Ap English Literature (12Th)

AP ENGLISH LITERATURE (12 TH )

PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS ON PAGES 1-9 CAREFULLY.

MONTHLY ASSIGNMENTS:  While school is in session, each month AP English Literature students are required to read a novel/ play. (The monthly reading list is on page 2).

 There will be a 20 point quiz every week on the assigned portion of the monthly novel/ play they are reading.

 At the end of the month, there will be either a test or an in-class essay worth 100 points.

 If students are absent for a quiz, test, or essay, they will have one day to make up the quiz, test, or essay. If they choose not to do so, they will receive 0 points.

SUMMER ASSIGNMENT:  The summer reading assignment is highlighted on page 2. OEDIPUS and OTHELLO can be checked out from the school library.

 Pages 3-9 contain an explanation of the assignments connected with the summer reading.

 On page 2, below the specific summer reading assignment for seniors is a direct link to Spark Notes, which contains No Fear Shakespeare online books. The website states that “No Fear Shakespeare puts Shakespeare's language side-by- side with a facing-page translation into modern English—the kind of English people actually speak today.” Students are encouraged to use this No Fear Shakespeare online resource in order to understand the summer reading assignment IF they are having difficulty understanding the original text.

 ATTENTION: DO NOT use any part of the Spark Notes website except the No Fear Shakespeare link to OTHELLO that I have provided below. Use your own brain to analyze OTHELLO and OEDIPUS.

If you have questions over the summer, you can e-mail me: [email protected]. 2

SUMMER AP Reading List

12 th AP Literature and Composition

Author Title 1. Sophocles Oedipus the King Summer Reading

2. William Shakespeare Othello Summer Reading

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/othello/

Pages 3-9 contain an explanation of the assignments connected with the summer reading

Monthly AP Reading List

Author Title Month 3. William Shakespeare Macbeth August and September 4. Mary Shelley Frankenstein October

5. Hermann Hesse Siddhartha November

6. Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray December

7. Joseph Conrad Heart of Darkness January

8. Albert Camus The Stranger February

9. Edward Albee Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? March

10. Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie April

Each of the remaining eight novels/plays will be divided into three (generally) sections throughout the month in which it is being read. On Friday, there will be a quiz on and discussion of the reading section for the week. ALL BOOKS CAN BE CHECKED OUT FROM THE SCHOOL LIBRARY. 3

WRITING ASSIGNMENT on Summer Reading:

The First and Second Day of School (200 points) On the second day of school, AP students will write a Compare/Contrast ANALYSIS* of the summer reading (the two plays: 1. Oedipus and 2. Othello). The analysis should focus on comparing/contrasting the similarities and differences of one major theme shared by both plays. You will support your thesis by using specific facts from the plays. DO NOT WRITE A SUMMARY! Additionally, FIVE QUOTES are required for the paper dealing with and supporting the major theme shared by the two plays. The quotes must be cited correctly using proper MLA format.

 This essay will be written in class on the second day of school and is part of the first triad grade. Students will have 50 minutes to write the essay. It is worth 100 points.

 DUE THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL is a piece of paper with this TYPED on it: (1) your introductory paragraph containing your thesis statement concerning the theme of the two plays (Oedipus and Othello) (See “Writing an Analysis”on page 4 and “Writing a Compare and Contrast Essay” on page 5 ). (2) a list of the five quotes that you plan to use to support the theme found in the novel or two plays. The quotes must be cited correctly (See “MLA Citations Examples” on page 6). Two quotes should come from one play and three quotes should come from the other play. Students will be able to use this piece of paper to insert their quotes into the essay while it is being written in class. This piece of paper is worth 100 points and will be submitted alongside the in-class essay. I will check to see that you used the selected quotes in the in-class essay. THIS MUST BE TYPED. (See “Sample List of Quotes” on page 8-9)

TEST on Summer Reading: The Third Day of School (100 points) Be prepared to take a test (multiple choice, true/false, and matching) on the summer readings on the third day of school. I suggest taking notes on each chapter as you read; focus on plot details, characters, setting, symbols, and themes. 4

WRITING an ANALYSIS: *Analysis = break into parts to determine the nature of the whole.

Step 1: Identify the major themes and narrow it down to “The Theme.” EX: Major themes from Of Mice and Men and The Pearl could include: Loneliness, American dream, Predatory Nature of Man, Friendship, Hope, etc.

Step 2: The Introductory Paragraph should provide brief summary and a thesis that is related to the major theme about which you have chosen to write. The last sentence of your introductory paragraph is the Thesis. In the last sentence, you will define the theme and create a theme statement. (See samples below on page 7.)

Step 3: The Body Paragraphs develop and support your Thesis revolving around the major theme of the novel. Identify specific examples of your definition of the major theme (THESIS) using characters, symbols, setting, diction and syntax. EX:  George believes the American dream means owning his own property (symbol), living with friends and being his own boss  Lennie believes that American dream means having soft things, particularly rabbits, to pet and the company of George.  Candy believes the American dream is being treated with respect and being useful; the dog is a symbol of old age and that society has no use for people or pets that have outlived their usefulness.

Step 4: Blend and Integrate five quotes* from the two plays that specifically support the one major theme you defined in the thesis statement. [*Quotes = any words, phrases, or dialogue written in the story]

EX: Lennie demonstrates his dependence upon a friend with whom to share the American dream when he pleads with George to “tell [him] like [he had] done before. . .about the rabbits” (Steinbeck 14). The child-like Lennie prefers an adult, George, to not only entertain him with their bed-time “dream” story but with the actual retelling of what it will be like when they get the ranch, which makes the “dream” real for Lennie in that exact moment. The recounting of the story by George binds the two men together because they share a common belief —the “dream” ranch—and the “dream” connects the parent-figure and the adult- child emotionally. 5

WRITING a COMARE/CONTRAST ESSAY:

There are two different approaches two a compare/contrast essay:

1. TEXT by TEXT o P#1: Intro with Thesis o P#2: Analyze only the theme in Othello o P#3: Compare the Similarities of the theme in Othello with the theme in Oedipus o P#4: Contrast the Differences between the theme in Othello with the theme in Oedipus o P#5: Conclusion

2. POINT by POINT o P#1: Intro with Thesis o P#2: Compare the Similarities of the theme in Othello with the theme in Oedipus o P#3: Contrast one Difference between the theme in Othello with the theme in Oedipus o P#4: Contrast another Difference between the theme in Othello with the theme in Oedipus o P#5: Conclusion

The link below has a MAGNIFICENT explanation of the writing process, graphic organizers to use as you read, and sample essays. Read the information on this website before you start reading the two plays. Use the graphic organizers on page 4 of this website while you are reading the two plays. If you do this, your life will be much easier. http://scsworkshops.info/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/The-Literary-Comparison- Contrast-Essay.pdf

Words or phrases you MUST use in an essay that compares and contrasts works of literature: Comparison In the same way Share Similar Likewise Equally Also Similarly Parallel Common Both

Contrast While Dissimilar Otherwise But Contrast However Whereas Although Yet Different Except Even though 6

MLA CITATION EXAMPLES:

1. From a PLAY with lines ( Macbeth by William Shakespeare):

(author’s last name act. scene. line / page number).

Prior to going into battle, Macbeth is given the news that his wife has died. His response to the news is that life “is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing” (Shakespeare 5. 5. 26-27).

Through the character Macbeth, Shakespeare states, “All our yesterdays have [brought] fools . . . to dusty death” (5. 5. 23-24). In essence, Shakespeare is commenting on everyone’s mortality and reminds those who feel invincible that they are foolish to think that they are somehow going to escape death when it comes for them.

 [ ] = changing the text or adding words into quote from text

2. From a PLAY without acts, scenes, lines ( Oedipus by Sopholcles): (author’s last name page number).

Though he is warned that the truth will be unbearable to hear, Oedipus retorts, “But to a man who does not shrink from doing the thing, a word will not be frightening” (Sophocles 20).

NOTE: Greek plays like Oedipus, use a chorus, which is a group of actors who are similar to a narrator of a story. Sophocles uses the chorus to comment on the play's action, to foreshadow future events, to comment on the larger impact of the characters' actions, to expound upon the play's central themes, and to explain the circumstances of the play to the audience at the beginning. The chorus literally dances across the stage in one direction while chanting the strophe, and then they turn and dance in the other direction during the antistrophe. The third movement (or the final movement if there are multiple strophes) is the epode when they stand in center. Generally playwrights use strophe and antistrophe to signal changes in thought or topic, so just think of the chorus as presenting opposite points of view as the play unfolds. 7

SAMPLE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPHS:

The Pearl and Of Mice and Men, both parables by John Steinbeck, are stories with a similar theme. Despite the plot and character differences in the two stories, all Steinbeck's protagonists share the hardship of having the will of society pitted against them. For instance, George and Lenny, from Of Mice and Men, wander from place to place during the desperate times of the Great Depression, accepting whatever work is available. Together these two Caucasian misfits struggle to keep hope alive by dreaming of owning a ranch all their own that will act as a sanctuary to shield them from the injustices of society. Quite opposite in situation is Kino, the poor American Native from The Pearl. He finds a pearl with the potential to uplift his family from poverty and discrimination, yet members of society attack him in various ways, thinking Kino is an easy target because of his race and socioeconomic status. While the lives of the characters in the novels are different due to race and geographic location, what they have in common is that their “American dreams” clash against this reality enforced by the rules of society: the poor may dream of prosperity and equality but they will never be allowed to achieve either. ↑ (Theme Statement)

Although John Steinbeck focuses on social injustice for the working class regarding the inability to achieve the American dream in both novels, he emphasizes this theme differently. Through the varied use of different types of tone, diction, and syntax, Steinbeck enhances the meaning and strengthens the impact of this common theme running throughout Of Mice and Men and The Pearl. ↑ (Theme Statement) 8

SAMPLE LIST OF QUOTES:

All five quotes support the Theme Statement on page 7.

1. At the beginning of the novel, George tells Lennie, “Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They ain’t got nothing to look ahead to. With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us” (Steinbeck 15).

2. At the end of the novel, George tells Lennie, “Guys like us got no [family]. They ain’t got nobody in the world that gives a hoot in hell about [them]. But not us. Because. . .” (Steinbeck 114). Lennie finishes the statement, “Because I got you and— We got each other, that’s what, that gives a hoot in hell about us” (Steinbeck 115).

3. Crooks the black stable-hand says to Lennie, “I seen hundreds of men come by on the road with bindles on their back and that same damn thing in their heads. Hundreds of them. They come, and they quit and go on; and every damn one of them’s got a piece of land in his head. And never a God damn one of them ever gets it. Just like heaven. Everybody wants a little piece of land. Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody gets no land. It’s just in their heads” (Steinbeck 81).

4. Right before Lennie is killed by George at their meeting place, the narrator describes the scene between the heron and the two water snakes. One snake is eaten, and right after this occurs “[t]he heron [stands] in the shallows, motionless and waiting. Another little water snake [swims] up the pool, turning its periscope head from side to side” looking for danger (Steinbeck 109). Little does it realize it is about to meet its fate, just like Lennie is about to die at the hands of the cruel world.  [ ] = changing the text or adding words into quote from text  When integrating quotes with your own words, a comma is not required before the first quotation mark. (See #4) 9

5. After his dog is shot for being too old and useless, Candy says, “They’ll can me pretty soon. Just as soon as I can’t swamp out no bunk houses they’ll put me on the county. You seen what they done to my dog tonight? They says he wasn’t no good to himself nor nobody else. When they can me here I wished somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won’t have no place to go, and I can’t get no more jobs” (Steinbeck 66).