AP Literture Reading

AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

Summer Reading 2011

Congratulations on your decision to take Advanced Placement English Language and Composition. This is a college level course that will require commitment and hard work. You will take an AP exam at the end of the year that could grant you college English credit. The books that you see on the reading list are available very reasonably on line at www.amazon.com or in a public library. The summer reading program is very important since it will prepare you for the kind of reading necessary during the year, and the evaluation of the assignments counts toward your first quarter grade. The following assignment is in addition to the all-school summer reading program for which you will also be responsible.

Summer Reading List 2011

You MUST read Jane Eyre (SEE ASSIGNMENT BELOW), and one of the following books. All of the books on this list have appeared at least once on previous AP English Literature and Composition exams, so you should read your choices very carefully. See following assignment.

Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) Full of drama: fires, storms, attempted murder, and a mad wife conveniently stashed away in the attic, the novel tells the story of Jane and her doomed relationship with Rochester.
Oedipus the King (Sophocles). A man kills his father and sets terrible events into motion. His final discovery is shocking.
The End of the Affair (Graham Greene). The love affair between Maurice Bendrix and Sarah, flourishing in the turbulent times of the London Blitz, ends when she suddenly and without explanation breaks it off. Two years later, after a chance meeting, Bendrix hires a private detective to follow Sarah, and slowly his love for her turns into an obsession.
Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte). Set in the wild and windy moors of northern Yorkshire. Lockwood relates the stories of Heathcliff and Catherine, and Cathy, Linton, and Hareton...a love affair continues through generations of these English families.
Catch 22 (Joseph Heller) A novel that seemingly captures the madness of wartime but what Heller really catches is the moral dilemma of an individual caught up in the mob hysteria of war, where the rules of civilization and laws are temporarily and deliberately suspended by the authorities. Very funny and very sad all at once. (Note: contains some graphic content)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare). One of the most delightful of Shakespeare’s comedies, this play is full of love and fairy dust stirred up by a capricious fairy called Puck. By the middle of the play almost every character is thwarted in love in some way. It all ends with a slapstick performance of a play within a play by the village rustics who have undergone some of Puck’s trickery themselves.

JANE EYRE READING ASSIGNMENT

The summer reading assignment consists of three parts.

Assignment #1 – read Jane Eyre

Do some background research about Charlotte Bronte. The information will help you as you read the novel. Complete a reading journal (instructions are following)
Find one literary criticism of Jane Eyre. The source must be creditable, i.e. a published scholar. Print the criticism and be prepared to share your findings with the class.
Complete the following AP practice essay which must be typed in MLA format and submitted to turnitin.com. The essay must be 5-7 paragraphs.
Critic Richard Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Using Jane Eyre, write an essay in which you analyze a central question that the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers (be sure to identify the actual answers). Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Do not simply summarize the plot.
Review your essay for the following:
1. A clearly defined thesis statement
2. No personal pronouns used
3. The present tense is used consistently, i.e. Steinbeck writes
4. Textural evidence quoted from the book
5. Active verbs/voice, i.e. Steinbeck explains…not Steinbeck is explaining…
6. Proofread and edited

Assignment #2 – Dialectical Journal Responses for Jane Eyre and one free choice.

Students must keep a record of each book they read in the form of a reading journal. As an AP student, your journal should demonstrate close reading, careful in-depth analysis and reflection.

Reading journals will be due the first day of classes in August. While reading each of the summer requirements, note quotes that follow a theme, then list them in a double entry reading log format as outlined below. A separate journal is to be submitted for each title. Therefore, you will have two journals: one for Jayne Eyre and one for your free choice. They may be placed in one folder separated by dividers. These journals must be typed double spaced in Times New Roman 12 font.

1. Create two equally long columns. Label the left hand column “Quotes” and the right hand column “Connections.”

2. Select one quotation for every 30-50 pages depending on the length of the work. As you respond to the quotations, focus on the ways the author uses language to create an effect. What is it about the language that stands out and makes the passage distinctive and/or significant? How does the passage reflect the author’s style and reveal larger themes of this work? The dialectical journals should be constructed in the following manner:

Quote/Response

Quote	Response
Write the quote from the book on the left side of the paper with the correct MLA citation.	Your response and analysis of the quote should be written on the opposite of the number of the page.

	For the Response column, you have several ways to respond to a text: Raise a question about the beliefs and values implied in the text Give your personal reaction to the passage. Discuss the words, ideas, or actions of the author or a character Tell what it reminds you of from your own experience Argue with or speak to the character or the author

Additionally, because you are asked to read, analyze, explain, and interpret the selections we are reading in the course of the year, it is important that you do not substitute Cliff’s notes, Spark Notes, or other summaries or condensations, nor should you rely on movie versions of the books, since they are often edited to appeal to Hollywood tastes and the limitations of movie length. The best way to be successful with this assignment or any other assignment during the next year is to read the books carefully and thoughtfully. The bottom line is that you must do all the reading assignments…therefore, be sure to begin the summer reading early in order to complete the assignments on time.

Assignment #3- Essay response: Due the fifth day of class in order for you to open your turnitin account.

All essays must be typed in MLA format and submitted to turnitin.com.
A word about plagiarism. DO NOT DO IT. If you are tempted to take a short cut with the required readings and writing assignments, then perhaps this course is not for you. It is patently obvious to a teacher when a student has not done the reading of the real work. AP students should be fully engaged in the requirements of the course, since our goal is to produce academically superior students.
For the free reading choice select an AP question from the six provided. Write a two-three page essay that answers all parts of the question. Time yourself; these essays should not take more than 40 minutes to complete. A lengthy introduction and conclusion are not required. I am more interested in your ability to formulate a strong thesis and provide specific details for support. In the title of the essay, identify the title of the book and the question number under consideration.
Example: Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird – Question 2
1. A critic has said that the one important measure of a superior work of literature is the ability to produce in the reader a healthy confusion of pleasure and disquietude. Select a literary work that produces this “healthy confusion.” Write an essay in which you explain the sources of pleasure and disquietude experienced by the readers of this work. Do not base your essay on a movie, television program or other adaptation of any work you choose.
2. Many writers use a country setting to establish values within a work of literature. For example, the country may be a place of virtue and peace or one of primitivism and ignorance. Choose a novel or play in which such a setting plays a significant role; then write an essay in which you analyze how the country setting functions in the work as a whole. Do not simply summarize the plot.
3. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present actions, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or a play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character’s relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
4. A recurring theme in literature is the “classic clash between passion and responsibility.” For instance, a personal cause, a love, a desire for revenge, a determination to redress a wrong, or some other emotion or drive, or any conflict with moral duty. Choose a literary work in which a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with his or her responsibilities. In a well-written essay, show clearly the nature of the conflict, its effect on the character, and its significance to the work.
5. Choose a novel or play that depicts the conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.
6. The eighteenth century British novelist, Laurence Sterne wrote “Nobody, but he who felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in contradictory directions at the same time.”
7. From a novel or a play choose a character (not necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in conflicting directions by two compelling desires, ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-developed essay, identify each of the two conflicting forces and explain how this conflict within one character illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole.