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ADVANCED PLACEMENT ENGLISH Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition, 2015-2016 Mr. Orlando—Joseph A. Gregori High School Summer Assignment--Due the first day of school, Monday, August 10, 2015, without exception! Congratulations on becoming part of the senior class at Gregori High—while I’m sure you’re looking forward to graduation, this year will set the tone, not just for future classes, but for your college career. I expect you to work hard and to always do your absolute best—anything less is unacceptable! To prepare for next year, I'm asking you to complete three assignments: 1. Read and annotate Candide by François Voltaire, and answer the questions thoroughly. 2. Read and annotate 1984 by George Orwell. 2. Create flash cards for literary terms, and study them. On the first day back, I’ll expect you to have a good understanding of the novels and satire. I will be collecting the novels to check annotations and testing you on them as well. Questions for Candide: Chapter 1 1. Find a good definition of "satire"; include several examples. 2. What are some satirical techniques used in describing the characters in this chapter? 3. The French word "candide" implies innocence, naiveté, and purity. What do you find that is characteristic in people of this kind? 4. How is the humor achieved in the description of the characters? How do they get their names? 5. What is philosophical optimism? 6. Comment on Pangloss' logic of cause and effect. Provide specific examples. 7. How is the sexual encounter between Pangloss and the maid described from the perspective of Cunegonde? 8. Make a list of things that are being satirized in this chapter. 9. As you read Candide, try to keep in mind the contrast between the philosophical ideals of what the characters say and the reality of what they do, or what is happening around them. This contrast is one of the sources of humor in Candide. Chapter 2 1. How is this chapter a satire of military recruiting and training tactics? 2. How do the two men "recruit" Candide? What similar tactics might militaries use now to recruit young men? 3. Which aspects of army life are satirized in this chapter? 4. Find examples of how humor is achieved through exaggeration. 5. The author seems to equate military training with torture. Is that a fair comparison? 6. What are some of the references to the Prussian army of Frederick the Great? 7. Comment on Candide's gullibility - result of Pangloss's teachings. Another example of the contrast between the philosophy of optimism and reality. 1 8. The theme of "free will". What does it mean to have free will? Can one be in the military and still have a free will? Chapter 3 1. Theme of war and evil. Cruelty and savagery of war. What is unusual in the description of the battle in the first paragraph? 2. Comment on the theme of religion. 3. Describe the ironic mood in the description of the battle scenes and the celebrations afterwards. Who are the "good" guys and who are the "bad" guys in the war between the Bulgars and the Abares? 4. What is the difference between heroism and butchery in time of war? What effect does the term "heroic butchery" have in the description of the battle? 5. What are some of the outcomes of the "heroism" of the Bulgars and the Abares? 6. Describe what Candide sees in the Abare village. Is this heroism or butchery? Why? 7. Satire of religious hypocrisy and intolerance. Comment on the religious hypocrisy of the orator. 8. Who were the Anabaptists? Chapter 4 1. Describe the meeting with Pangloss. What news of Cunegonde and her family does Pangloss bring? 2. Comment on the concept of "satisfaction of revenge" as a military tactic. Is this something that is practiced by militaries today? 3. Contrast Pangloss's philosophical optimism and the reality of what happens to him and Ms. Cunegonde. 4. Parody of Pangloss's philosophical reasoning. Comment on the "cause and effect" in relation to love as it applies to Candide and Pangloss. 5. What is the source of humor: the clash between the real and the ideal. 6. What do you think is the point in tracing the origin of Pangloss's disease? What conclusion do you reach looking at the sequence of individuals who pass the disease from one to another? 7. What do you think of Pangloss's logic in how he justifies the disease? Chapter 5 1. How does the sailor behave during the shipwreck and the earthquake? 2. Lisbon earthquake. Evil as a force of nature. 3. What are the justifications for natural disasters? Divine retribution? 4. How does Pangloss justify the earthquake? 5. What is the encounter between the officer of the Inquisition and Pangloss all about? What is their debate about? Issues of fanaticism and intolerance are raised. Chapter 6 1. The Inquisition: fanaticism and intolerance. How do the learned men of Lisbon react to the earthquake? Research Voltaire's views of tolerance and superstition; what did he believe (and cite the website, too, please). 2. Who are the heretics and what are their crimes? 3. What does it mean to be a heretic? 4. Who defines a heretic? Can you name any famous heretics? 2 5. How do you think society should deal with heretics in general? 6. Do you think heretics might have a beneficial role in society? What might it be? 7. Candide begins to question Pangloss's philosophy. What does he find wrong with optimist philosophy? 8. What is Voltaire's quarrel with religion in this chapter? 9. How was the Inquisition a result of intolerance? 10. Can you provide any examples of religious intolerance among any contemporary religious communities? Chapter 7 1. What religious belief is being satirized in the second paragraph of this chapter? 2. How is this chapter a parody of the romantic adventure story? Provide several examples. 3. At the end of this chapter we note that Candide gazed at Cunegonde "with hungry eyes". Does this seem to indicate that his attitude toward her has changed? Chapter 8 1. What do you find strange in the way Cunegonde describes her treatment by the Bulgars? 2. In this chapter Cunegonde narrates her experiences of love, rape, and sexual passion with men. Such instances will be repeated in later chapters. Read Voltaire’s definition of love from his Philosophical Dictionary (http://history.hanover.edu/texts/voltaire/vollove.html). 3. What is the role of the Grand Inquisitor. 4. What is the arrangement between the Grand Inquisitor and Don Issachar? 5. What is unusual in Cunegonde's description of the auto-da-fe? What is her attitude toward it? 6. List the references that are made to Pangloss. How does the reality of the situation compare to Pangloss's philosophy? 7. How different do you think Candide and Cunegonde are in perceiving the reality of the world? Provide some examples. Chapter 9 1. This chapter continues satirizing religious authority. Explain how. 2. This chapter is a continuation of the parody of the adventure story. Provide several examples. 3. What is the source of the humor in this chapter? Provide several examples. 4. Cunegonde is surprised that Candide can kill two people so easily. What's Candide's reply? Chapter 10 1. Comment on religious hypocrisy, corruption, worldliness and materialism; not limited to the Catholics. 2. Who were/are the Franciscans, Benedictines, and the Jesuits? Do they practice what they preach? 3. Why is there an army being assembled in Cadiz? 4. How does Candide's attitude toward philosophical optimism begin to change? 5. The idea that the New World is perhaps the best of all possible worlds is introduced in this chapter. 6. Comment on the theme of human misery and self pity. Chapter 11 3 1. What is the background of the old woman? How has she changed in her looks? 2. How is the melodrama in her story heightened? 3. Do you find any similarities in the way that the old woman and Cunegonde describe their experiences? 4. List some examples of satire of religious authorities. 5. This chapter focuses on the idea that cruelty by toward women is universal and not unusual. List some examples of how Voltaire represents this cruelty in a satirical way. 6. Religious satire is expanded to include Islam. Implication: no religion can restrain man's wickedness. Do you agree or disagree: Can religion restrain man's wickedness? Chapter 12 1. Comment on the element of sexuality in the old woman's story. Is there place for love and romance in that world, or is there nothing beyond self-gratification? 2. What do you think is the point of the story of the eunuch? What does he regret? 3. Describe the sarcasm in the old woman's description of how she lost half her buttocks. 4. Through all her misery, the old woman does not consider suicide as an option. She is not alone in her fate. Does this indicate that the lot of some folks is to live in misery their entire life? Does man have control of his destiny? Chapter 13 1. After hearing the passengers tell their stories, Candide begins to doubt Pangloss's optimism. Why? 2. This chapter takes the characters to the New World, which for many Europeans represented the possibility of the existence of a perfect society. Are things really that different there than in the Old World? 3. Describe the personality of the governor of Buenos Aires. Does he remind you of any other characters? How does his name indicate his importance? 4.