AP Lit & Comp Summer Assignment

Welcome to your senior year of English! I am thrilled to have you in my class next year! Do not hesitate to e-mail me
([email protected]) or text (478 231 6801) with questions over the summerI will answer as soon as I can. I
also have a website that I am working on, please check and post periodically. http://brandevaughn.com/
The primary suggestion is this: do not, do not, and DO NOT wait until the weekend before it is due to begin this work.
Should you do so, your regret will be of a magnitude without parallel in the universe. Trust me. Of course, AP English
covers many other aspects of English besides the study of novels and plays. Since the tangible outcome of the class is to
take a test in May, many of the activities prepare you for success.
A room without a book is like a body without a soul.-Cicero
The man who doesnt read has no advantage over the man who cant read.-Mark Twain
Thomas Foster knows how to read literature like a professor because he is a professor of English at the University of
Michigan. In a very informal style (this is not a textbook), Foster focuses on literary basics: major themes and motifs,
literary models, and narrative devicesall of which will be helpful as we study texts throughout the school year ahead.
Some of what you read will be familiar to you, and some of it will be new and provide food for thought as you read
your summer novel. As you read, you should annotate (see the article How to Mark a Book by Mortimer Adler, Ph.D.),
and might consider taking notes as well.
First Assignment: This is where you must BEGIN your summer assignments.
Go to http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/adler.html and read Dr. Adlers essay, How to Mark a Book.
Formally, we call this annotation, and it is not only recommended, it is REQUIRED. That being said, marking a book
(or anything we read) is certainly an activity that is personal and unique to you as an individual. It is important that you
create a system that works well for youconsider the possibilities of highlighters, colored pens or pencils, and post-it
notes as some of your options. Your personal book marking system will develop over time.
Second Assignment: You can order from here: http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-Literature-LikeProfessor/dp/0062301675 ($10.85)
How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas Foster: Answer the accompanying questions. This How-to book
will better prepare you to read carefully and analytically as you begin your year in AP Literature. Having knowledge of
the subjects covered in this text will give you an advantage throughout the school year and on the AP exam. I do not
expect essay responses for each question. As long as you satisfactorily answer the questions, length will not be an issue.
Remember, QUALITY OVER QUANTITY!
1. Introduction: How'd He Do That? How do memory, symbol, and pattern affect the reading of literature? How does
the recognition of patterns make it easier to read complicated literature? Discuss a time when your appreciation of a
literary work was enhanced by understanding symbol or pattern.
2. Chapter 1 -- Every Trip Is a Quest (Except When It's Not): List the five aspects of the QUEST and then apply them
to something you have read (or viewed) in the form used on pages 3-5.
3. Either of the following:

Chapter 2 -- Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion-Choose a meal from a literary
work and apply the ideas of Chapter 2 to this literary depiction.
Chapter 3: --Nice to Eat You: Acts of Vampires-What are the essentials of the Vampire
story? Apply this to a literary work you have read or viewed.

4. Chapter 4-- If its Square, It's a Sonnet: Select three sonnets and show which form they are. Discuss how their
content reflects the form. (Submit copies of the sonnets, marked to show your analysis).

**Optional: Chapter 5--Now, Where Have I Seen Her Before? Define intertextuality. Discuss three examples that
have helped you in reading specific works.
5. Chapter 6 -- When in Doubt, It's from Shakespeare... Discuss a work that you are familiar with that alludes to or
reflects Shakespeare. Show how the author uses this connection thematically. Read pages 44-46 carefully. In these pages,
Foster shows how Fugard reflects Shakespeare through both plot and theme. In your discussion, focus on theme.
6. Chapter 7 -- ...Or the Bible: Read "Araby" (http://fiction.eserver.org/short/araby.html). Discuss Biblical allusions
that Foster does not mention. Look at the example of the "two great jars." Be creative and imaginative in these
connections.
7. Chapter 8 -- Hanseldee and Greteldum: Think of a work of literature that reflects a fairy tale. Discuss the parallels.
Does it create irony or deepen appreciation?
8. Chapter 9 -- It's Greek to Me: Write a free verse poem derived or inspired by characters or situations from Greek
mythology. Be prepared to share your poem with the class. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mythology/section1.rhtml
9. Chapter 10 -- It's More Than Just Rain or Snow: Discuss the importance of weather in a specific literary work, not
in terms of plot.
*Interlude -- Does He Mean That
10. Chapter 11 --...More Than It's Gonna Hurt You: Concerning Violence: Present examples of the two kinds of
violence found in literature. Show how the effects are different.
11. Chapter 12 -- Is That a Symbol? Uses the process described on page 106 and investigate the symbolism of the fence
in "Araby." (Mangan's sister stands behind it.)
12. Chapter 13 -- It's All Political: Assume that Foster is right and "it is all political." Use his criteria to show that one
of the major works assigned to you sometime in your school career is political.
13. Chapter 14 -- Yes, She's a Christ Figure, Too: Apply the criteria on page 119 to a major character in a significant
literary work. Try to choose a character that will have many matches. This is a particularly apt tool for analyzing film -for example, Star Wars, Cool Hand Luke, Excalibur, Malcolm X, Braveheart, Spartacus, Gladiator and Ben-Hur.
Optional: Chapter 15 -- Flights of Fancy: Select a literary work in which flight signifies escape or freedom. Explain in
detail.
14. One of the three:
Chapter 16 -- It's All About Sex...
Chapter 17 -- ...Except the Sex
OKthe sex chapters. The key idea from this chapter is that "scenes in which sex is coded rather than explicit can work at
multiple levels and sometimes be more intense that literal depictions" (141). In other words, sex is often suggested with
much more art and effort than it is described, and, if the author is doing his job, it reflects and creates theme or character.
Choose a novel or movie in which sex is suggested, but not described, and discuss how the relationship is suggested and
how this implication affects the theme or develops characterization.
Chapter 18 -- If She Comes Up, It's Baptism: Think of a "baptism scene" from a significant literary work. How
was the character different after the experience? Discuss.
15. Chapter 19 -- Geography MattersDiscuss at least four different aspects of a specific literary work that Foster
would classify under "geography."
16. Chapter 20 -- ...So Does Season: Find a poem that mentions a specific season. Then discuss how the poet uses the
season in a meaningful, traditional, or unusual way. (Submit a copy of the poem with your analysis.)
17. Interlude -- One Story: Write your own definition for archetype. Then identify an archetypal story and apply it to a
literary work with which you are familiar.

18. Chapter 21 -- Marked for Greatness: Figure out Harry Potter's scar. If you aren't familiar with Harry Potter, select
another character with a physical imperfection and analyze its implications for characterization.
19.-20. Two of the five:
Chapter 22 -- He's Blind for a Reason, You Know
Chapter 23 -- It's Never Just Heart Disease...
Chapter 24 -- ...And Rarely Just Illness: Recall two characters who died of a disease in a literary work.
Consider how these deaths reflect the "principles governing the use of disease in literature" (215-217). Discuss the
effectiveness of the death as related to plot, theme, or symbolism.
Chapter 25 -- Don't Read with Your Eyes: After reading Chapter 25, choose a scene or episode from a novel,
play or epic written before the twentieth century. Contrast how it could be viewed by a reader from the twentyfirst century with how it might be viewed by a contemporary reader. Focus on specific assumptions that the author
makes, assumptions that would not make it in this century.
Chapter 26 -- Is He Serious? And Other Ironies: Select an ironic literary work and explain the multi-vocal
nature of the irony in the work.
21. Chapter 27 -- A Test Case: Read The Garden Party by Katherine Mansfield, the short story starting on page 245.
Complete the exercise on pages 265-266, following the directions exactly. Then compare your writing with the three
examples. How did you do? What does the essay that follows comparing Laura with Persephone add to your appreciation
of Mansfield's story?
**Optional: Envoi: Choose a motif not discussed in this book (as the horse reference on page 280) and note its
appearance in three or four different works. What does this idea seem to signify?
Third Assignment:
Choose ONE of the following novels. As you read, you should ANNOTATE/MARK passages for notes and
important/relevant material. This will help with comprehension now and recall when we begin school! Use the MAJOR
WORKS DATA SHEET to analyze book.
Things Fall Apart
Pride & Prejudice
Emma
The Invisible Man
Snow Falling on Cedars
Catch-22
The Poisonwood Bible
Life of Pi

Achebe, Chinua
Austen, Jane
Austen, Jane
Ellison, Ralph
Guterson, David
Heller, Joseph
Kingsolver, Barbara
Martel, Yann

Please email me if you have any questions!