henry Jekyll and the evil Edward Hyde? The lawyer investigates and deciphers the mystery, which is not only a detective case but a reflection on the ambiguity of human nature and a criticism of Victorian hypocrisy.

This volume includes an essential biography of the author, an extensive introduction, spot-on notes to the text, and a wide range of activities for comprehension and analysis. Each section of activities also contains first-style exercises that promote language competence and cultural knowledge.

The Great Gatsby, written by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald, set in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in 1922, is about the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Gatsby knew Daisy from a romantic encounter in 1917 when he was not yet wealthy, and he is still deeply in love with her. When they meet again he is rich and impresses her with his extravagant lifestyle and wild parties. They begin an affair and, after a short time, Daisy’s husband, even though he is himself involved in an extramarital affair, becomes outraged by his wife’s infidelity. He confronts Gatsby and announces to his wife that Gatsby is a criminal whose fortune comes from bootlegging alcohol. This will lead to a tragic conclusion. The story explores themes of decadence, idealism, social upheaval, and excess, and creates a portrait of the Roaring Twenties. The volume includes a full biographical introduction about Fitzgerald, accurate footnotes; nine sections with comprehension, vocabulary and grammar activities; CAE-style tests for C1 level; some selectedhapters included in the audio; a final section of drama activities.