<p>Ms. Dunn Name [email protected] Date ______https://dunnapenglish12.wikispaces.com</p><p>Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition Summer Reading</p><p>The AP English Literature and Composition course is designed to engage students in the careful reading and critical analysis of imaginative literature. Through the close reading of selected texts and an examination of the political, social, cultural, and philosophical contexts which help shape the writers of each literary period, students can deepen their understanding of the ways writers use language to provide both meaning and pleasure for their readers. Students should be comfortable and fluent in using the major critical approaches outlined in the Baltimore County “Literary Criticism Primer” by Mark Lund. All students in previous GT programs should be familiar with this packet, but an abbreviated version is available on my website. In AP we will be reading many texts from the literary canon that rely heavily on the classic literature that came before it. For this reason, students will be expected to have a strong foundation in biblical and classical mythology. Students should be familiar with these concepts from the 9GT curriculum, but should review for their 12th grade year, especially if they did not take 9GT. I recommend all students purchase a copy of Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and at least a children’s bible so that they are familiar with the major characters, stories, and symbols. Students should also be familiar with the Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex and the elements of tragedy. Most students read this play in 10th grade GT, however; it is not particularly long and can be accessed online. I will include a link to a full text edition on my website. I expect students will review Hamilton, Sophocles and the bible stories thoroughly in addition to their reading over the summer. If you have any questions regarding the assignment or the class, please email me at [email protected] or visit my Wiki page. Do NOT wait until the week before school for your questions. My turn around time on responses will not be immediate.</p><p>Reading Assignment You will be assigned three works this summer, one non-fiction text and two fiction texts. I recommend purchasing the texts (all are available in paperback and can easily be found used on Amazon) so that you can write in it and keep it for future reference. Before choosing a text, do a little background reading on the book to see if you might like it. I have chosen contemporary, high interest works because I want your summer to be enjoyable - but I don’t want you to get rusty! </p><p>Part 1: Non-Fiction Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss</p><p>Directions for Non-Fiction Reading: Complete 8 pages of Cornell Notes on your reading. Stick to just the most important facts and summarize chapters. Be prepared to share what you learned with the class when you return.</p><p>Part 2: Choose 1 fiction text from each list. You will read 2 novels, one from a male author and one from a female author. </p><p>Choose one novel by a male writer: Choose one novel by a female writer: The Collector by John Fowles The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Ceremony – Leslie Marmon Silko Directions for Fiction Novels: You will have two options for dealing with the novels. You must complete a novel card and the writing assignment listed below for each novel. However, I would like to give students who do not want to wait until August the opportunity to complete the summer reading early and online. Please read each option carefully – they are very different and each has its own due date. </p><p>_____Option A: Participate in an online discussion of the fiction novels over the summer by commenting intelligently and insightfully on questions posed by myself and fellow students. You will need access to the internet throughout the summer in order fulfill this assignment. You must register as a member of my Wiki at https://dunnapenglish12.wikispaces.com and find the pages labeled with each novel title. I will post questions throughout the summer to which I would like you to respond. In addition, you may also reply to other student responses. </p><p>Due Date: In order to fulfill the requirements for this option, you must post at least 10 responses for each novel from July 1 - August 24. Because you will be completing this assignment entirely over the summer, you will only be required to write two timed essays from the options listed below. Your timed essay is due to me electronically ([email protected]) by August 24th. If you have questions on attaching files to emails, please let me know BEFORE THE DUE DATE. The grading rubric for your responses is located on my Wiki page. </p><p>Discussion response requirements:  150 words in length minimum.  Adhere to all rules of grammar and punctuation.  Provide quotations and specific examples as evidence. Direct quotations will not count towards your 150 words.  Cite in MLA format.  Employ scholarly language and tone in each response (no attacks, no name-calling, etc.). This will be strictly enforced. Any responses deemed inappropriate will result in a failing grade for the entire summer reading assignment.  You are expected to respond to my questions AND other responses. You may also find that there are certain topics that you want to address. You may begin your own discussion topics, but be sure to keep all discussions on a scholarly level. For example, "I really liked this book/character/scene/etc." is not an appropriate topic for this type of discussion.</p><p>EXAMPLE:</p><p>MsDunnAP12 Heart of Darkness Q. 1 Kurtz’s dying words are a cryptic whisper: “The horror, the horror.” What “horror” could Kurtz have been talking about? Is there more than one possibility? Why do you think Conrad made this scene so ambiguous? Posted 1 hour ago </p><p>RandomAPStudent re: Heart of Darkness Q. 1 Kurtz's last words, "The horror, the horror," seem to refer back to Marlow's discussion of Kurtz's "mad" soul. Marlow states, "Being alone in the wilderness, it had looked within itself and, by Heavens I tell you, it had gone mad (Conrad 66). When Marlow reflects on this death scene, he remembers his own experience of "peeping over the edge" and states that Kurtz had "summed up" and "judged," and had the face of someone who was appalled by the truth (70). Marlow goes on to describe the moment of death as a moral victory. It is as though Kurtz finally realizes, in that instant, what he has become and is appalled by the truth.</p><p>There could certainly be more than one "truth." Kurtz was a complex individual, as evidenced by the variety of rumors Marlow encounters as he travels down the river. Ultimately, Conrad makes this scene ambiguous in order to allow the reader to find his own meaning in the scene and Kurtz's final words. Posted 2 minutes ago _____Option B: Complete 50 dialectical journals for each novel, using questions, observations and insights generated by YOU on the topics listed below. The grading rubric for dialectical journals is located on my Wiki page. </p><p>1. style—how does the author choose to tell the story? What point of view does he/she use? What techniques like ordering and selection of details, flashback, foreshadowing, syntax, diction, or figurative language, does she use? How do the writing styles between the male and female authors compare? 2. plot—where is this story taking place? Who are the characters? What do you- know about them? What problems do they face? How do they react to one another? What does the author show you that she doesn’t tell you about these characters? How do they change? 3. historical perspective—how is historical and social context important in this story? What do you learn about American history through the information that the author provides? What more do you need to know to have the full picture? 4. themes—what does the author tell us about life and values? What major themes develop and evolve throughout the reading? 5. social relationships—how does race, setting, time period, gender, and age affect people’s relationships with one another in the story. How do these relationships develop the themes?</p><p>You will attempt to answer these questions throughout the reading of each novel, completing a total of fifty journal entries for each from beginning to end. I will use the rubric on my Wiki page to grade them. You MUST address the questions above. I also expect you to weave some personal reaction and reflection into your journals.</p><p>Dialectical Journal Format:</p><p>Your name My Name English 11 AP</p><p>A Dialectical Journal on ______title of the work here______by ______author’s name here ______entry # On the left, include the original On the right, apply any of the questions listed passage from the novel that you above to the passage you have selected. Use would like to analyze in the form complete sentences and be thorough in your page # of a quotation, paraphrase, or responses for full credit. The journal entry summary. You may use looseleaf should directly relate to the passage you have to complete the journals by hand selected. date by writing the entry #, page #, and date outside the red margin, and folding the remainder of the paper in half, writing your passage on the left side and your response on the right.</p><p>Part 3: Writing Assignment Use the two fiction novels you read this summer to complete THREE TIMED ESSAYS (unless you chose Option A for Part 2, in which case you will only be completing 2 essays). Each essay should be based on your reading and involve NO outside research. You should devote ONLY 40 minutes to each essay; I will assess your papers with this in mind. Choose one question for each work you read and one additional question for either novel. You may not use any one question more than once. Each of these questions is from a previous year’s AP literature exam. The grading rubric for AP essays is located on my Wiki page. </p><p>Question 1: Novels and plays often include scenes of weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions. Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters and the society in which they live. Select a novel or play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay, discuss the contribution the scene makes to the meaning of the work as a whole.</p><p>Question 2: Morally ambiguous characters – characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good – are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole.</p><p>Question 3: Many plays and novels use contrasting places (for example, two countries, two cities or towns, two houses, or the land and the sea) to represent opposed forces of ideas that are central to the meaning of the work. Choose a novel or play that contrasts two such places. Write an essay explaining how the places differ, what each represents, and how their contrast contributes to the meaning as a whole.</p><p>Question 4: The British novelist Fay Weldon offers this observation about happy endings: “The writers, I do believe, who get the best and most lasting response from readers are the writers who offer a happy ending through moral development. By a happy ending, I do not mean mere fortunate events – a marriage or a last minute rescue from death – but some kind of spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation, even with the self, even at death.” Choose a novel or play that has the kind of ending Weldon describes. In a well-written essay, identify the “spiritual reassessment or moral reconciliation” evident in the ending and explain its significance in the work as a whole. Question 5: Many works of literature not readily identified with the mystery or detective story genre nonetheless involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works, the solution to the mystery may be less important than the knowledge gained in the process of its investigation. Choose a novel or play in which one or more of the characters confront a mystery. Then write an essay in which you identify the mystery and explain how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.</p><p>Question 6 : Choose a work of recognized literary merit in which a specific inanimate object (e.g., a seashell, a handkerchief, a painting) is important, and write an essay in which you show how two or three of the purposes the object serves are related to one another.</p><p>The grading rubric for these essays is located on my Wiki page. These papers will be due the first week of class and used as a diagnostic assessment of your writing upon entering the class. In addition, there will be quizzes on the review reading (literary criticism and allusions) in the first few weeks and you will be expected to discuss and explain the information from your notes and novel cards in class presentations. </p><p>Summer Reading Checklist</p><p>_____ 1. Part 1: Read Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss and complete 8 pages of Cornell Notes.</p><p>_____ 2. Part 2: Read 2 fiction novels, one from each list.</p><p>Option A or Option B</p><p>_____ 3. Submit 10 responses _____ 3. Complete 50 per novel to discussion dialectical journal entries for questions posted on Ms. each novel. Dunn’s Wiki page by August 24. </p><p>_____ 4. Part 3: Complete _____ 4. Part 3: Complete two timed essays, one for each three timed essays, choosing novel and submit them one prompt for each novel and electronically to Ms. Dunn by one additional prompt for either August 24. essay. Due Sept. 24.</p>