SUMMER READING – ENGLISH IV, 2015-2016
The required reading for all students is John Knowles’s A Separate Peace, a beautiful, if tragic,
story of a young man’s entry into adulthood in the time of World War II at an old private school
in New England, unveiling the war at the bottom of our hearts, and the possibility of peace.
Please read the book carefully (in any print edition), which may mean reading it more than once.
First, you should make sure that you are ready to take a detailed test over the whole book within
the first week of class. The test will include short questions covering the characters, events,
important details of the story; short explanations of some of the most important passages; and a
longer essay on the book as a whole. We will spend only a few days in class discussing the book
before the test, without going through a careful analysis of the whole story.
Second, you must complete the following writing assignment, which comes in two parts, one
short, one long.
A. Short idea
In one sentence, answer the question: Why did Gene jounce the limb at the end of Chapter
Four?
B. Essay
In the last pages of the book, the narrator speaks of Phineas, referring to his “simplicity
and unity of character,” and again to his “harmonious and natural unity.” In an essay of
five paragraphs (or 2-3 pages), using at least three major scenes of Gene’s life with Phineas
in this story, explain what that “unity” is. In other words, What made Phineas so different
from everyone else, so beautiful?
OPTIONAL READING
In addition to A Separate Peace, you may turn in work on one of the following two books.
Optional Reading A: The Red Badge of Courage, by Stephen Crane. This classic novel from 1895
offers a vivid presentation of a young man’s cowardice, fear, and growing courage in the context
of the Civil War. Stephen Crane was born after the Civil War, and his novel is less about that war
itself than about the shift from childish ideals to real, mature movement in the world.
Read the novel and write the following two-part assignment:
A. Short Idea
Answer in one sentence: What was the most cowardly thing Henry Fleming does?
B. Essay or Story: choose one of the two options below.
1. Essay: Young Henry Fleming goes off to war to discover himself, but at first finds that
he is far weaker than he would have hoped. At the end of the story he has a kind of maturity
about him, and sees “that the world is a world for him.” In an essay of 2-3 pages, describe
the maturity he has reached by the end of the novel, and analyze what led him to that new
sense of self-possession.
2. Story: Imitating Stephen Crane as closely as possible, take one of Henry Fleming’s
moments in battle, or one of his encounters with the dead and the dying, and rewrite it in
your own image, depicting what you think you would have done if you were him. Your
story should be at least 3 pages in length.
OR Optional Reading B: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin. This 1968 novel is
considered one of the best fantasy novels of the twentieth century. Based in the fictional world of
Earthsea, it chronicles the foundational early years of one of the Archipelago’s greatest mages and
travelers, whose use-name is Sparrowhawk, whose true name is Ged. The tale of the brilliant young
mage of Gont and his hunting down of the Shadow, his teetering between the world of light and
the land of darkness and death, is the basis of many images still present in our thoughts today, and
continues to elicit questions in its readers about the real meaning of maturity and the power of
really being a man.
Read the novel and write the following two-part assignment:
A. Short Idea
Answer in one sentence: Why does the Shadow break into the world in Chapter Four?
B. Essay or Story: choose one of the two options below.
1. Essay: The story follows closely the development of Ged in relation to the Shadow, from
the moment it first sneaks into the corner of his Master’s room, until it is confronted fully
in the final chapter. In an essay of 2-3 pages, chart Ged’s various ways of engaging with
the Shadow, and explain how he faces it in the end. In your conclusion, explain in your
own words what you think this tale of Ged and the Shadow says about our own quests for
maturity.
2. Story: This is a story about names and the power of names. The protagonist has various
names: a birth-name given by his mother, a use-name given by the world, and a true-name
given by his first master. Imagine you are a mage of Earthsea, and write a story of at least
3 pages explaining your various names, their origin, their meaning, and their power. Imitate
Le Guin’s style as closely as you can.
All of your work should be typed, with one-inch margins, in Times New Roman at twelve points.
In summary: read A Separate Peace and do two-fold assignment; if you want, read The Red
Badge of Courage or A Wizard of Earthsea and do the two-fold assignment for it.