Third Quarter Research Paper

“To read a writer is for me not merely to get an idea of what he says, but to go off with him and travel in his company.” ~André Gide Why this project? Reading is essential—recommended for leisure and vital to life. Being enrolled in AP English means that you not only are a literate reader, but also a lifelong reader—one who truly values and appreciates the power of the written word. In addition to the reading you do each day for English class, the Independent Reading Project requires that you will read one book OUTSIDE of class during third quarter AND write a research paper that underscores the time period and biographical information of the author for your selected novel.

Step One: READ! 1. Select one novel from the attached list. You must be able to obtain a copy of this novel for yourself. a. If there is a novel that you would like to read that is NOT on this list, you must get permission from Mrs. Huynh-Duc first prior to Winter Break. 2. The book must be completed by Monday, January 29, 2018 . Have a plot summary ready on this day .

Step Two: RESEARCH and WRITE! 1. This novel will provide the basis for your research paper. (Only a small portion of class time will be devoted to the completion of this project; your research and writing will take place outside of class.) 2. TOPIC : How does the novel reflect the author’s life and time period? 3. LENGTH : Minimum of five pages; however, you will probably reach 10 pages with the Works Cited page. 4. By Monday, February 5, you must the following: an in-progress outline with a thesis statement and several sources for your working bibliography. 5. By Monday, February 12, you should have your introduction completed with your thesis statement. 6. By Thursday, February 15, you should have completed your biography/time-period section with one point of critical support pertaining to the novel. 7. By Monday, February 19, you should have a second point of critical support pertaining to the novel. 8. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 21, YOUR ROUGH DRAFT IS DUE (which includes your third and final point of critical support). 9. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 26, YOUR FINAL DRAFT IS DUE . (You must have copies of all research materials used in your paper, organized and clearly labeled, with the information you used highlighted.) Please submit in a large manila envelope for Mrs. H-D to pick up from school. No late work will be accepted .

Step Three: ORAL PRESENTATION! In addition to your paper assignment, you will give a five-minute oral presentation. You will have the choice between a creative dramatic monologue or a formal oral book report. Presentations will take place during the first full week of March. More information will be forthcoming. Mrs. Huynh-Duc’s AP English 11 Independent Reading Book List

Maya Angelou An autobiography about the early years of African-American writer and poet I Know Why the Caged Bird Maya Angelou. It is a coming-of-age story that shows how strength of character Sings (1969) and a love of literature can help overcome racism and trauma. The Handmaid’s Tale Set in the near-future United States, a Christian theocracy has taken control of Margaret Atwood (1986) the government, and now women are subjugated to misogyny in order to procreate. The protagonist handmaid named Offred (“of Fred”) tells her story of how women lost their rights and how they now must act in order to survive in the new Republic of Gilead. Ray Bradbury 451 degrees is the temperature at which paper burns. This science-fiction novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) is regarded as Bradbury’s best work, presenting a future American society where books are outlawed and “firemen” burn any books that are found. Ralph Ellison A nameless African-American, male protagonist feels invisible to the world due Invisible Man (1952) to horrid race relations in the early 20th century. He transcends the reader through his life as a boy in the South to a college student in Harlem, encountering betrayal from many and experiencing compassion from a few. William Faulkner Set in Jefferson, Mississippi in the early 1900s, this novel centers on the The Sound and the Fury aristocratic Compson family and the 30 years in which they encounter financial (1929) ruin, loss of faith, and loss of the town’s respect. It’s a four-part novel in which each section is narrated by a different character; the first features a challenging stream-of-consciousness section told by the 33-year-old mentally disabled son Benjy. Zora Neale Hurston Set in Florida during the early 20th century, the novel’s protagonist, Janie Their Eyes Were Watching Crawford, tells her life story of three marriages to her best friend Phoeby. This God (1937) novel is written in dialect, so it might initially be difficult to understand. Ernest Hemingway One of Hemingway’s’ earliest novels (written when he was only 30), this work A Farewell to Arms (1929) features a love affair between an American ambulance driver (Frederic Henry) and a beautiful English nurse (Catherine Barkley) during WWI. Divided into five parts, this novel chronicles Henry as a wounded soldier who withdraws from war and seeks solace in his love with Catherine. Ultimately, this novel reveals how life can be tragic whether you’re in a war or not. Arthur Miller In this iconic play, protagonist Willy Loman has spent his life following the Death of a Salesman (1949) American way, living out his belief in salesmanship as a way to reinvent himself. But somehow, the riches and respect he wants have eluded him. Toni Morrison An 11-year-old African-American girl in Ohio in the early 1940s prays for her The Bluest Eye (1970 eyes to turn blue so that she will be beautiful. NOTE: this novel contains graphic content: she is raped by her father and the resulting child dies in infancy. This bildungsroman follows the life of Macon “Milkman” Dead III, an African- Song of Solomon (1977) American male living in Michigan from birth to adulthood. Milkman has always wanted to fly after learning that a neighbor threw himself off a rooftop in a vain attempt to fly shortly before Milkman was born. Like other Morrison novels, this work mixes mythology, folklore, and magic and requires a reader who is willing to concentrate on the text and think about it on multiple levels. Includes graphic language, violence, and sexually explicit scenes. Jazz (1992) In the second novel of the “trilogy” that started with Beloved (a mother’s love), the theme in Jazz is romantic love. Taking place in Harlem during the 1920s, the narrative extends back to mid-19th-century African Americans in the South and features narrative shifts and varying viewpoints similar to Beloved. Sylvia Plath The only novel by Sylvia Plath (who committed suicide by sticking her head in a The Bell Jar (1963) gas oven at the age of 30), this semi-autobiographical account of a woman’s descent into mental illness. Upton Sinclair The disgusting conditions of the Chicago meat packing industry are described The Jungle (1906) through the eyes of a young immigrant in America. This novel began as an undercover investigation for a newspaper and resulted in revealing the harsh lives of immigrants and the health violations/unsanitary practices of food production. It led to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act, which later became the FDA. John Steinbeck The Joad Family struggles through the Great Depression by laboring as Dust The Grapes of Wrath (1939) Bowl migrant workers. They put everything they have into making a journey from Oklahoma to California to find work. (Note: this is a long novel.) Considered to be Steinbeck’s best work, East of Eden chronicles two families, the East of Eden (1952) Trasks and the Hamiltons, and is primarily set in Salinas Valley, California. It aptly reveals the struggle between good and evil (frequently alluding to Cain and Abel, among other biblical references). This is a long novel, but it’s fast- paced and gripping to read. “Timshel.” Harriet Beecher Stowe Written by an abolitionist, this anti-slavery novel has been attributed for helping Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) lay the groundwork for the Civil War. The protagonist Tom is characterized as a noble, long-suffering Christian slave who stands up for his beliefs and forgives his overseers who savagely beat him. In recent years, “Uncle Tom” has become a derogatory term for African Americans who “sell-out” to whites, and the novel has also been deemed responsible for popularizing black stereotypes. Regardless, its historical impact as a vital tool to end slavery cannot be understated. Kurt Vonnegut A post-modern, anti-war, science fiction novel that deals with a soldier’s Slaughterhouse-Five (1969) experiences during World War II and his subsequent journeys with time travel and aliens. The first chapter is Vonnegut’s voice himself, followed by a third- person-limited point of view of Billy Pilgrim, who is ostensibly suffering from PTSD after witnessing the Bombing of Dresden, Germany. (The war references are based on Vonnegut’s real-life experiences…but not the time travel/alien part.) Widely considered to be Vonnegut’s best work. Alice Walker An epistolary novel that takes place in rural Georgia during the 1930s, this work The Color Purple (1982) focuses on African-American women and their low position in society. There is explicit content in this novel, so beware! Celie, the novel’s protagonist, is a poor, uneducated black girl who is beaten and raped as a child and then grows up to later endure physical abuse from her husband. Tennessee Williams A semi-autobiographical play featuring the fictional Wingfield family: an overly The Glass Menagerie (1944) dramatic mother (Amanda) who was abandoned by her husband, a mentally fragile sister (Laura) who has created a world through glass figurines, and the protagonist (Tom) who must work to support the family but longs to escape. A Streetcar Named Desire Southern belle Blanche is a school teacher on a leave of absence who has just lost her family’s home due to foreclosure. She is an alcoholic with a sordid past. (1947) She arrives at her sister Stella’s apartment in New Orleans, whose own strained marriage leads to a play filled with drama and conflict. Thomas Wolfe This novel chronicles the life of character Eugene Grant (believed to be a Look Homeward Angel depiction of Thomas Wolfe himself) from birth to age 19. Set in a fictionalized (1929) version of Asheville, NC, this book is divided into three parts. Eugene suffers from misunderstanding at home and at school; his restless, energetic character, with a passion to experience life, takes him from his small, rural town to Harvard University.