GOOD HOPE COUNTRY DAY SUMMER READING, 2015 - 2016
Eleventh Grade
English
Assignment #1 - Read the article: “HOW TO MARK A BOOK” by Mortimer J. Adler, Ph.D.
Assignment #2 –
 Choose 1 title from non-fiction options.
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Complete the Non-fiction Major Works Data Sheet AND annotate the text.
Completing the Major Work Data Sheet for Non-fiction (100 points):
a. The Major Works Data Sheet, which is a 100 POINT class work/homework
grade, is DUE on the FIRST DAY of class. NO EXCEPTIONS! Late assignments
will be penalized 10 points PER DAY for each day it is late.
b. Please correctly and completely fill out all the boxes on the Major Works
Data Sheet for your selected non-fiction selection.
c. Before you begin reading, look over the Major Works Data Sheet to see what
type of information you can already fill in. Then, notice what types of
information you will need to complete as you begin the book or after you
finish the book.
d. As you are reading, identify and fill in the information for the boxes that ask
you about style and important quotes/passages.
e. After you have finished reading, be sure that you have completed each part
of the chart (Go back and respond to the section regarding the last chapter of
the book).
f. Make certain that wherever you are asked to include text quotations and
page numbers, you do so. You will lose points for failing to use quotes and
show text citations.
g. Please do not throw this together at the last minute. Do not copy information
from others—from either online or from other students in the class. I want
to know what you think, not what others think!
Assignment #3 – Choose 1 title from the fiction options. Click on the link to fill out the
form. Fill out and submit.
http://goo.gl/forms/hmPuDA5PMa
I’ve also sent a link to your ghcdsstudent account – You can access form there too.
Non-Fiction Options
IN COLD BLOOD, Truman Capote
On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter
family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces.
There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.
As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture,
trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing
empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights
into the nature of American violence.
MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL, John Berendt
Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2,
1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath
reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded
squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a
thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully
interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of
the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.
THE RIGHT STUFF, Tom Wolfe
Tom Wolfe began The Right Stuff at a time when it was unfashionable to contemplate
American heroism. Nixon had left the White House in disgrace, the nation was reeling from
the catastrophe of Vietnam, and in 1979--the year the book appeared--Americans were
being held hostage by Iranian militants. Yet it was exactly the anachronistic courage of his
subjects that captivated Wolfe. In his foreword, he notes that as late as 1970, almost one in
four career Navy pilots died in accidents. "The Right Stuff," he explains, "became a story of
why men were willing--willing?--delighted!--to take on such odds in this, an era literary
people had long since characterized as the age of the anti-hero."
THE GLASS CASTLE, Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both
their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the
beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the
mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children's
imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly.
Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn't stand the responsibility of providing for
her family, called herself an "excitement addict." Cooking a meal that would be consumed
in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.
Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls
retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town -- and the family -- Rex Walls had done
everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for
days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had
to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents' betrayals
and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.
What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity
and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and
generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of
unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery
determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.
Fiction Options
THE SECRET HISTORY, Donna Tartt
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric
misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world
away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the
boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they
discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.
LAST NIGHT IN TWISTED RIVER, John Irving
In 1954, in the cookhouse of a logging and sawmill settlement in northern New Hampshire,
an anxious twelve-year-old boy mistakes the local constable’s girlfriend for a bear. Both the
twelve-year-old and his father become fugitives, forced to run from Coos County—to
Boston, to southern Vermont, to Toronto—pursued by the implacable constable. Their lone
protector is a fiercely libertarian logger, once a river driver, who befriends them. In a story
spanning five decades, Last Night in Twisted River depicts the recent half-century in the
United States as “a living replica of Coos County, where lethal hatreds were generally
permitted to run their course.” What further distinguishes Last Night in Twisted River is the
author’s unmistakable voice—the inimitable voice of an accomplished storyteller.
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, Arthur Golden
Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly
immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing
village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from
her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation
as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate
makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a
jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it.
In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's
virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most
powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of
fiction—at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful—and completely unforgettable.
EMPIRE FALLS, Richard Russo
Dexter County, Maine, and specifically the town of Empire Falls, has seen better days, and
for decades, in fact, only a succession from bad to worse. One by one, its logging and textile
enterprises have gone belly-up, and the once vast holdings of the Whiting clan (presided
over by the last scion’s widow) now mostly amount to decrepit real estate. The working
classes, meanwhile, continue to eke out whatever meager promise isn’t already boarded up.
Miles Roby gazes over this ruined kingdom from the Empire Grill, an opportunity of his
youth that has become the albatross of his daily and future life. Called back from college
and set to work by family obligations—his mother ailing, his father a loose cannon—Miles
never left home again. Even so, his own obligations are manifold: a pending divorce; a
troubled younger brother; and, not least, a peculiar partnership in the failing grill with
none other than Mrs. Whiting. All of these, though, are offset by his daughter, Tick, whom
he guides gently and proudly through the tribulations of adolescence.
A decent man encircled by history and dreams, by echoing churches and abandoned mills,
by the comforts and feuds provided by lifelong friends and neighbors, Miles is also a
patient, knowing guide to the rich, hardscrabble nature of Empire Falls: fathers and sons
and daughters, living and dead, rich and poor alike. Shot through with the mysteries of
generations and the shattering visitations of the nation at large, it is a social novel of
panoramic ambition, yet at the same time achingly personal. In the end, Empire Falls
reveals our worst and best instincts, both our most appalling nightmares and our simplest
hopes, with all the vision, grace and humanity of truly epic storytelling.
Assignment #1
How to Mark a Book
By Mortimer J. Adler, Ph.D.
From The Saturday Review of Literature, July 6, 1941
You know you have to read "between the lines" to get the most out of anything. I want to
persuade you to do something equally important in the course of your reading. I want to persuade
you to write between the lines. Unless you do, you are not likely to do the most efficient kind of
reading.
I contend, quite bluntly, that marking up a book is not an act of mutilation but of love. You
shouldn't mark up a book which isn't yours.
Librarians (or your friends) who lend you books expect you to keep them clean, and you should.
If you decide that I am right about the usefulness of marking books, you will have to buy them.
Most of the world's great books are available today, in reprint editions.
There are two ways in which one can own a book. The first is the property right you establish by
paying for it, just as you pay for clothes and furniture. But this act of purchase is only the prelude
to possession. Full ownership comes only when you have made it a part of yourself, and the best
way to make yourself a part of it is by writing in it. An illustration may make the point clear.
You buy a beefsteak and transfer it from the butcher's icebox to your own. But you do not own
the beefsteak in the most important sense until you consume it and get it into your bloodstream. I
am arguing that books, too, must be absorbed in your blood stream to do you any good.
Confusion about what it means to "own" a book leads people to a false reverence for paper,
binding, and type -- a respect for the physical thing -- the craft of the printer rather than the
genius of the author. They forget that it is possible for a man to acquire the idea, to possess the
beauty, which a great book contains, without staking his claim by pasting his bookplate inside
the cover. Having a fine library doesn't prove that its owner has a mind enriched by books; it
proves nothing more than that he, his father, or his wife, was rich enough to buy them.
There are three kinds of book owners. The first has all the standard sets and best sellers -unread, untouched. (This deluded individual owns woodpulp and ink, not books.) The second has
a great many books -- a few of them read through, most of them dipped into, but all of them as
clean and shiny as the day they were bought. (This person would probably like to make books his
own, but is restrained by a false respect for their physical appearance.) The third has a few books
or many -- every one of them dog-eared and dilapidated, shaken and loosened by continual use,
marked and scribbled in from front to back. (This man owns books.)
Is it false respect, you may ask, to preserve intact and unblemished a beautifully printed book, an
elegantly bound edition? Of course not. I'd no more scribble all over a first edition of 'Paradise
Lost' than I'd give my baby a set of crayons and an original Rembrandt. I wouldn't mark up a
painting or a statue. Its soul, so to speak, is inseparable from its body. And the beauty of a rare
edition or of a richly manufactured volume is like that of a painting or a statue.
But the soul of a book "can" be separate from its body. A book is more like the score of a piece
of music than it is like a painting. No great musician confuses a symphony with the printed
sheets of music. Arturo Toscanini reveres Brahms, but Toscanini's score of the G minor
Symphony is so thoroughly marked up that no one but the maestro himself can read it. The
reason why a great conductor makes notations on his musical scores -- marks them up again and
again each time he returns to study them--is the reason why you should mark your books. If your
respect for magnificent binding or typography gets in the way, buy yourself a cheap edition and
pay your respects to the author.
Why is marking up a book indispensable to reading? First, it keeps you awake. (And I don't
mean merely conscious; I mean awake.) In the second place; reading, if it is active, is thinking,
and thinking tends to express itself in words, spoken or written. The marked book is usually the
thought-through book. Finally, writing helps you remember the thoughts you had, or the thoughts
the author expressed. Let me develop these three points.
If reading is to accomplish anything more than passing time, it must be active. You can't let your
eyes glide across the lines of a book and come up with an understanding of what you have read.
Now an ordinary piece of light fiction, like, say, Gone with the Wind, doesn't require the most
active kind of reading. The books you read for pleasure can be read in a state of relaxation, and
nothing is lost. But a great book, rich in ideas and beauty, a book that raises and tries to answer
great fundamental questions, demands the most active reading of which you are capable. You
don't absorb the ideas of John Dewey the way you absorb the crooning of Mr. Vallee. You have
to reach for them. That you cannot do while you're asleep.
If, when you've finished reading a book, the pages are filled with your notes, you know that you
read actively. The most famous "active" reader of great books I know is President Hutchins, of
the University of Chicago. He also has the hardest schedule of business activities of any man I
know. He invariably reads with a pencil, and sometimes, when he picks up a book and pencil in
the evening, he finds himself, instead of making intelligent notes, drawing what he calls 'caviar
factories' on the margins. When that happens, he puts the book down. He knows he's too tired to
read, and he's just wasting time.
But, you may ask, why is writing necessary? Well, the physical act of writing, with your own
hand, brings words and sentences more sharply before your mind and preserves them better in
your memory. To set down your reaction to important words and sentences you have read, and
the questions they have raised in your mind, is to preserve those reactions and sharpen those
questions.
Even if you wrote on a scratch pad, and threw the paper away when you had finished writing,
your grasp of the book would be surer. But you don't have to throw the paper away. The margins
(top as bottom, and well as side), the end-papers, the very space between the lines, are all
available. They aren't sacred. And, best of all, your marks and notes become an integral part of
the book and stay there forever. You can pick up the book the following week or year, and there
are all your points of agreement, disagreement, doubt, and inquiry. It's like resuming an
interrupted conversation with the advantage of being able to pick up where you left off.
And that is exactly what reading a book should be: a conversation between you and the author.
Presumably he knows more about the subject than you do; naturally, you'll have the proper
humility as you approach him. But don't let anybody tell you that a reader is supposed to be
solely on the receiving end. Understanding is a two-way operation; learning doesn't consist in
being an empty receptacle. The learner has to question himself and question the teacher. He even
has to argue with the teacher, once he understands what the teacher is saying. And marking a
book is literally an expression of differences, or agreements of opinion, with the author.
There are all kinds of devices for marking a book intelligently and fruitfully. Here's the way I do
it:
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Underlining (or highlighting): of major points, of important or forceful statements.
Vertical lines at the margin: to emphasize a statement already underlined.
Star, asterisk, or other doo-dad at the margin: to be used sparingly, to emphasize the
ten or twenty most important statements in the book. (You may want to fold the bottom
comer of each page on which you use such marks. It won't hurt the sturdy paper on which
most modern books are printed, and you will be able take the book off the shelf at any
time and, by opening it at the folded-corner page, refresh your recollection of the book.)
Numbers in the margin: to indicate the sequence of points the author makes in
developing a single argument.
Numbers of other pages in the margin: to indicate where else in the book the author
made points relevant to the point marked; to tie up the ideas in a book, which, though
they may be separated by many pages, belong together.
Circling or highlighting of key words or phrases.
Writing in the margin, or at the top or bottom of the page, for the sake of: recording
questions (and perhaps answers) which a passage raised in your mind; reducing a
complicated discussion to a simple statement; recording the sequence of major points
right through the books. I use the end-papers at the back of the book to make a personal
index of the author's points in the order of their appearance.
The front end-papers are to me the most important. Some people reserve them for a fancy
bookplate. I reserve them for fancy thinking. After I have finished reading the book and making
my personal index on the back end-papers, I turn to the front and try to outline the book, not
page by page or point by point (I've already done that at the back), but as an integrated structure,
with a basic unity and an order of parts. This outline is, to me, the measure of my understanding
of the work.
If you're a die-hard anti-book-marker, you may object that the margins, the space between the
lines, and the end-papers don't give you room enough. All right. How about using a scratch pad
slightly smaller than the page-size of the book -- so that the edges of the sheets won't protrude?
Make your index, outlines and even your notes on the pad, and then insert these sheets
permanently inside the front and back covers of the book.
Or, you may say that this business of marking books is going to slow up your reading. It
probably will. That's one of the reasons for doing it. Most of us have been taken in by the notion
that speed of reading is a measure of our intelligence. There is no such thing as the right speed
for intelligent reading. Some things should be read quickly and effortlessly and some should be
read slowly and even laboriously. The sign of intelligence in reading is the ability to read
different things differently according to their worth. In the case of good books, the point is not to
see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through you -- how
many you can make your own. A few friends are better than a thousand acquaintances. If this be
your aim, as it should be, you will not be impatient if it takes more time and effort to read a great
book than it does a newspaper.
You may have one final objection to marking books. You can't lend them to your friends because
nobody else can read them without being distracted by your notes. Furthermore, you won't want
to lend them because a marked copy is kind of an intellectual diary, and lending it is almost like
giving your mind away.
If your friend wishes to read your Plutarch's Lives, Shakespeare, or The Federalist Papers, tell
him gently but firmly, to buy a copy. You will lend him your car or your coat -- but your books
are as much a part of you as your head or your heart.
Tips for Annotating a Text
Annotation is a key component of close reading. Since we will annotate texts all year, you need
to develop a system that works for you (within the following guidelines). Effective annotating is
both economical and consistent. The techniques are almost limitless. Use any combination of
the following:
Make brief comments in the margins. Use any white space available - inside cover, random
blank pages
Make brief comments between or within lines of the text. Do not be afraid to mark within the
text itself. In fact, you must.
Circle or put boxes, triangles, or clouds around words or phrases.
Use abbreviations or symbols - brackets, stars, exclamation points, question marks, numbers,
etc.
Connect words, phrases, ideas, circles, boxes, etc. with lines or arrows.
*Underline – CAUTION: Use this method sparingly. Underline only a few words. Always
combine with another method such as comment. Never underline an entire passage. Doing so
takes too much time and loses effectiveness. If you wish to mark an entire paragraph or passage,
draw a line down the margin or use brackets.
*Highlight – See underline. You cannot write with a highlighter anyway.
Create your own code. Use the color coding system.
Use post-it notes only if you have exhausted all available space (unlikely).
Close Reading:
What should you annotate? Again, the possibilities are limitless. Keep in mind the reasons we
annotate. (Reread the second paragraph of this letter.) Your annotations must include comments.
I want to see evidence of thinking.
Have a conversation with the text. Talk back to it.
Ask questions (essential to active reading).
Comment on the actions or development of a character. Does the character change? Why?
How? the result?
Comment on something that intrigues, impresses, amuses, shocks, puzzles, disturbs, repulses,
aggravates, etc.
Comment on lines / quotations you think are especially significant, powerful, or meaningful.
Express agreement or disagreement.
Summarize key events. Make predictions. Use the space at the end or beginning of chapters.
Connect ideas to each other or to other texts.
Note if you experience an epiphany.
Note anything you would like to discuss or do not understand.
Note how the author uses language. Note the significance if you can.
 effects of word choice (diction) or sentence structure or type (syntax)
 point of view / effect reliability of narrator
 repetition of words, phrases, actions, events - patterns motifs or cluster ideas
 narrative pace / time / order of sequence of events tone / mood
 irony*** imagery
 contrasts / contradictions / juxtapositions / shifts themes
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allusions setting / historical period
any other figure of speech or literary device symbols
The most common complaint about annotating is that it slows down your reading. Yes, it does.
That’s the point. If annotating as you read annoys you, read a chapter, then go back and annotate.
Reading a text a second time is preferable anyway.
Guide for color coding annotations
Color coding your annotations will help you locate specific passages in a text more
efficiently. It may take a little more time but the payoff will be great. I also suggest a short
summary at the end of each chapter or section. Highlight for items that are listed on the
bookmark for each title using the following color coding:
Characters
Symbols/motifs
Imagery/figurative language
Irony
Themes
Miscellaneous
yellow
pink
green
orange
blue
purple
Assignment #2
Major Works Data Sheet
Major Works Data Sheet (MWDS)
The MWDS sheet is used in English courses throughout the nation, and while different
schools may make minor modifications, the form includes the information most essential to
a thorough analysis and understanding of the novel. You will complete quite a few MWD
sheets during your time in this class--so it's well worth learning how to fill out the sheets
correctly! Remember, online notes – like Cliffs Notes or Spark Notes - are not your
friend. It's no different than copying a friend's homework--if you don't do the work and
learn the material on your own, you'll fail the test every time. It's fine to use Cliffs Notes as
a resource, but you need to do the legwork to complete the MWDS on your own. Let's take
a look at the MWDS, page by page.
Page One: Plot Summary, Overview, & Background
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The title and author are located easily enough. Be sure that you put the original date
of publication. The copy in your hands may have been printed in 2002, but that
doesn't mean the book was published in 2002!!! Genre may be more difficult for
some of you if you've not had an advanced English class in the past. If you need help
understanding genre here is a little insight.
Genre
There are many different types of literary genres. The most common are listed below.
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Autobiography
Biography
Fairy Tale
Fantasy
Folktales
Historical Fiction
Mystery
Myths & Legends
Nonfiction
Poetry
Science Fiction
Short Stories
We can also include other genres that are perhaps not so common or widely known, such
as the Bildungsroman. It's very difficult to make a list of genres because "genre" is a farreaching term. If I were to make a list of categories for students, there are lots of different
categories I could apply, and all of them would be correct.
So--when your teacher asks you to classify a work, take it slow. Begin with the three main
genres. Is the work poetry, prose, or nonfiction?
Next, begin trying to break the work down into other categories. Is the work set in a
certain time period? Perhaps it's historical fiction. Does it center on a specific type of
character, like a slave narrative?
Generally, if the novel has a very specific genre (Bildungsroman, satire, etc.), your teacher
will let you know (or guide you to that conclusion). However, you should be able to
identify basic genres like those in the list above on your own.
Historical Information - Please understand that this does not require a one-sentence
answer ("This book is set during World War II.") Is there historical significance? This
section exists to help provide context for the novel so you more fully understand the
work. For example, in Summer of My German Soldier, a novel by Bette Greene, the main
character lives in the United States during World War II. The plot centers around the
character's interaction with a prisoner from a US internment camp. Therefore, it's
historically significant that the US had internment camps, and that you know some
background on these camps. Who was imprisoned? Why? What were the conditions of
their internment? To demonstrate the point further, did you know that over 120,000
Japanese Americans were imprisoned in America during the war? We all know about the
German prison camps, but very few people are aware that we did something similar here in
the US! Reading the novel with this knowledge can change your perception.
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Biographical Information - Again, only include information that's significant. This
is not a place to list the author's date of birth and/or date of death and nothing
else. What you're looking for is an explanation of why this author wrote this
book. Did the author grow up in a town similar to the novel's setting? Do they share
traits with a character?
Characteristics of the genre - First, be sure that you understand the meaning of
genre (Refer to the list above and do a little research). You should also be aware
that a novel may fit into more than one genre. Provide a definition of the
genre(s). Knowing the characteristics helps you determine whether or not the novel
is a good example of the genre.
Style, Plot Summary, and Quotes
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Style Description - Step away from the Cliffs Notes. Provide a description of the
author's style in your own words. This is important--style is subjective. Different
people may see different things! A few things to look for include word choice,
sentence structure, formal vs. informal writing, use of literary devices...you get the
point.
Examples - For each of the style traits (you should have named 3 or more), you
should provide a specific example from the book, with page numbers.
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Plot summary - Please don't assume your teacher is a fool. We know about Cliffs
Notes, Barron's, Spark Notes, and so on. Write a plot summary in your own words. A
plot summary doesn't have to be flowery or full of "SAT words." The goal is to help
condense the novel to its salient points, allowing you to review easily in the spring.
Setting, Themes, & Symbols
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Setting - Simply enough, time and place. Be as specific as you can be.
Symbols - Include 3 to 5 symbols present in the novel. Don't know what symbols
are/how to find them? Before you start Googling "symbols in ___," click to learn
more about identifying symbolism.
Point of View & Purpose- The first person point of view (I, we) always puts the
most focus on the speaker, or writer, and thus is effective for essays interested in
the depiction of personal experience. The second person point of view (you,
yours) puts the reader in the foreground of the writer-reader exchange. The third
person point of view (he, she, one) is most commonly used for expository writing,
technical writing, and any other sort of writing that has a business-minded or
persuasive intention or purpose. In the third person, the focus shifts away from the
writer to the subject.
Purpose – inform, persuade, entertain
Irony - The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; a statement
or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of
the idea. Verbal irony is a trope in which the intended meaning of a statement
differs from the meaning that the words appear to express. Situational irony
involves an incongruity between what is expected or intended and what actually
occurs. Dramatic irony is an effect produced by a narrative in which the audience
knows more about present or future circumstances than a character in the story.
Conflicts – Internal/External
Allusions - a reference in a literary work to a person, place, or thing in history or
another work of literature. Allusions are often indirect or brief references to wellknown characters or events. Allusions are often used to summarize broad, complex
ideas or emotions in one quick, powerful image. For example, to communicate the
idea of self-sacrifice one may refer to Jesus, as part of Jesus' story portrays him
dying on the cross in order to save mankind (Matthew 27:45-56).
Significance of the opening/closing scenes - Please don't fill in these boxes with
simplistic answers like "The first chapter is where we meet the main character and
the setting is identified." While that may be true, it's also true for almost every other
novel throughout the history of literature. It's also not a significant revelation. Try
to tie the opening scene to something else. Is there foreshadowing? Is the theme
introduced in some way? The same follows for the closing scene. "They all lived
happily ever after" is not a valid answer. Really think about why the author chose
this ending over another ending.
Possible themes - Again--no cheating. Come up with theme ideas on your
own. Don't know what theme is?
Memorable Quotes - Again, put the Cliffs Notes down. Choose your own significant
quotes. This is not a place to list quotes that you thought were funny or
entertaining. You're looking for quotes that demonstrate something about the
work. Why would a particular quote be significant? Perhaps it illustrates
symbolism or helps demonstrate the theme of the work. Plot points do not count as
significant quotes!!!
Characters
This section is best completed as you read the novel. Failing to do so can mean that you
forget to include minor characters.
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Role - Generally, the character's role is a very basic description. Albus Dumbledore
is the headmaster of Hogwarts.
Significance - What value does the character have--does he serve as an example of
the theme?
Adjectives - If you had to choose a single word to describe a character, what would it
be? Include 3 to 5, please.