Summer Reading Assignment: AP Literature and Composition
There are several assignments for you to complete during the summer months. You do
not have to complete the assignments in order. Please email Mrs. Goodwin or Mrs.
Dossett if you have questions concerning the summer reading, as we will be checking
our email periodically over the summer. DO NOT wait until the last minute to email, as
we will not be checking email daily.
Mrs. Goodwin’s email address is cgoodwin@bcbe.org
Mrs. Dossett’s email address is rdossett@bcbe.org
Assignment One: Create a Literary Terms Dictionary
This must be placed in a 3 ring binder that you will bring to class on the first day of
school. We will be using this binder to organize all your materials for class in order to
prepare you to study for the AP test. See the website for words:
a. http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/
Please don’t just cut and paste the definitions. Put them in your own words so you will
understand their meaning. Make sure to leave space between each term for notes you’ll
take in class. If you do not have Internet access at home, go to the library. They have
them there! Shocking, I know.
Assignment Two: Literary Merit Novel
You are to choose a novel that you actually WANT to read. It may be one that has been
waiting on your bookshelf for summer vacation or one that you just happened across
recently. It should be a book you have decided to read for enjoyment. Read the book.
Enjoy it. Then write a short reflection (minimum one page-handwritten) discussing
whether your book has “literary merit” or not. It is ok if it doesn’t. You should use
specific proof and cited passages from your book in your writing. Obviously, Dr. Seuss
isn’t even an option so don’t try to get “cute” with this assignment. I will NOT provide
suggestions for this because I want you to pick…not me.
Definition of literary merit is “a quality of written work, generally applied to the fiction
genre. This is a piece that is considered a work of art and can be discussed on various
levels. The work goes beyond just an entertaining piece of literature. These books are
often part of the English canon, or works that will soon be a part of the canon.
Nevertheless, it is impossible to define the exact formula that a work must follow to be
considered of literary merit. While it is subjective, a book of literary merit contributes
significantly to the literary work of a culture and is appreciated for its aesthetic values.”
--only restriction: It CANNOT be a novel/play that was previously assigned in an English
class. I do know what you have read in the past.
Assignment Three: The Road by Cormac McCarthy
-all work must be handwritten in your own handwriting, written in black ink on
notebook paper. Please write only on the front of your paper.
1. Read the Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Read five pages
a day and you will know the book well.
2. As you read, highlight examples of resilience in green, highlight any mention of fire in
orange, highlight in yellow conflicts between the father and the son, highlight in pink any
information about the boy’s biological mom and his adoptive mother and father,
highlight in blue any clues about what happened to the earth.
3. Answer the following questions. All answers must be written in your own
handwriting (NOT TYPED) and turned in on the first day of class.
4. Compose the essay.
Questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Cormac McCarthy has an unmistakable prose style. What do you see as the most distinctive
features of that style?
How is the writing in The Road in some ways more like poetry than narrative prose?
Why do you think McCarthy has chosen not to give his characters names?
How do the generic labels of “the man” and “the boy” affect the way in which readers relate to
them?
What do you find to be the most horrifying features of this world and the survivors who inhabit it?
McCarthy doesn’t make explicit what kind of catastrophe has ruined the earth and destroyed
human civilization, but what might be suggested by the many descriptions of a scorched
landscape covered in ash?
What is implied by the father’s statement that, “On this road there are no godspoke men. They are
gone and I am left and they have taken with them the world”?
As the father is dying, he tells his son he must go on in order to “carry the fire.” When the boy asks
if the fire is real, the father says, “It’s inside you. It was always there. I can see it” (pg. 279). What
is this fire and how is the boy supposed to carry it?
Why is it so crucial that they not let “the fire” die?
The man and the boy think of themselves as the “good guys.” In what ways are they like and
unlike the “bad guys” they encounter?
What do you think McCarthy is suggesting in the scenes in which the boy begs his father to be
merciful to the strangers they encounter on the road?
The Road takes the form of a classic journey story—a form that dates back to Homer’s The
Odyssey. To what destination are the man and the boy journeying and why?
McCarthy’s work often dramatizes the opposition between good and evil, with evil sometimes
emerging triumphantly. What does The Road ultimately suggest about good and evil? Which
force seems to have greater power in the novel?
What makes the relationship between the boy and his father so powerful and poignant?
Discuss how much the son completely trusts his father. Use and cite at least three examples from
the last fifty pages of the book.
Discuss the reversal in the parent/child roles near the end of the novel.
Discuss the nature of the conflicts that arise between the father and the son. What does the father
learn from these conflicts?
What is revealed about the boy when he makes his decision to go with the man and his family at
the end of the novel?
What are at least two implications at the end of the novel that the world and mankind may survive
and even thrive?
Compare and contrast the boy’s biological mom and his adoptive mom?
Essay:
Works of literature either challenge or confirm our beliefs. Like other experiences we
have in life, the experience of reading literature unfolds moment by moment, both
intellectually and emotionally. Hopefully, we will have a reaction to literature that
causes us to think deeply about life and relationships and decisions and consequences.
As you read The Road, think about all the issues that you confront in the book (life, death,
survival, parent/child relationships, resilience, trust, love, violence, revenge, etc.). What
beliefs of yours were challenged? What beliefs of yours were confirmed?
In a thoughtful, original, and carefully crafted essay, discuss how The Road challenged or
confirmed a present understanding or personal belief of yours.
Consider these questions as you plan and write your paper:
Challenges:




What previously held belief of yours does the book open up for fresh examination?
How does the book challenge your belief?
What justifies this challenge?
Did the book cause you to change your beliefs? How? Why?
Confirmations:




What belief does this book confirm?
How does the story extend of deepen your knowledge about this belief?
What general truth does the book confirm about your belief?
Would people be better off if they were aware of this belief?
Things to Note When Writing the Essay:
1. This essay must be handwritten. No typed essays will be accepted.
2. Write your essay on loose-leaf paper and staple to this packet.
3. Your paper must be written in black ink and on the front of your paper only.
4. Your paper should not be similar to any other student’s paper (will result in an
automatic zero for both parties).
5. Introduction—include an attention grabber and an excellent thesis statement.
6. 3 body paragraphs—discuss your personal beliefs about life and relationships
that are confirmed or challenged. You must back your assertions with specific
examples and evidence from the book. Please use direct quotes and internal
citations.
7. Conclusion—bring your paper full circle.
Novels/Plays Covered during the year: (this is for those of you who would want to
purchase the books ahead of time)—great websites to order from are www.half.com and
www.abebooks.com
1st Semester:
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (independent reading)
Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (in class reading)
How to Read Literature like a Professor (selections-group assignment to follow)
Hamlet by Williams Shakespeare (in class reading)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (independent reading)
2nd Semester:
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw (in class reading)
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (independent reading)
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde (in class reading)
1984 by George Orwell (independent reading)