WARREN HILLS REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT
Warren Hills Regional High School
2014 Required English Language Arts Summer Assignment
Grade 11, Honors English III (British Literature)
1.
Choose one of the following two nineteenth-century novels written by British authors and read it during the summer 2013 break from school:
Dracula, by Bram Stoker: This well-known novel – whose main character has inspired countless modern-day vampire stories, such as the Twilight book/movie series and TV’s The Vampire Diaries – follows the dangerous,
“undead” Count Dracula’s move from his castle in Transylvania to urban
London. The author addresses society’s concerns as the nineteenth century ends and the 20 th century begins: advances in scientific achievement, technological progress and its dehumanizing effects, socially enforced malefemale roles, immigration’s impact on a culture, and the effects of abandoning tradition.
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte: This novel is considered one of the most haunting stories of love and romance ever penned in the English language. When it was released in 1847, readers criticized Wuthering Heights as shocking due to its exploration of human cruelty and passionate love. The author explores themes involving the potential destructiveness of allconsuming romance and the superficiality of social classes.
2.
Both of these works fall under the “gothic novel” genre. Before you begin reading either novel, be sure to study the “Gothic Fiction” handout (attached) to understand the 10 elements that make a story “gothic.”
3.
After reading the novel you selected, create a formal essay of at least five paragraphs explaining why literary critics classify the novel as a gothic novel. Use the elements listed in the “Gothic Fiction” handout to back up your arguments. The assignment as a whole will be worth 50 points.
4.
The essay is due the first day of school for the 2014-2015 school year. Please follow the rubric (see next page) and be sure to attach a copy of the rubric to the front of the essay before handing it in to your teacher. If there are any questions on the summer assignment, please contact Mr. Dennison, Supervisor of English and
Social Studies, at DennisonK@warrenhills.org.

STUDENT NAME: _____________________________________________ BLOCK: ____________
PLEASE ATTACH THIS SHEET TO THE FRONT OF YOUR PAPER.
Element Explanation No Sort of Yes
Modern
Language
Association
Layout
Identifying
Gothic
Elements
This formal essay is typed in 12-point Times
New Roman font, is double-spaced, contains a four-line MLA heading, has a title, is formatted to display page numbers, and is stapled to this rubric. The version of the novel read by the student should be listed on a Works Cited page, along with any other sources quoted in the essay.
(Only the novel is required to appear on the
Works Cited page; no outside sources need be mentioned in the essay.)
The essay clearly shows that the novel (either
Dracula or Wuthering Heights ) matches up with at least six gothic elements found in the “Gothic
Fiction” handout.
0
0
10
10
Textual
References
Mechanics
Organization
The essay refers to specific sections/passages and pages in the novel when identifying each of the six gothic elements.
The essay contains no errors in grammar, syntax, spelling, etc. One point will be removed for each error, up to no more than 10 points.
0
0
Overall, this five-paragraph (or longer) essay is well organized, stays on topic, and features welldeveloped ideas. It contains strong voice and sophisticated tone.
0
10
10
10

The concept of the gothic novel was invented almost singlehandedly by Horace Walpole, whose The
Castle of Otranto (1764) contains essentially all the elements that constitute the genre. Walpole's novel was imitated not only in the 18 th
century and not only in the novel form, but it has influenced the novel, the short story, poetry, and even filmmaking up to the present day. Gothic novels were most popular as an English-language literary genre in the 19 th century (1800s) and the late 18 th century (late 1700s).
Ten gothic elements are listed below. Usually, at least six of these characteristics/elements can be found in a typical gothic novel. A small percentage of gothic fiction manages to reflect all 10 elements.
1. Setting in a castle/mansion.
The action takes place in and around an old castle or mansion, sometimes seemingly abandoned, sometimes occupied. The building often contains secret passages, trap doors, secret rooms, dark or hidden staircases, and possibly ruined sections. It may be near or connected to caves, which lend their own haunting flavor with their branching, claustrophobia, and mystery.
2. An atmosphere of mystery and suspense.
The work is pervaded by a threatening feeling, a fear enhanced by the unknown. Often the plot itself is built around a mystery (such as unknown parentage), a disappearance, a murder, or some other inexplicable event. Elements 3, 4, and 5 below contribute to this atmosphere.
3. An ancient prophecy is connected with the castle/mansion or its inhabitants (either former or present). The prophecy is usually obscure, partial, or confusing. "What could it mean?" In more watered down modern examples, this may amount to merely a legend: "It's said that the ghost of old man Krebs still wanders these halls."
4. Omens, portents, visions.
A character may experience a disturbing dream, vision, or other phenomenon that is seen as a portent of coming events. For example, if the statue of the lord of the manor falls over, it may portend his death. In modern fiction, a character might see something (a shadowy figure stabbing another shadowy figure) and think that it was a dream. This might be thought of as an "imitation vision."
5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events.
Dramatic, amazing events occur, such as ghosts or giants walking, or inanimate objects (such as a suit of armor or painting) coming to life. In some works, the events are ultimately given a natural explanation, while in others the events are truly supernatural. A doppelganger sometimes appears; this is the ghostly double or twin of a living person.
6. High, even overwrought emotion.
The narration may be highly sentimental, and the characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, and (especially) terror. Characters suffer from raw nerves and a feeling of impending doom. Crying and emotional speeches are frequent. Breathlessness and panic are common.
7. Women in distress.
As an appeal to the pathos and sympathy of the reader, the female characters often face events that leave them fainting, terrified, screaming, and/or sobbing. A lonely, pensive, and oppressed heroine is often the central figure of the novel, so her sufferings are even more pronounced and the focus of attention. The women suffer all the more because they are often abandoned or left alone (either on purpose or by accident), and they have no protector at times.
(over)

Page 2 – gothic fiction
8. Women threatened by a powerful, impulsive, tyrannical male.
One or more male characters have the power – as king, lord of the manor, father, or guardian – to demand that one or more of the female characters do something intolerable. The woman may be commanded to marry someone she does not love (it may even be the powerful male himself), or commit a crime.
9. The metonymy of gloom and horror.
Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which something
(like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). For example, the film industry likes to use metonymy as quick shorthand, so we often notice that it is raining in funeral scenes. Note that the following metonymies for "doom and gloom" all suggest some element of mystery, danger, or the supernatural. wind, especially howling doors grating on rusty hinges footsteps approaching lights in abandoned rooms characters trapped in a room ruins of buildings thunder and lightning rain, especially blowing sighs, moans, howls, eerie sounds clanking chains gusts of wind blowing out lights doors suddenly slamming shut baying of distant dogs (or wolves) crazed laughter
10. The vocabulary of the gothic.
The constant use of the appropriate vocabulary set creates the atmosphere of the gothic. Here is an example of some of the words (in three categories) that help make up the vocabulary of the gothic in The Castle of Otranto :

Mystery: diabolical, enchantment, ghost, goblins, haunted, infernal, magic, magician, miracle, necromancer, omens, ominous, portent, preternatural, prodigy, prophecy, secret, sorcerer, spectre, spirits, strangeness, talisman, vision

Fear, terror, or sorrow: afflicted, affliction, agony, anguish, apprehensions, apprehensive, commiseration, concern, despair, dismal, dismay, dread, dreaded, dreading, fearing, frantic, fright, frightened, grief, hopeless, horrid, horror, lamentable, melancholy, miserable, mournfully, panic, sadly, scared, shrieks, sorrow, sympathy, tears, terrible, terrified, terror, unhappy, wretched

Surprise: alarm, amazement, astonished, astonishment, shocking, staring, surprise, surprised, thunderstruck, wonder
SOURCES : Robert Harris, Virtual Salt , http://www.virtualsalt.com, 2009
Susan Woodward, LitPlan Teacher Pack for The Picture of Dorian Gray
, Teacher’s Pet
Publications, 2008, Page 77