SUMMER READINGS Thomas C. Foster How to Read Literature Like a Professor (read this first) William Faulkner As I Lay Dying

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1 AP ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION Summer Reading Assignments SUMMER READINGS Thomas C. Foster How to Read Literature Like a Professor (read this first) William Faulkner As I Lay Dying AP Literature and Composition is taught as a college-level English class and thus, includes a heavy workload, especially outside reading. Be prepared, during the school year, to schedule reading and writing into your study time. Assignments are due the first day of school. Late assignments lose 25 points the first day they are late and 10 points for every day thereafter. SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 1 How to Read Literature Like a Professor Read How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines, by Thomas C. Foster. This text is an easy-to-read introduction to the themes and associations all pieces of literature share. We will refer to this text throughout the year in combination with literature we read. The text includes 26 chapters. For each chapter, provide a 5-7 sentence summary of Foster s key points. I expect these to be written in complete sentences and for you to carefully read and condense the key ideas of each chapter. SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 2 As I Lay Dying Read (and annotate) As I Lay Dying. Select one of the following essay questions and compose a 5-paragraph (minimum) response: A. Select one symbol from the book and write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. B. What role do women play in the novel? Are they limited or empowered by their gender? Write an essay analyzing gender roles in the work and discuss how they reveal larger themes in the text. C. Man s tragedy, Faulkner once said, is the impossibility or at least the tremendous difficulty of communication. Demonstrate how As I Lay Dying supports this view. D. The internal journey of the characters in As I Lay Dying provides for an interesting view of dynamic characterization. Examine the internal journey of two characters in the Bundren family. How has the change come about, what evidence of change do we have as readers, and what is the effect of the change? SUMMER ASSIGNMENT 3 After reading and responding to As I Lay Dying, you will need to read selections from How to Read Literature Like a Professor, making at least THREE connections (in three different chapters) between the novel and this instruction manual. Ultimately, you will be writing a 2-3 page essay explaining how your selected novel can be interpreted through Thomas C. Foster s lenses, which are articulated in the chapters of How to Read Literature Like a Professor.

2 Examples of application: From Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Well, my dear, said Mr. Bennet, when Elizabeth had read the note aloud, if your daughter should have a dangerous fit of illness, if she should die, it would be a comfort to know that it was all in pursuit of Mr. Bingley, and under your orders (Austen 29). This is connected to chapter 24 of Foster s book concerning illness. In this case, Jane Bennet has contracted a fever and is confined to the home of Mr. Bingley. As Foster points out often the most effective illness is one the writer makes up (Foster 224). In this case, a fever serves Austen s purpose of placing Jane in Bingley s home for an extended period without actually putting her character in any serious danger. Jane s illness also gives her sister, Elizabeth, ample opportunity to stay in the company of Bingley, his sisters and Mr. Darcy. Without a doubt, Jane s illness works like a charm as a device for moving the plot of the novel forward and giving the characters a valid reason to interact with each other for a prolonged time (Foster 224). The example paragraph below uses The Great Gatsby in order to discuss the many quests (from Chapter 1 of Professor) detailed in literature: Thomas C. Foster discusses quests in literature and asserts that the real reason for a quest is always selfknowledge (3). This statement is definitely true of Jay Gatsby and his quest for Daisy in The Great Gatsby. Gatsby has spent the last five years of his life redefining himself as the man he believes Daisy wants. Selling grain alcohol illegally and manufacturing counterfeit bonds have allowed him to earn the money he needs to throw extravagant parties at his over-the-top mansion, hoping that Daisy would wander [in], some night (Fitzgerald 79). Unfortunately for Gatsby, this quest was futile; he had committed himself to the following of a grail, and he realizes this too late (149). In fact, it is assumed that Gatsby realized, just prior to his death, that he has lost Daisy forever, and that he must have felt that he had lost the old warm world, paid a high price for living too long with a single dream (161). Interestingly, as Foster points out, more often than not, the quester fails at the stated task, and the outcome is unexpected (3). This is certainly true for Gatsby as he learns that the purity of his dream cannot exist in the world he lives in. So, while his quest may have been for Daisy on the surface, near the end of his life, he realizes that this dream was never attainable, thus [failing] at the stated task (Foster 3). The above example mirrors what one of your paragraphs may look like once you finish your essay. Your essay, in its entirety, should consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. While you are required to connect your novel to at least three of Foster s chapters, this does not necessarily warrant a five-paragraph essay. The organizational pattern is up to you. However, as evident in the example paragraph, you are required to cite text from both your selected novel, as well as Foster s Professor. You will be assessed on your writing ability, your ability to synthesize material from multiple sources, and your ability to connect your novel to Foster s assertions. Adapted from shhsla.org/summerassignment *You may check out As I Lay Dying from the school library. *You may also locate the pdf version of How to Read Literature Like a Professor at the following website:

3 Title: Author: Major Works Data Sheet: Do not cut/paste from a website, which is a form of plagiarism. Date of Publication: Genre: Historical information about the period of publication or setting of the novel: Biographical information about the author: Characteristics of the genre: Plot Summary: Do not cut/paste from a website, which is a form of plagiarism.

4 Major Works Data Sheet Quotation Memorable Quotes at least 5 more is better Significance

5 Major Works Data Sheet Characters Name Role in the story Significance Adjectives

6 Major Works Data Sheet Setting Significance of the opening scene Symbols or Motifs (at least three) Significance of the ending / closing scene Possible Themes Topics of Discussion (elaborate) minimum of 3

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