Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition: Summer Reading In keeping with the philosophy that each individual should be trained to the fullest realization of his/her capacities, the Advanced Placement English program enables interested students to realize their potential. AP Literature and Composition is designed to give the student experience in reading closely, thinking precisely, and writing analytically. Not only will we analyze craft and develop an appreciation of the beauty of language (celebrating how authors use words to create art), we will also use literature as a tool to analyze human nature and gain a deeper understanding of the world. We may not always have the opportunity to travel and discover exciting new places, and there are times in life when we struggle to find a reflection of ourselves in another, but literature allows us to connect, to discover, and to grow.

To begin this exciting quest, I would like you to read The Kite Runner and a book of choice. I believe in the importance of creating both shared literary experiences and also providing choice, in seeking a curriculum that is meaningful, challenging, and relevant. It is my hope that we will push each other to reach our potential while being supportive and compassionate. I look forward to reading the many stories you will share and write in our course. I look forward to hearing your voice. Thank you for joining our AP Literature learning community.

The Kite Runner – Khaled Hosseini “The unforgettable, heartbreaking story of the unlikely friendship between a wealthy boy and the son of his father’s servant, caught in the tragic sweep of history, The Kite Runner transports readers to Afghanistan at a tense and crucial moment of change and destruction. A powerful story of friendship, it is also about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons—their love, their sacrifices, their lies.” –Amazon Review

We will discuss the following big ideas in our course: character, setting, structure, narration, and figurative language. To get a head start on this work, please note the following as you read and provide evidence from the text (notes will be collected the first week of school): ➔ Explain the function of character ◆ Describe conflicting motivations, contrasting characters, and complex relationships. Explain how a character’s own choices, actions, and speech reveal complexities in that character, and explain the function of those complexities. ◆ Identify and describe what specific textual details reveal about a character, that character’s perspective, and that character’s motives. ◆ Explain the function of a character changing or remaining unchanged (static versus dynamic). ➔ Explain the function of setting ◆ Identify and describe specific textual details that convey or reveal a setting. ◆ Describe the relationship between a character and setting. (How does the setting impact characters?) ➔ Explain the function of structure ◆ Describe the author’s choice to unfold or organize plot/events. ◆ Consider the author’s use of flashback and foreshadowing.

➔ Explain the function of narrator/point of view ◆ Describe how the narrator impacts the reader’s understanding and view of characters. ➔ Explain the function of word choice/diction, tone, and figurative language (for example: imagery, symbolism, metaphor) ◆ Delve into the authors’ writing style and purpose. Analyze what the author says (theme) and how he/she says it (writing style/techniques). How did his/her tone (attitude) shape the theme? (Please note one word responses are not themes; they are topics. For example: The Kite Runner is about redemption, but redemption is not Hosseini’s message to readers. To create a thematic statement, ask yourself: What does Hosseini teach readers about redemption?)

The 2nd book should be one that you select from the attached list of suggested reading. You may not select a work that you have read in the past, as adding to your literary repertoire expands your view of the world and human nature. Be prepared to deliver an oral presentation, including a visual (Google slides presentation), to the class in September. Please find the rubric for the oral presentation attached.

Included in your presentation will be: ⮚ A brief critical biography of the author that includes biographical data relevant to the work. You may include a brief discussion of the sociopolitical factors that influenced the author while writing his/her work. ONLY INCLUDE BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION THAT CONNECTS TO HOW OR WHY THE AUTHOR WROTE THE WORK. ⮚ A discussion of techniques/rhetorical devices and author’s writing style such as characterization, setting, point of view, figurative language, style, structure, syntax, or other distinguishing elements as they contribute to the theme - How does the author use his/her writing to express the theme? Connect back to the author's purpose. Why does the author employ said technique? ⮚ A thematic statement - What message does the author convey to the reader and why? ⮚ Key quotations ⮚ A conclusion that explains what the novel teaches readers about human nature and why it is important for readers to be exposed to this text (What they can learn from it?) - Please see the attached oral presentation rubric.

Should you have any questions, or should you wish to begin sharing some of your stories (reading your pieces and discovering your voice is one of the many reasons I love being a teacher), please contact me via email: [email protected]. I look forward to beginning this exciting journey together.

Happy reading, Mrs. Brady

Oral Presentation Rubric Presenter: Rater:

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Objective: Create an oral presentation explaining what the novel teaches readers about human nature. Presentations must be accompanied by computer visuals such as Google slides. Presentations must NOT exceed 5 minutes. ⮚ Biography as it relates to the writing of the work ⮚ Literary techniques/rhetorical devices/author’s writing style ⮚ Thematic statement(s) ⮚ Evidence/Key quotations ⮚ Insight on human nature, text’s importance, what readers can learn from it Oral Presentation Rubric: Evaluating Student

Presentations 1 2 3 4 Total Audience cannot Audience has understand Student presents difficulty following Student presents information presentation information in logical presentation because in logical, interesting Organization because there is no sequence which student jumps sequence with transitions. sequence of audience can follow. around. information. Student demonstrates full Student does not Student is knowledge of characters, have grasp of uncomfortable with themes, storyline and Subject information; student information and is Student presents author’s writing style by Knowledge cannot answer able to present only basic information. presenting an array of questions about rudimentary information, explanations, subject. questions. elaboration, and a thematic statement. Student uses Student occasionally Student's graphics Student's graphics explain superfluous uses graphics that relate to text and and reinforce theme, text and Graphics graphics or no rarely support text presentation. presentation. graphics. and presentation. Student clearly states the author’s Student simply states commentary on Student provides ample Student does not that the novel Connection to human nature but support explaining author’s persuade the discusses human provides few commentary on human audience audience. nature but provides examples from which nature. Audience is engaged. no explanation. the audience may draw conclusions. Student maintains Student occasionally Student reads eye contact most of Student maintains eye uses eye contact, but entire presentation the time but contact with audience, Eye Contact still reads most of with no eye contact. frequently returns to seldom returning to notes. presentation. notes. Student mumbles, Student's voice is Student's voice is low. incorrectly clear. Student Student uses a clear voice Student incorrectly pronounces terms, pronounces most and correct, precise pronounces terms. and speaks too words correctly. Most pronunciation of terms so that Elocution Audience members quietly for students audience members all audience members can have difficulty hearing in the back of class can hear hear presentation. presentation. to hear. presentation. Total Points: Comments: I liked that you… Try to avoid…

Oyster Bay High School: 12 AP English Literature Summer Reading List

Author Title Albee, Edward Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf 3

Alvarez, Julia In the Time of Butterflies Atwood, Margaret The Handmaid’s Tale or Alias Grace Austen, Jane Pride and Prejudice

Baldwin, James Go Tell It On The Mountain Barnett, Lincoln The Universe and Dr. Einstein Bronte, Emily Wuthering Heights Burdick, Eugene The Ugly American

Carson, Rachel The Sea Around Us Cather, Willa My Antonia Cervantes, Miguel de Don Quixote Chopin, Kate The Awakening Coelho, Paulo The Alchemist Crane, Stephen The Red Badge of Courage Cronin, A. J. The Citadel

Diaz, Junot The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Dickens, Charles David Copperfield Doctorow, E.L. Ragtime Doerr, Anthony All the Light We Cannot See Doyle, Arthur Conan Sherlock Holmes Dreiser, Theodore An American Tragedy Dumas, Alexander Count of Monte Cristo

Eliot, T.S. Murder in the Cathedral Emerson, Ralph Waldo Essays

Faulkner, William The Sound and The Fury Flaubert, Gustave Madame Bovary Forster, E.M. Passage to India

Garcia, Cristina Dreaming in Cuban Garcia Marquez, Gabriel One Hundred Years of Solitude Goldsmith, Oliver She Stoops to Conquer Greene, Graham The Power and the Glory Gyasi, Yaa Homegoing

Hardy, Thomas The Return of the Native Heller, James Catch 22 Hemmingway, Ernest For Whom the Bell Tolls Hersey, John Hiroshima Hosseini, Khaled A Thousand Splendid Suns Hugo, Victor Les Miserables Hurston, Zora Neale Their Eyes Were Watching God Huxley, Aldous Brave New World

Ibsen, Henrik A Doll’s House Ishiguro, Kazuo Never Let Me Go

Joyce, James A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage Kennedy, William Ironweed Kerouac, Jack On the Road

Lahiri, Jhumpa The Namesake Laurence, D.H. Sons and Lovers

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Lee, Harper To Kill a Mockingbird London, Jack The Call of the Wild

Mcarthy, Cormac All the Pretty Horses Melville, Herman Moby Dick Morrison, Toni Song of Solomon Nordhoff, Charles Mutiny on the Bounty

O’Brien, Tim The Things They Carry O’Neill, Eugene The Ice Man Cometh Owens, Delia Where the Crawdads Sing

Paton, Alan Cry the Beloved Country Plath, Sylvia The Bell Jar Plutarch Lives

Rand, Ayn Anthem Roberts, Kenneth Northwest Passage Rolvaag, O.E. Giants in the Earth Rostand, Edmond Cyrano De Bergerac

Shaw, George Bernard Pygmalion Shakespeare, William King Lear or The Tempest Shelley, Mary Frankenstein Sheridan, Richard B. School for Scandal Sinclair, Upton The Jungle Steinbeck, John The Grapes of Wrath Stowe, Harriet B. Uncle Tom’s Cabin Styron, William Sophie’s Choice Swift, Jonathan Gulliver’s Travels

Tartt, Donna The Goldfinch Thoreau, Henry Walden Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit Twain, Mark Huckleberry Finn

Voltaire Candide Vonnegut, Kurt Slaughterhouse Five

Warren, Robert Penn All the King’s Men Westoever, Tara Educated Wharton, Edith Ethan Frome Whitman, Walt Leaves of Grass Wilde, Oscar The Importance of Being Earnest Wilder, Thornton Our Town Williams, Tennessee A Streetcar Named Desire Wolfe, Thomas Look Homeward Angel Woolf, Virginia To the Lighthouse Wright, Richard Native Son

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