AP English Literature 2011 Summer Requirements
TO: The AP English Literature Class of 2011-2012
FROM: Mr. Day and Ms. Park
RE: A SUMMER READING LIST FOR THIS CLASS
Dear AP student:
We are looking forward to having you in our AP class next fall! Being in the middle of exam time right now, we know you are probably not too anxious to start right in on a reading list (although isn’t that part of the awesome leisure time of summer vacation!). But we would like to give you a list of three books we want you to read over the summer. After reading all three books, we would like you to write a paper which allows you an opportunity to analyze each book and relate each of them to the others.
The Books: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Paper Assignment:
There will be two options
OPTION ONE: Look up in your Essential Literary Terms book or some other reliable literary source the term STYLE. Examine the style of each author as it is used in the books you read and how that style is used to communicate the theme of the novel. In an essay compare and contrast the styles of each author as revealed in each novel and how each author uses style to communicate his/her theme.
OPTION TWO: Every author reveals something of his/her world/life view in their writings. Often that view includes a criticism of the society that the author is a part of. In an essay compare and contrast the social criticism found in each of the three novels read and how that criticism can lead to a theme statement for each novel.
Your paper should be typed, use proper MLA format (see OWL website or another reliable source for a review of correct formatting). The paper should use properly documented quotes from each of the novels. The paper should be 3 -5 pages long. Bring a hard copy to school on the first day of class, and be ready to submit it to turnitin.com after being given the class information on the first day of class
WHENEVER YOU DO THE READING (early summer or last minute just before school starts up again) we would suggest doing the paper soon after while things are fresh in your mind.
If you want to pre-read the other books we will study during the year, they will include Oedipus the King by Sophocles; Macbeth and Hamlet by Shakespeare; Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens; Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte; and Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.
Feel free to contact us over the summer if you have any questions.We check our school e-mail regularly (day@timothychristian.com) or (park@timothychristian.com ).
Have a wonderful and blessed summer!
Mr. Day & Ms. Park