AP English Literature Summer Assignment 2011 * * *

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1 AP English Literature Summer Assignment 2011 A word from Mr. Garcia and Mr. Hoarty: Before you whine and complain about having a summer reading assignment, breathe and consider yourself lucky. Other AP English Literature teachers assign upwards of four summer reading selections, so reading this one short book, a novella to be specific, should be a breeze. Sort of. * * * Your summer reading assignment is The Awakening by Kate Chopin. As you read the book, complete the Dialectical Journal and Major Works Data Sheet along the way. It will help you remember all the important elements of the book, especially when you re studying for the AP test next year. The Dialectical Journal and Major Works Data Sheet are due on the first day of school. While the Dialectical Journal can be (neatly) handwritten, the Major Works Data Sheet should be typed and answered to the fullest. These assignments will be done for every literary work we read. When you are done with the novel, complete the essay assignment on page three (3) and it to me at domhs.aplit@gmail.com on or before August 8 th, Failure to complete these assignments may result in your removal from the class. Something to keep in mind: Cliff Notes, Sparks Notes, and the like will not be very beneficial in this class. They are fine to jog your memory, but they will not suffice in place of reading the text. AP English Literature requires thorough analysis, and if you haven t read the text, you will not be able to analyze anything, and you will risk failing the class. Class Website: In a couple weeks, I will post notes on literary devices, essay writing and MLA formatting. Carefully read the notes and writing samples. Dates to Remember: o August 8 th, 2011 Essay is due. o August 15 th, 2011 The Dialectical Journals and Major Works Data Sheet are due. 1

2 Study Guide Questions 1. What kind of marriage do Edna and Leonce Pontellier have? Point to scenes, actions, or statements to support your view. How does their marriage change during the course of the novel? 2. What is Edna's attitude toward her children? 3. How have Edna's earlier life experiences helped make her the person she is now? Look at descriptions of her youth as well as her earlier relationships with men. Is she the same person she was then? 4. At this point in American history, what roles are wives expected to play? How are they expected to treat their husbands and children? What are wives expected to do around the house? Compare Edna, Aline, and Adele as wives. Do they embrace the roles that have been created for them? Do they rebel against those roles? Use examples from the text to support your responses. 5. Describe behaviors and attitudes in Edna that seem childlike. 6. For what purpose does Chopin include minor characters such as Adele Ratignolle and Madamoiselle Reisz? Is Edna similar to them? If so, how? Is she different? If so, how? 7. What is the "awakening" referred to in the title? Is it an emotional awakening? an intellectual awakening? a physical awakening? All of these? Point to examples to support your answer. 8. Is Edna "awake"? Is she "asleep"? Look for descriptions, thoughts, or scenes that can help you answer this question. 9. Note that, beginning with the first page, birds are a recurring image in the novel. Look at examples. Why does Chopin use these examples? 10. What type of man is Robert Lebrun? Alcee Arobin? Why does Edna get involved with these characters? 11. What significance does swimming have for Edna? Look carefully at Chopin's descriptions of the sea, for example. What does the diction here suggest? 12. Is the ending of the novel a victory or a defeat for Edna? Point to examples in the text to support your answer. 13. Does Chopin seem to admire Edna? If so, how? Does Chopin seem critical of Edna? If so, how? Point to examples. 14. What is the over-riding theme of this novel? Provide examples to support the theme you have selected. 2

3 Essay Due: August 8 th, 2011 Critic Roland Barthes has said, Literature is the question minus the answer. Choose a play read in class and, considering Barthes observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. the essay to domhs.aplit@gmail.com on or before August 8 th, AP 1.1 Analyzing Works of Literary Merit (Open Question) Analyze a work of literary merit a novel, novella, or play and demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of its literary techniques and/or theme. 4 These essays offer well-focused and persuasive analysis. Although not without flaws, these essays make a strong case for their interpretation and discuss the literary work with significant insight. 3 These essays offer reasonable analysis. These works reveal some insight, but the analysis is less thorough, less perceptive, and/or less specific in supporting detail than that of the 4 essays. 2 These essays respond to the assigned task with a plausible reading, but they tend to be superficial or underdeveloped in analysis. They often rely upon plot summary that contains some analysis, implicit or explicit. Although the students attempt to respond to the prompt, they may demonstrate a rather simplistic understanding of the work. 1 These essays offer a less than thorough understanding of the task or a less than adequate treatment of it. They reflect an incomplete or oversimplified understanding of the work. They may not address or develop a response to the prompt, or they may rely on plot summary alone. Their assertions may be unsupported or even irrelevant. 3

4 Dialectical Journal Due: August 15 th, 2011 The term Dialectic means the art or practice of arriving at the truth by using conversation involving question and answer. You will complete a dialectical journal to aid in your understanding of The Namesake as you read it and demonstrate that understanding to your teacher. In this journal, you are essentially having a conversation with the text (jotting down insights, questions, ideas, and thoughts) and with yourself. Procedure: 1. Divide your paper vertically into two halves. 2. At the top of the left column, write the heading Passages from the Text, and at the top of the right column, write Comments and Questions. 3. In the left column, write meaningful quotations from the text. Give the chapter and page number that goes with each quotation. 4. In the right column, write down your ideas, insights, reflections, or comments on the quotation you wrote in the left column. 5. For each comment, you must label your responses using the following codes: (C) Connect make a connection to your life, the world, or another text (P) Predict anticipate what will occur based on what s in the passage (R) Reflect think deeply about what the passage means in a broad sense not just to the characters in the story. What conclusions can you draw about the world, about human nature, or just the way things work in other words, theme? (E) Evaluate - make a judgment about the character(s), their actions, or what the author is trying to say Then, you must state what you are discussing/analyzing. For example, focus on the literary elements that you have studied: characterization, diction (word choice and syntax), tone, imagery, symbolism, figurative language, motifs, theme, rhetorical strategies, myths, cultural and social background and mores (essential customs of a community), etc. 6. Indicate the speaker of direct quotations. 7. Number all entries consecutively. 8. Skip a line between each entry. 9. Make sure that entries and responses parallel each other. 10. Complete two (2) journal entries for each chapter of the book. 11. Proofread your work. Use complete, well-constructed sentences, precise, appropriate word choice, correct spelling, capitalization, and punctuation. 12. Do not write on the back of your paper. 4

5 Sample Dialectical Journal entry: Passages from the text The Things They Carried by Tim O Brien Comments & Questions April 25, Chapter 1 1. O Brien: -they carried like freight trains; they carried it on their backs and shoulders-and for all the ambiguities of Vietnam, all the mysteries and unknowns, there was at least the single abiding certainty that they would never be at a loss for things to carry (2). (R) Imagery: O Brien chooses to end the first section of the novel with this sentence. He provides excellent visual details of what each solider in Vietnam would carry for day-to-day fighting. He makes you feel the physical weight of what soldiers have to carry for simple survival. When you combine the emotional weight of loved ones at home, the fear of death, and the responsibility for the men you fight with, with this physical weight, you start to understand what soldiers in Vietnam dealt with every day. This quote sums up the confusion that the men felt about the reasons they were fighting the war, and how they clung to the only certainty - things they had to carry - in a confusing world where normal rules were suspended. Sample Dialectical Journal entry: Passages from the text The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd Comments and Questions February 4, Chapter 3 1. Lily: I heard a voice say, Lily Melissa Owens, your jar is open (41). (E) Characterization: After a fight with T-Ray in which he reveals that Deborah was leaving the family, Lily realizes that she has to leave home. She compares herself to the bees she had previously caught in a jar, telling herself that is it time for her to go; her jar is open and it is time for her to fly away. May 15, Chapter 7 2. August: The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters (147). (R) Characterization: August tells Lily how hard it was for her to paint the house pink, but the significance of her words goes deeper than paint. August uses the story of painting the house to teach Lily a life lesson about making choices. 5

6 Dialectical Journal Rubric AP 1.4 Analyze how the author uses literary devices and characterization to convey theme. 4 Two journal entries for each chapter are complete, for a total of 78 journal entries. They are thorough, insightful, and thought provoking; reflecting careful reading and appropriate selection of text examples. Comments and literary devices are labeled and relate directly to the text examples selected and provide additional insight, inference, deeper meaning in the text, or some personal reflection. In short, you carry on an ongoing dialogue with the writer; you question, agree, disagree, appreciate, or object. 3 Two journal entries for each chapter are complete, for a total of 78 journal entries. They are for the most part thorough, insightful, and thought provoking; reflecting careful reading and appropriate selection of text examples. Comments and literary devices are labeled and for the most part relate to the text examples selected and provide some additional insight, inference, deeper meaning in the text, or some personal reflection, but may not do so in a balanced manner. 2 Journal entries are not complete or the total number required hasn t been met. They are somewhat insightful; reflecting a general reading comprehension. Comments and literary devices may or may not be labeled and for the most part relate to the text examples selected and provide some additional insight, inference, deeper meaning in the text; however, some entries are superficial and/or simple paraphrases of the material, including some personal reflection, but may not do so in a balanced manner. 1 Journal entries are not complete or the total number required hasn t been met. Journal entries for the most part reflect a general reading comprehension. Comments and literary devices may or may not be labeled and may or may not relate to the text examples selected. Entries are superficial and/or simple paraphrases of the material. If journals are not neat and labeled according to directions, you will have to rewrite them. 6

7 Major Works Data Sheet Due: August 15 th, 2011 Title: Author: Date of Publication: Genre: Four Facts about the Historical Period of Publication: (Be specific) 1. Year(s) - Five Facts about the Author: Country/Nation - 3. Social structure - 4. Technology 5. Is there social/political unrest? Describe what is happening in the country at this time. Characteristics of the Genre: How does this book reflect its genre? Plot Summary: (Summarize the entire plot in your own words.) 7

8 Describe the Author s Style: 1. Short, simple sentences An example that demonstrates this style: (Quote and cite each example with a page number.) 2. Use of imagery 1. Quote Five Memorable Quotes Significance

9 List all major and minor characters. Characters Name Role in the Story Significance Two Adjectives 9

10 Describe the Setting (Time and Place) What is the significance of the opening scene? List and Explain Symbols / Images. What is the significance of the closing scene? Possible Themes