SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT: We are assigning two novels for you to read this summer. One novel is mandatory, and the other you may chose from a list of novels. You must write a Critical Lens essay (see last page) based on the two novels you read. This ​ assignment is due by September 14, 2015. You can get any of these books at your local library, or purchase them at a ​ bookstore or buy them online. If you are having problems picking up copies of these books, please contact Mrs. Castillo, Mr. Banks, Ms. Hugee or Mr. Elliott and they will help you.

MANDATORY NOVEL: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass Paperback by Frederick Douglass ​

Former slave, impassioned abolitionist, brilliant writer, newspaper editor and eloquent orator whose speeches fired the abolitionist cause, Frederick Douglass (1818–1895) led an astounding life. Physical abuse, deprivation and tragedy plagued his early years, yet through sheer force of character he was able to overcome these obstacles to become a leading spokesman for his people. In this, the first and most frequently read of his three autobiographies, Douglass provides graphic descriptions of his childhood and horrifying experiences as a slave as well as a harrowing record of his dramatic escape to the North and eventual freedom. Published in 1845 to quell doubts about his origins — since few slaves of that period could write — the Narrative is ​ ​ admired today for its extraordinary passion, sensitive and vivid descriptions and storytelling power. It belongs in the library of anyone interested in African­American history and the life of one of the country's most courageous and influential champions of civil rights.

CHOICE NOVEL: During the summer of 2015, read one book from the following list: Franny and Zooey by JD Salinger Franny and Zooey is composed of two sections. "Franny", named for Franny Glass, takes place in an unnamed college town during the weekend of "the Yale game" and tells of an undergraduate who is becoming disenchanted with the selfishness and inauthenticity she perceives all around her. Zooey, named for Zooey Glass, a somewhat emotionally toughened genius who at the age of twelve had "a vocabulary on an exact par with Mary Baker Eddy's." Whilst Franny, his younger sister, suffers a spiritual and existential breakdown in their parents' Manhattan living room ­ leaving Bessie, their mother, deeply concerned ­ Zooey comes to Franny's aid, offering what he thinks is brotherly love, understanding, and words of sage advice.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a ​ ​ Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African­American literature.

For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. In his portrayal of Jordan's love for the beautiful Maria and his superb account of El Sordo's last stand, in his brilliant travesty of La Pasionaria and his unwillingness to believe in blind faith, Hemingway surpasses his achievement in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms to create a work at once rare and beautiful, strong and brutal, compassionate, moving, and wise. "If the function of a writer is to reveal reality," Maxwell Perkins wrote Hemingway after reading the manuscript, "no one ever so completely performed it." Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author's previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton A bestseller when it was originally published nearly a century ago, Wharton's first literary success was set amid the previously unexplored territory of fashionable, turn­of­the­century New York society, an area with which she was intimately familiar. The tragic love story reveals the destructive effects of wealth and social hypocrisy on Lily Bart, a ravishing beauty. Impoverished but well­born, Lily realizes a secure future depends on her acquiring a wealthy husband. Her downfall begins with a romantic indiscretion, intensifies with an accumulation of gambling debts, and climaxes in a maelstrom of social disasters. More a tale of social exclusion than of failed love, The House of Mirth reveals Wharton's compelling gifts as ​ ​ a storyteller and her clear­eyed observations of the savagery beneath the well­bred surface of high society.

This assignment is due by September 14, 2015 Your Task: Write a critical essay in which you discuss two works of literature (mandatory novel & at least one choice novel) from ​ ​ ​ the particular perspective of the statement that is provided for you in the Critical Lens. In your essay, provide a valid ​ ​ interpretation of the statement, agree or disagree with the statement as you have interpreted it, and support your opinion ​ ​ ​ using specific references to appropriate literary elements from the two works. You may use scrap paper to plan your response. Write your essay beginning on page 3 of the essay booklet.

Critical Lens:

“...although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.”

—Helen Keller Optimism, 1903 ​ ​

Guidelines: ​ Be sure to: ● Provide a valid interpretation of the critical lens that clearly establishes the criteria for analysis ● Indicate whether you agree or disagree with the statement as you have interpreted it ​ ​ ● Choose two works (the mandatory novel & one choice novel) that you believe best support your ​ ​ ​ opinion ● Use the criteria suggested by the critical lens to analyze the works you have chosen ● Avoid plot summary. Instead, use specific references to appropriate literary elements (for example: theme, characterization, setting, point of view) to develop your analysis ● Organize your ideas in a unified and coherent manner ● Specify the titles and authors of the literature you choose ● Follow the conventions of standard written English

This assignment is due by September 14, 2015