AP Literature Summer Reading Requirements 2012

Summer Reading/Writing Assignments

AP Literature and Composition

Summer 2012

In order to be prepared for the challenges you’ll face in AP Literature and Composition next year, it is necessary for you to start reading upper-level material this summer. You are required to read TWO novels or plays during the summer.  In addition, you will have a writing assignment to accompany each work you select. These assignments will be turned in when you return in August (on the second or third day of class) and will comprise your first 20 summative points for the semester.

You may choose any two works written by the authors listed below underneath the writing assignments. In addition, I have listed all the large works we will be reading this year.

Writing Assignments

You will complete a directed journal for each of the books/plays you read. These do not have length requirements, but they must contain the following elements:

            1. Process log –

Write a few paragraphs in which you describe as carefully as possible the PROCESS of your reading. You should use these questions to guide your thinking.

A. What did you understand, think, feel as you read?

B. What words/phrases were confusing? If there are many – obviously don’t include all of them.

C. What characters seemed clear to you and why? Which characters were a blur and why?

D. At what points can you identify with what is happening or with what a character is saying/feeling?

2. Quotation Response

A. Choose a quote from anywhere in the book (it does not have to be dialogue) and coy it. Then write a description of the type of reader the language of the passage creates and assumes. This is prompting you to ask, “To whom, exactly, is the narrator speaking?”

I passed out an extensive list (which I do not have on the computer) of works that would meet the above requirements. If you have not read anything yet – panic. Then, choose works written by any of the following authors.

Thomas Hardy                                      Flannery O’Conner              Margaret Atwood                F.Scott Fitzgerald

Ernest Hemingway                               Anne Tyler                            Charlotte Bronte                   Jane Austin

Alice Walker                                         John Irving                            Isak Dinesan                          Bram Stoker

Joseph Heller                                        Jane Smiley                           Tennessee Williams            James Agee

Jonathan Swift                                      Charles Dickens                   Joseph Conrad                     Arthur Miller

William Shakespeare                           Maya Angelou                     Cormac McCarthy                William Faulkner

Laura Esquival                                      Nora N. Hurston                   Toni Morrison                      Upton Sinclair

Books we’ll read during the year:

The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The  Scarlett Letter

The  Kite Runner by Kahled Hosseini

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

I am One of You Forever by Fred Chappell

AP Literature History

Literary History – A BRIEF Overview

The Anglo-Saxon Period

                   449-1066 A.D. (Normandy invasions)

          Britons – early inhabitants of the British isles – were there before 449

          449 – Germanic tribes began to invade the Britain

                   Jutes

                   Angles                                    Norsemen/Vikings

                   Saxons

          These tribes brought with them a common language – we call it “Old English.”

         

The tribes frequently fought, but shared a common heroic ideal and traditional heroes.

Heroes

-         Men of courage

-         Loyalty to the leader and tribe

-         Fierce personal valor

Other Characteristics of the Anglo-Saxons

-         Awareness of the shortness of life

-         Valued ornamentation and artwork

-         Time of great learning

-         Christianity brought to Britain in 314 and rapidly spread – practiced Catholicism

Western civilization gets its traditions in law, conduct (manners), attitudes/outlook, language and literature from this period.

Characteristics of Anglo-Saxon literature

-         Oral tradition

-         Songs w/harps

-         Scops and bards – professional poets and historians

-         Time of knights, dragons, monsters, damsels in distress, King Arthur,

-         Common themes –

·       Heroic tradition  (Beowulf)

·       Elegiac tradition – mourning the passing of better times

The Medieval Period – Middle Ages

          1066-1485 A.D. – began with the Normandy Invasion

-         William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy) invaded England

-         Martial law put into effect, property seized

-         Changed the culture and began the feudal system – most of the population were peasants

-         Old English became Middle English – French/Latin influence

-         Church played a large part in society but was quite corrupt

-         Common law developed – right of the first son to inherit property

-         Magnificent monuments and churches built during this time

Time of Chivalry – bravery and courage

-         Code that includes loyalty to a king

-         Also includes certain behavior and/or manners – including the keeping of one’s word

Period was characterized by wars and plagues

Literature in the Middle Ages

-         Romances – chivalry w/magic (fairies, dragons)

-         religious writings

-         miracle plays

-         morality plays – concerned virtues and vices

-         Chaucer – first great literary figure to write using the English language

The Renaissance (Rebirth)

(1485-1660)

-         encompassed the “discovery” of America

-         began in Florence, Italy

-         desire to return to Greek and Roman times

-         marks the beginning of “modern times”

-         art, music, literature flourished – printing press developed during this period

Monarchs

-         Henry VIII

*killed or divorced many wives

*split from Catholic church

         

-         Phillip – 9 years old (died young)

-         “Bloody” Mary – reign of terror against Protestants

-         Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603)

*time of peace and stability

*time of Shakespeare and Ben Jonson

-         James I – Jacobean Era

*Puritans in America to escape persecution

The Restoration and the 18^th Century

(1660-1798)

England

-         wanted to establish society on a firm basis – disliked change

-         wanted stability

America

-         characterized by two strong forces: exploration and purification

- themes of early American lit

·       meaning of America

·       self-transformation

·       religious

·       society vs. the individual

-         types of writing

·       histories

·       journals

·       sermons

·       religious poetry

-         Literature during the American Revolution

·       Focused on logic not only emotions

·       American independence fought w/words and ideas, not just guns

·       Persuasive

Romantic Period

(1798 – 1832)

In England and U.S.

-         focused on imagination and nature

-         called the “American Renaissance”

-         lifted American writers to world importance

-         spirit of optimism

-         idea of “Utopia” developed

-         transcendentalism – intuition (Emerson, Thoreau)

-         anti-transcendentalists – evil exists – Hawthorne, Melville

Victorian Age

In U.S. and England

(1832 – 1900)

- Queen Victoria was the monarch

-         England was the world’s wealthiest nation

-         Stereotype is “time of repression”

-         Elaborate dress and decoration – architecture

-         Proper behavior

-         Victorians loved to read

§  Charles Dickens

§  Gothic novels

§  Bronte sisters

In the United States

-         Civil War 1860-1864

§  Literature prior to war dealt w/slavery and abolitionists

§  Literature after dealt some w/Indian issues

-         realism began w/Mark Twain

Realism and Naturalism

1890 –1914 – in the U.S.

-         reaction to the Romantic Period

-         “Local Color” movement

§  dialect, customs, character types of a particular region

-         attempted to depict life realistically

-         industrialization/technological changes – America became wealthy

-         Time of World Fairs, middle class begins

-         Settlement of the West – some gold rushes

-         Motion pictures, photography

Immigration

-         by 1900, the 12 largest U.S. cities were populated 40% by immigrants and 20% by the children of immigrants

Reforms

-         child labor

-         womens’ rights

-         alcohol

-         industry – The Jungle

Literature

-         lit became intermingled w/sociology, psychology, science, philosophy, reforms

-         Utopian novels became popular

-         Darwinism became a focus

Modern Literature

20^th – 21^st century

-         turbulent time of great change

-         science and technological growth

-         conflicting currents of optimism and pessimism

British Literature

-         Europe wrecked by world wars

-         Fascism develops – great leaders using physical force

-         Communism divides Europe

-         Trend in literature is constant change and breaking of the rules

American Literature

-         writing is complex and multicultural, like society

-         question – does art shape culture, or does culture shape art?

-         First half characterized by world wars and the Depression

-         Racism continues to be a factor

Modern literature attempts to find a common ground in a world no longer unified in belief.

English 3 Latin vocabulary words, Unit 2

Latin Lesson 2

Vocabulary words

13. linguistics – (noun) the science of language; the study of speech (lingu= language, tongue)

14. languid  - (adjective) lacking energy, weak, slow (langu = faint, weary)

15. veracity – (noun), the truth (ver =truth)

16. virile – (adjective) having characteristics of an adult male; manly (vir = man)

17. omnivorous – (adjective) eating all kinds of food, including animals and vegetables (omni - = all; vor = eat)

18. elongate – (verb) to lengthen (long - = long)

19. verbose – (adjective) wordy, too much speech (verb = word)

20. voracious –(adjective) greedy for food, ravenous (vor = eat)

21. brevity – (noun) briefness of duration, shortness of time (brev - = short)

22. virtuoso – (noun) one with masterful skill in the arts (virtu = strength, virtue)

23. multilingual – (adjective) speaking many languages (multi- = many, lingu = language, tongue)

24. sonogram – (noun) a picture made by sound waves (son = sound)

AP The Things They Carried Body Bio assignment

AP English

The Things They Carried Body Biography

Learning goal:  To show how an author uses characterization to develop theme.

                                   

Assignment:  Each of you will be assigned one character to examine from The Things They Carried. You will then create a “body biography” of that character which demonstrates the character’s motivations, desires, thoughts, values, and conflicts.  You will also consider how other characters in the book influence the understanding of your assigned character. You may choose to depict your character artistically in any format you wish.  Some choices are:

           

- a drawing or painting

            - a computer generated design

            - a sculpture (clay, paper, etc.)

            - a collage

            - a poster

            - another medium of your choice  - technology

Your body biography must contain at least:

-four text excerpts (including page numbers) from the novel that demonstrate both direct and indirect characterization

- three symbols that show your character’s motivations, thoughts, values, conflicts, etc.  These may be a part of the character (heart, brain, etc.), or they may be surrounding the character. 

- an original theme using your character’s development as evidence of support for that theme.

You will present your body biography and explain your theme and support to the class on the assigned due date.

Your assigned due date is: Sept. 16

Originality in developing a theme as well as showing how an author’s use of characterization helps further his/her theme is important for this assignment. The project will be worth 35 points.  Please see attached assessment sheet for guidelines. 

English 3 - Latin vocab word parts - lesson 1

English 3 - Vocabulary

Latin Lesson 1

8 roots (white cards)

1. voc, vok – voice, call

2. dic, dict – say, speak, assert

3. dica, dicat – proclaim, set apart

4. duc, duct – lead

5. loqu, locut – speak

6. loc, locat  – place

7. garrul – chatter, talk

8. equ – equal, fair

4 prefixes (pink cards)

1. ben -, bon -   - good, well

2. mal -  - bad, ill

3. soli -, sol -   - alone, only

4. magn -  - great, large