Alexander—ELA 11A
Summer 2012
*DIRECTIONS: If you have questions during the summer at any time, please email me at
alexandert@oacsd.org. If you have any questions regarding summer assignments or prerequisites for
advanced courses at OFA, please refer to the course guidebook and/or speak with your guidance
counselor. Please note that you are eligible for the course in the fall only if you complete and meet
expectations for the summer assignments, earning an “entrance” grade of 85% or better. Do your best!
ASSIGNED SUMMER READING: Rand, Ayn. Anthem.
(From amazon.com) Anthem has long been hailed as one of Ayn Rand's classic
novels, and a clear predecessor to her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and
Atlas Shrugged. In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which
individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives
in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all
people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out.
Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and
freedom still burns in him--a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a
purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd--to
think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his
choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. In a
world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy
word--"I."
SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT FOR ANTHEM—This assignment is due July 31 (Tuesday), 9:00 P.M.
Please note that summer assignments are not accepted late and that failure to complete summer
assignments automatically removes you from the course. Attach your document (word/pages/Google/pdf)
to an email and send to alexandert@oacsd.org.
PROMPT: Craft a well-written essay of 350+ words in which you discuss how Anthem does/does not
demonstrate Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. You will need to click on the following link and read, in
Rand’s words, the background of this philosophy:
http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_intro.
Basically, your prompt (question) is…
Discuss whether or not Rand’s novella, Anthem,
demonstrates clearly and explicitly the philosophy of Objectivism.
Include an introduction, body paragraph(s), and a conclusion. Support your responses to the question use
specific evidence (textual examples) from the text and from the article. Your examples do not have to be
quotations with page numbers; however, you must include evidence as if I have never read the text.
Therefore, I highly recommend that all textual evidence be quotations since you have access to the text.
Alexander—ELA 11A
Summer 2012
SUMMER READING CHOICES:
*Please read TWO (2) selections of your choice (I’m really interested in what you read) and complete a
double-entry journal for each text.
DOUBLE-ENTRY JOURNAL FORMAT: In typed format, please complete a double-entry journal for each
summer reading selection (the two books of your choice). First, craft a well-written thematic statement for
the book; identify a prevalent theme demonstrated throughout the text. Second, craft a 50+ summary
explaining the thematic statement you have created. Finally, support the purposeful existence of this
theme by citing five quotations from the text with appropriate analysis of how the theme is demonstrated
by the author through the identified quotation.
EXAMPLE: Please see the following example using the text, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
THEMATIC STATEMENT: The attainment of a dream does not often live up to what one imagines.
QUOTATION with PAGE
NUMBER:
“He was clutching at some
last hope and I couldn’t
bear to shake him free”
(Fitzgerald 155).
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS/EXPLANATION (keeping the theme in mind):
This should be 50+ words for each quotation.
Fitzgerald demonstrates the theme through Gatsby’s imagination of
Daisy rather than the true person. Gatsby desperately hopes that Daisy
comes to him, leaving behind her husband and her daughter. He
expects her to because of the love he feels for her, the unrequited love
of all those years ago. Daisy is not the woman Gatsby remembers; she
cannot possibly live up to that dream either. Fitzgerald characterizes
Daisy as a woman who adores wealth, like those beautiful shirts, but
who detests Gatsby’s tacky extravagant parties, the lack of decorum and
class. Gatsby does not recognize that new money is as distasteful as
poverty to someone like her. He cannot possibly give Daisy what she
dreams. All his struggles and his sacrifices are for naught; Nick
summarizes this in describing Gatsby’s “last hope.” Nick recognizes the
sadness in Gatsby, the realization that Gatsby’s is living his life for
someone he imagines rather than someone he knows. The “Daisy” he
loves is a figment of his imagination and not her “true” self.
ANTHEM ASSIGNMENT DUE JULY 31 (Tuesday) by 9:00 PM
(Microsoft Word/Google document) sent as an attachment to
alexandert@oacsd.org. Please note that summer assignments are not
accepted late.
FIRST AND SECOND READING CHOICE ASSIGNMENTS DUE THE
FIRST DAY OF CLASS.
*Bring in the typed, printed copy of the double-entry journals for
your individual choice selections. Please note that summer
assignments are not accepted late.
Thank you and I look forward to working with you in September!