Freshman Honors Summer Reading Assignment
Dear Parent(s)/ Guardian(s) and Ninth Grade Honors English students,
Welcome to Fountain Valley High School and the Honors/ AP Program. All Huntington Beach Union High
School District honors students who are about to enter ninth grade are required to complete a summer reading
project/ assignment. The objectives and benefits of this project follow:
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Students will be enriched through the experience of reading three classic novellas.
Students will be exposed to a sample of rigorous curriculum, and the high expectations encountered in
an honors class.
Students will have a chance to begin their first semester with an assignment that represents their reading
comprehension, as well as, their ability to analyze literature.
The assignment, and the results from a fact based reading check test, will provide teachers with valuable
information about the students’ ability levels.
The assignment and the test will be the first two scores entered into the grade book for the first semester.
Assignment Directions:
Read all three of the following novellas. Hyperlinks for free full text versions of the novellas are included.
Click on the title of the novella to follow the hyperlink to the text.
1) The Pearl by John Steinbeck
2) Anthem by Ayn Rand
3) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
While reading each text, take specific notes on the following:
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Setting: the time and place of a story
Symbols: a person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself
o Ex: A nation’s flag is a symbol for that nation.
Allusions: a reference to a statement, a person, a place, or an event from literature, history, religion,
mythology, politics, sports, science, or pop culture
o Ex: “She was another Helen,” is alluding to the beauty of Helen of Troy. You are saying
another woman is that beautiful by making this reference.
Conflict(s): struggle or clash between opposing characters or opposing forces
o External conflict: a character struggles against an outside force
o Internal conflict: a character struggles with opposing needs, desires, or emotions within his/her
own mind
Characters: list the major characters in each novella, identify, and explain how they contribute to the
Central Motifs in the novella.
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Central Motifs:
o Write down quotations (followed by the chapter and paragraph numbers where the quotations are
located) that draw a parallel to each of the following Central Motifs for the novellas. (For this
assignment, we ask that you use the chapter and paragraph number format to facilitate the citing
process for those that may be using an electronic version of the work.) You will need to
complete two entries for each Central Motif (i.e., for The Pearl, you will have two quotations
that exemplify or show the concept of greed, two quotations for dreams/ hopes, et cetera). Be
sure to properly cite the quotation (chapter and paragraph). Be sure you use quotation
marks at the beginning and end of the quoted text.
o The four Central Motifs for each novella are as follows (You will have a total of eight entries for
each novella when you are done. Remember you are doing two entries for each of the
Central Motifs):
 The Pearl: greed, dreams/ hopes, family, and good v. evil
 Anthem: identity, society and class, loyalty, and freedom/ confinement
 The Old Man and the Sea: heroism, pride, perseverance, and crucifixion imagery/
Santiago as Christ
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A paragraph containing analysis and evaluation of how the quotation you have chosen to include
as a representation of the Central Motif should follow each of the quotations. Please make sure
that your writing involves higher level thinking and your opinion. Do not merely paraphrase
the passages. Plot Summary will not earn any credit for the entry.
 Consider: evaluating the claims in the quotations, analyzing the words of the quotations
and their connection to other areas of the text, discussing the implications of the
quotations to wider issues outside of the text or to everyday life, pointing out literary
elements and effects on the reader.
o The following is an example of a quality Central Motif analysis paragraph for Dracula by Bram
Stoker. Please complete your work in the style of this model (notice the chapter and paragraph
citation as previously mentioned, and that this is longer than five sentences, it’s eight ):
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Good v. Evil
“Lucy's eyes in form and colour; but Lucy's eyes unclean and full of hell-fire, instead of the
pure, gentle orbs we knew” (16.19).
In this sentence we see the insidious nature of evil. The innocence and good in Lucy is being
destroyed by the evil of Dracula’s bite (and his blood). This sinister representation of the
concept of good v. evil is shown in the outward appearance of Lucy, while seemingly good
and gentle, it masks the pure evil lurking just underneath the surface. It is only her eyes that
give away the fact her soul has been damned, and she has become one of the undead. This
speaks to the ability of evil to come into our lives in a form meant to deceive us. It is this
ability to calm and trick us into a state of recognition and acceptance that will ultimately
allow evil to win out over good. For all of the characters, and for the readers, we are meant
to learn the lesson of remaining vigilant in our fight against the evil that is all around us. It is
equally important to become aware that evil can, and will take a pleasing and familiar form
to easily achieve its goal.
Assignment Format:
Word process.  Use Times New Roman, size 12 font. Double space between entries, and use bullet points.
For each novella, follow the template below:
Title of Novella (ex: The Pearl)
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Setting
o A brief paragraph (3-5 sentences) describing the setting
Symbols
o One bullet point per symbol you find (Approximately 3-5)
 Allusions- list, research and explain (Approximately 3-5)
o One bullet point per allusion you find
 Conflicts- Go beyond identification; explain specifically
o External
 One bullet point for each external conflict
o Internal
 One bullet point for each internal conflict
 Characters
o Name of the character
 Description/ explanation of how they contribute to the Central Motifs of the work of
literature
 Central Motifs
o Name of the motif (ex: greed)*
 Quotation
Paragraph
 Quotation
Paragraph
o Name of the motif (ex: dreams/ hopes)*
 Quotation
Paragraph
 Quotation
Paragraph
*Continue this format until you have all of the entries for the Central Motifs. Once all Central Motif entries
have been completed, continue on to the next work of literature. (For The Pearl you will have a total of eight
entries for the four motifs; Anthem will have eight entries for the four motifs; and The Old Man and the Sea
with have eight entries for the four motifs.)
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Helpful tips:
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To make this entire process more manageable, it is highly recommended that you complete the written
portion of the assignment while reading the novella. Essentially, while you are reading each novella,
you should be making entries as you find them. This is called active reading (something you are going to
be asked to do throughout the English Honors/ AP classes). Work smarter not harder. Don’t wait
until you have finished reading and then have to go back to find the evidence for the written portion.
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Be prepared to turn in this assignment on the first day of school, and study for a detailed, seventy-five
question, multiple choice novella comprehension test (fact based) which will cover all three novellas.
This test will be administered during the first week of school.
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During the first week of school, students will be required to submit their assignments to turnitin.com
after receiving instructions and passwords from their English teachers. This database is used commonly
at FVHS to verify authenticity.
o Friendly warning: The Academic Code of Honor (http://ecs.fvhs.com/dsp.org_subpage.cfm?uid=366&id=2902)
applies to this assignment. According to this code, consequences for a first occurrence result in a
zero on the assignment. Please make sure the work you are submitting is your own. Refrain
from looking at outside sources like Spark Notes. Using these ideas as your own work is not
acceptable and many times outside sources, like Spark Notes, are wrong in their analysis and
interpretation. We are far more interested in learning your opinions about the novellas; please
make sure this is happening in your work. 
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We, the Freshman Honors English Teachers at FVHS, wish you success. If you have questions, please
e-mail us at afutagaki@hbuhsd.edu. Mrs. Futagaki will be checking her e-mail during the summer (not
every moment of every day, so please be patient).