AP+Literature+Summer+Reading+Assignment

June, 2011

Dear AP Literature and Composition student,

Welcome to AP Literature and Composition! You have selected a rigorous and rewarding academic opportunity for your senior year of English. Over the next year, this class will demand a commitment from you to devote the necessary time and effort to read challenging texts carefully and use critical analysis to respond thoughtfully and meaningfully in writing and oral discourse. The College Board expects students to prepare for the AP exam through engaging in a close study of world literature ranging from the 17th century up to the present time. Therefore, the three works of fiction selected for your summer reading are chosen because they provide you with a range of reading experiences of authors from different backgrounds and time periods. In addition, you are asked to read one non-fiction title to help clarify the fundamentals of literary analysis. You will find that we will draw on our summer reading experiences in seminar discussions throughout the year.

To prepare for the start of your AP Literature and Composition studies, you will need to complete the following summer work:

** 1. **** Read the following four titles: **

FROM THE BACK BOOK COVERS -

· ** //Jude the Obscure// by Thomas Hardy ** Jude is an eleven year old orphan living with his great aunt in Marygreen, a provincial town about 20 miles from Christminster, the university modeled after Oxford. Although of working class background, he develops an interest in getting a university education. Richard Phillotson, the former schoolmaster, sends him old Greek and Latin textbooks and Jude begins to study for several years on his own, while working first as a bakery cart driver and then as an apprentice to a stonemason. However, his studies are interrupted when he meets and marries Arabella, whose earthiness and…

· ** As Hardy’s last novel, //Jude the Obscure// is considered one of the greatest works of the late Victorian era. It explores significant social issues and presents an opportunity to use a classic work of literature as a vehicle to debate important questions about class, education, and morality. **

· **__ CAUTION __**** – Some students have found this book a bit slow and time-consuming to read. Plan accordingly! **

· ** //Their Eyes Were Watching God// by Zora Neale Hurston ** First published in 1937 and considered a classic of African American literature, Hurston’s most highly acclaimed novel tells with haunting sympathy and piercing immediacy the story of Janie Crawford’s evolving selfhood through three marriages. Fair-skinned, long-haired, dreamy as a child, Janie grows up expecting better treatment than she gets until she meets Tea Cake, a younger man who engages her heart and spirit in equal measure and gives her the chance to enjoy life without being one man’s mule or another man’s adornment. It is a tribute to the author’s wisdom that though her story does not end happily, it does draw to a satisfying conclusion. Janie is one black woman who doesn’t have to live lost in sorrow, bitterness, fear, or foolish romantic dreams, for Janie and the reader have learned “two things everybody’s got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin’ fuh theyselves.”

· ** Hurston’s background as a folklorist and anthropologist is evident in this work that embodies many traditional elements of myth. **

· **__ HINT __**** – This book has a few sections where the dialect can be challenging. While the presence of this language adds to the authenticity of the novel, you will likely need to read these parts more slowly. **

· ** //Ragtime// by E.L. Doctorow ** This shimmering masterpiece by E.L. Doctorow is set in the years before the First World War. One lazy Sunday afternoon in New Rochelle, New York, the famous escape artist Harry Houdini swerves his car into a telephone pole outside the home of an affluent American family. Almost magically, the line between fact and fiction, between real and invented characters, disappears.

This is the era of Henry Ford and his Model T; of Emma Goldman the revolutionary; of J.P. Morgan, the great tycoon; of Evelyn Nesbit, the former chorus girl, for whom some lovers pine and other die. All of them cross paths with Doctorow’s brilliant fictional creations, including Tateh, an immigrant Jewish peddler, and Coalhouse Walker, Jr., a ragtime pianist from Harlem whose insistence on a point of justice brings this spellbinding classic to a shocking climax.

· ** As a transition from studying American literature, this book offers an opportunity to look at text through the lens of historical criticism. **

· ** //How to Read Literature Like a Professor// by Thomas C. Foster ** What does it mean when a fictional hero takes a journey? Shares a meal? Gets drenched in a sudden rain shower? Often, there is much more going on in a novel or poem than is readily visible on the surface—a symbol, maybe, that remains elusive, or an unexpected twist on a character—and there’s that sneaking suspicion that the deeper meaning of a literary text keeps escaping you.

In this practical and amusing guide to literature, Thomas C. Foster shows how easy and gratifying it is to unlock those hidden truths, and to discover a world where a road leads to a quest; a shared meal may signify a communion; and rain, whether cleansing or destructive, is never just rain.

· ** This book is a staple in many AP Literature programs around the country and offers a practical and fun approach to demystifying the traditional conventions of literature. **

** 2. **** WIKI Discussions ** · Go to Wikispaces.com and type APLit2011-SummerReading in the “search wikispaces” box or APLit2011-SummerReading**.wikispaces.com** in the url and request membership.

· Once you are on the wiki page, use the menu on the left to find the Summer Reading Info page. This page will be available for your reference starting on July 1st.

· Click on the page to see instructions and the names of students in each discussion group.

· **Each** of the four titles should be discussed using the Discussion Tab. You should have at least **three** substantive posts in which you respond both to the discussion question and to the comments of your group members.

· Your posts are public to everyone in the AP class and fully transparent in terms of date, origin, and time of posting. Your comments are expected to follow the Appropriate Use of Technology guidelines described in the student handbook.

· You will receive a Summer Reading Wiki grade equivalent to a test grade. Your collective responses will be evaluated for how well you interpret the texts, refer to specific elements of text to support your ideas, respond to and challenge the ideas raised by members in your group, and make meaningful connections to the literature. You are encouraged to include personal experiences and/or observations where you feel they are relevant. Your posts should illustrate thoughtful reflection about the texts over a period of time.

· All posts are due on the first day of school. Failure to complete this assignment will result in a conference to discuss your enrollment in this course.

** 3. **** Reading Comprehension Quiz ** · Be prepared to take a reading comprehension quiz on the three summer reading fiction selections during the first week of school. It is a good idea to use post-its to note your reactions to characters and plot events. This strategy helps you to read actively and will be a helpful study tool when you review the texts in preparation for the quiz.

· Do not rely on CliffNotes or other reading “aides” for support. Not only are these websites not a substitute for reading, but they do not provide the depth of textual analysis needed for studying literature successfully at the AP level.
 * Please Note: **

· You are not required to buy the Summer Reading books. Several copies of the Doctorow and Hurston books are available to check out from the BHS library. The Brookfield Public Library has been notified about the summer reading list and will make several copies available for students to check out, and libraries in surrounding towns will also have these books in their collections. However, it is convenient to own the books and have them available for recording ideas and future reference. If you are going to purchase books, consider one of the many online warehouses that sell used books at a significant discount.

· If you do not have access to a computer at home, you may go to the Brookfield Public Library and use their computers to make your posts on the wiki. If you have any questions about the summer reading, email the BHS English Department Head at spencerl@brookfieldps.org Have a great summer and happy reading! The BHS English Department