To prepare you for AP ENG IV, you are to purchase and read paperback copies of the following books this summer:
Medea Euripides ISBN 978-1-4165-9225-9
(Or ISBN 978-0-486-27548-2 if not purchased through the school. Inferior translations of Medea may also be found on the Web.)
Salvage the Bones Jesmyn Ward ISBN 978-1-60819-522-0
Jesmyn Ward, the National Book Award-winning author of Salvage the Bones says of her novel, “It’s about family, loyalty; about love. It’s about attempting to find your way in the world.” Described by the critics as “raw,” “fierce,” and “poetic,” initially Salvage the Bones is not easy to relate to. But its heroine, motherless Esch, a pregnant, “precocious, passionate and sensitive” 14-year-old with an obsession for
Greek myths and Medea in particular, is a character anyone can warm to. With the menace of Hurricane
Katrina advancing on the family, the story takes on mythical dimensions, evoking the drama and desperation of classical tragedy.
There are two assignments which require that you thoroughly read both pieces of literature. Read
the instructions carefully:
1. You are to read and annotate Salvage the Bones ( see notes on annotation) with an eye to gaining some understanding of the world that Esch and her brothers come from, a world of abandonment, neglect, deprivation, deep, desperate attachments, and blood-letting. In Medea we find similar elements. As you annotate, look for parallels between the two works. Bring both books to your first full day of class. (You are not required to annotate Medea , and I will not be checking that text, but for your own understanding, it makes sense to do so, as you will be writing an essay on what it is in
Medea that resonates so much with Esch.)
Book Annotations : Below are some of the elements that you should consider and mark in your texts and come to class prepared to discuss intelligently:
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Style
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Diction
Imagery
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Allusions
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Irony
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Characterization
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Literary Elements
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Point of View
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Syntax
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Similarities and differences between the two works (this will mostly concern theme)
Theme
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Vocabulary
2. Typewritten Notes: Type out your responses to the following questions, using the same a, b, c, format. Answers to all the questions should be derived from your annotations and then formulated into typewritten notes, using your most sophisticated expression and correct MLA. First person is permitted. (By now, it is assumed that you have internalized the prohibition against “to be” verbs, so, although their use should of course be minimal, there will be no penalty for each occasion they are used. When we begin class, you will be writing an essay on a theme common to both works, so keep

that in mind when deciding on your answers. Submit hard copy of your typewritten notes on the first full day of class. a) Epigraphs : Review the term epigraph , and, after reading the three epigraphs at the beginning of the novel, comment on their relevance to the novel’s themes. b) Subject : In the first three chapters of Salvage the Bones , several types of love are mentioned (at least ten). Identify eight, and comment on which one you believe is the most important and why. c) Style : Salvage the Bones has been praised for its poetic style. Do you recognize it? Select a passage that is rich in imagery and literary elements (no less than a full paragraph) from the novel, reproduce it in your notes, and analyze its style. What imagery, figurative language, rhetorical or sound devices were used and to what effect? d) Allusions : Besides Medea, Esch refers to other mythical figures. Find the allusions, and explain in full the stories of at least two of the characters mentioned. What purpose do they serve in the narrative? a) Characterization : How do the protagonists of each work reveal themselves? Write a paragraph about your impression of the two female characters. In Esch’s case, take your clues from the first chapter alone. In Medea’s case, you will need to consider the entire play. b) Chapter Titles: In Salvage the Bones, the titles of some of the chapters may contain more than one meaning. Select two, and comment on what else the title could be referring to.
c) Point of View : Salvage the Bones is written completely from the first person point of view; that is, solely through the eyes of Esch. She is the only one telling the story, so the reader must decide whether she is a reliable or an unreliable narrator. Are her impressions of the events and characters in the stories believable? Based on your annotations, write a full response giving your opinion and citing relevant textual evidence to corroborate your ideas. d) Theme : Identify the main subjects in the two works, then determine the theme (what the author seems to be saying about that subject) and type, MLA-style, at least two thematic statements for each literary work. (What is a thematic statement? Isolate a universal subject from the book, usually one word, (love, marriage, war, alienation , etc.) and then explain the author’s view on that subject (usually a full statement of theme).
e) Figurative Language: In her novel, Ward composes unusual similes and metaphors. Choose three and fully explain their effect. What imagery is conjured up? How apt is the comparison? See if you can determine the common origin of many of her similes . f) Poetry: Find a poem written by a well-established, anthologized poet that mirrors a situation found in Salvage the Bones . Include a copy of the poem in your notes and in a paragraph or so, explain why the poem you chose is relevant to the novel.
Rubric for Written Notes for Salvage the Bones and Medea
Name: ____________________________________ Block _______ Grade
MLA
Observations on epigraphs and quotations
Types of love and commentary
Allusions (two), description and purpose to enhancing the narrative
9-10 7-8 5-6 0-4
Style analysis and effect
Figurative language and other literary elements
Characterization: Esch and Medea
Point of View and Chapter Titles
Theme
Poem
Your annotated novel and typewritten notes will be taken up on the first full day of AP
English. If you are not prepared, and do not bring this assignment to your first AP ENG class, then your commitment to the class will be questioned, and you may find yourself being transferred to regular English for your senior year. As soon as the class roster is official, you will be required to submit your responses to turnitin.com.

Please note, we are aware of the study guides online and, while they may be useful in some ways, we advise staying away from them, as they offer mostly pedestrian interpretations of the work, and we would far rather hear what you have to say.
Finally, if you run into any difficulties and consider it important enough to disrupt our summer, please feel free to contact either Miss Maclin or myself for any clarification. We are happy to assist hardworking students. Our email addresses are: bmaclin@bdhs.org
and egraham@bdhs.org
. W e look forward to getting to know and work with you in your senior year.
Have a great summer, and happy reading!
: Annotating, on its most simple level, means marking the page with comments, notes, and questions as you read. The primary reason you should annotate a text is to aid you in your understanding of themes, symbols, motifs, allusions, and purpose. When important passages occur, mark them so that they can be easily located when it comes time to write an essay or respond to the book. Marking key ideas and passages will enable you to write about or discuss the reading with more textual support, evidence, and/or proof than if you rely on memory. This is a skill that you should carry into college and beyond.
: o When annotating, you will have to get over your resistance to marking up a nice, new book. o
The more permanent your annotations are the better. In time, pencil fades, so pen is best. o Highlighting alone without accompanying comments is not acceptable. You may not remember why you highlighted that particular passage if there is no commentary. o Use different colors; perhaps blue for figurative language, yellow for sound devices, green for diction, orange for character development, etc. o Highlighting stands out from the page and allows you to scan a page quickly for information. BUT
BEWARE, do not mark too much. If everything is highlighted or underlined, then nothing stands out as important. o
If you find annotating distracts from your enjoyment of the novel, then go back and do it later.
: o anything that will help you answer the questions above o point of view o shifts o key words, phrases, or sentences o questions or comments you have about the works o important ideas or passages o motifs, connecting ideas, or repetitions o juxtapositions, antithesis, rhetorical strategies o literary devices or evidence of the author’s STYLE o passages that are important to the understanding of the work, and then commenting on their significance o words that are unfamiliar and then defining them in the margin o passages that you liked for whatever reason (explain) o passages you disliked for whatever reason (explain) o allusions—look them up, they may be important o character description o literary elements (symbolism, theme, foreshadowing, etc.) o figurative language (similes, metaphors, personification, etc.) o plot elements (setting, mood, conflict, etc.) o diction (effective or unusual word choice) o unfamiliar vocabulary words—look them up and write out the definition
o intelligent comments o an accurate sense of the passage and what’s going on o observations beyond the obvious (“Wow!” “She died,” “He’s sad” etc. don’t cut it).

o literary elements beyond similes—look for anaphora, polysyndeton, synecdoche, etc. maybe even logos, ethos, or pathos! o sustained, relevant comments on passages that relate to meaning. Isolated random comments on every page don’t mean much. o comments that can be shared and discussed in class
o any time day or night o when you are free of all electronic distractions o in the car (as long as someone else is driving) o at the carwash o at your brother’s t-ball game o at your sister’s piano recital o while waiting for your ride o before you fall asleep at night o first thing when you wake up in the morning (your parents will be impressed) o whenever you get bored with texting, swimming, hanging out with friends, watching movies, etc. o whenever your mom or dad come looking for you to do chores