Junior Honors Literature Summer Reading
The Grapes of Wrath Annotated Quotes Assignment
Goal: Demonstrate your understanding of the novel by selecting and discussing quotes.
Competencies: Reading Comprehension & Writing
Directions: While you read, be looking out for quotes that stand out to you as
significant, interesting or thought-provoking. Choose 20 quotes you’d like to
focus on
and do the following for each:
1. Write out the quote in quotation marks and include a page number with proper in-text citation.
***NOTE: the quotes must be representative of the entire book***
2. In a paragraph underneath the quote, do the following:
a. Provide the context for the quote (who is speaking, where is this happening, why is he/she saying it, etc.
. . . the 5 W’s)
b. Paraphrase the quote by putting it into your own words (briefly!)
c. Explain why it’s important by making a broader connection to the themes, symbols or style of the book.
Discuss what this quote says about the book and what it might say about the world.
Example:
“You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more
than what you have become. You must take your place in the Circle of Life” (112).
In this quote, Rafiki has conjured up Mufasa’s ghost, who is now speaking to Simba. While the ghost of
his father speaks to him, Simba is looking into a pool of water at his own reflection that has magically
transformed into an image of his father. Basically, the ghost is telling Simba that he can’t avoid his past, and
that he must return to his people and take his rightful place as king. This quote is important because it’s a
turning point in the story when Simba decides to go home, which relates to the overall theme of balance in the
world. I didn’t quite understand how the “Circle of Life” related to Simba’s life, but this was clearly a pivotal
moment for Simba since he chose to return home after hearing the voice of his father.