Babienko AP English
Summer Reading Assignment
Date:
To:
From:
Re:
June 9, 2005
AP English 12 Students
Dr. Babienko
Summer Assignment
Welcome to AP English 12. I look forward to working with you all next year. AP English is a
fun, exciting, and challenging course. It is a college level course and you may be able to earn
college credit through the AP Exam held in the spring. Your enrollment in the class implies that
you are academically motivated students and as such are planning to attend college. Nothing you
can do academically will better prepare you for your future studies than reading books – lots of
them – and then writing about what you’ve read. Sustain, revive or develop a daily reading habit.
Take the time this summer to read as many works of literary merit as you can.
In order for us to be able to jump right into the course in August, please complete the following
assignment before the start of school:
THE TEXTS:
Life of Pi by Yann Martel & How to Read Literature like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
& Big Fish (film)
In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, Pi is a young boy in Indian whose father runs a zoo. Pi finds
teachers in many places: from an atheist, a Hindu, a Catholic, and a Muslim, and Pi confounds
his parents and teachers by embracing all these religions. He tells them, “I just want to love
God.” But perhaps his greatest teacher is the one he confronts on the high seas. Sailing from
India to Canada, Pi’s ship sinks and he finds himself on a life boat with a hyena, an orangutan, a
wounded zebra, and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. His survival depends on what he has
learned in the past and what he learns each moment on the boat.
Thomas C. Foster’s How to Read Literature Like a Professor gives you some insight on how
teachers and professors figure out all that meaning stuff about literature. It divides major
concepts (symbol, archetype, allusion, pattern, etc.) up into small, easy-to-digest chapters and
relates them to popular movies, TV, and literature (for example, there are references to
mythology, The Simpsons, Cinderella, The Great Gatsby, The Odyssey, Oedipus, Gilligan’s
Island, the Bible, Mark Twain, Shakespeare, and Ghostbusters). Fun and easy to understand,
Foster’s book will help ease you into the wonderful world of literary analysis. This book should
make for interesting reading and prove to be a valuable resource.
Big Fish, a recently released film, is about a young man trying to discover the truth of his and his
father’s past. His father is dying and he tries desperately to figure out which stories he’s been
told are true and which are false. This film, based on the book by Daniel Wallace, raises
fundamental questions about what constitutes reality, and examines the importance of
storytelling and mythmaking.
(Over>)
Babienko AP English
Summer Reading Assignment
THE BASICS:
After you have read the two books and watched the film, write two response papers of 3-4
double-spaced, typed pages (that’s 3-4 pp. for each paper – see prompts on next page). Use 12
point Times New Roman font. Use MLA formatting and citation guidelines (refer to links on my
web site if you don’t “remember” these). Make sure that you proofread your work carefully
before submitting it – very few things are as distracting as proofreading mistakes. Please put
your name and a title on each paper. Be thoughtful and creative, and make sure to refer to the
works specifically in your responses.
You can read How to Read Literature Like a Professor first and then apply what you learned to
Life of Pi and Big Fish OR you can read the book and watch the film and then read How to Read
Literature Like a Professor and think back and apply it to the book and film. I think the first way
will work best, but it’s your choice. If you’ve already read Life of Pi, read it again after you read
How to Read Literature Like a Professor. Remember, the purpose of this assignment is to allow
us to start the year off with a common experience. But beyond that, I hope you enjoy reading the
books, viewing the film, and become intrigued by the ideas they explore.
THE PROMPTS:
Response Paper #1: Select A or B. Although these two questions do not ask you to specifically
consider How to Read Literature like a Professor, you should use what you have learned about
pattern, symbol, archetype, and meaning in write these two papers and direct references to How
to Read Literature like a Professor will increase your grade. Title your paper either “Archetypal
Patterns” or “Fantasy and Reality” and provide your own subtitle.
Example: Archetypal Patterns: The Importance of Water in Life of Pi and Big Fish
Remember: Put your title on the top line of your paper and do not use quotation marks or
underline it (except for titles of books)
A) Archetypal Patterns: In some ways, you couldn’t find two more different stories---one of an
American son and father in conflict regarding the truth of the past, one of a young boy from
India abandoned on a life boat with a tiger for a companion. Nevertheless, these two stories
share some important similarities: Our heroes face challenging problems, must learn how to face
and deal with them. What archetypal patterns (journeys, heroes, quest, self-discoveries,
metaphorical images) do Life of Pi and Big Fish share?
OR
B) Fantasy and Reality: In Big Fish, when father Ed Bloom claims, “I tell facts,” his son
counters, “You tell lies, dad.” In Life of Pi, Pi encounters similar disbelief about his story from
the Japanese transport ministers who insist his story cannot be true. Later in Big Fish one
character comments of a story, “I like your dad’s version better.” Regardless of which version of
either story you like best, it’s clear that fantasy and reality often compete with one another and
even blur in the minds of these characters. How do fantastic tales help or hurt the characters in
these two works? What do these two novels suggest about the role of fantasy in man’s
existence?
AND
Response Paper #2: You have just read How to Read Literature like a Professor. Apply at least
3 concepts/ideas that you learned from the book to Life of Pi. The title of your paper should
indicate what three concepts/ideas you are discussing. It’s okay if your title is a little long or
awkward 
(Over>)
Babienko AP English
Summer Reading Assignment
Note: Be sure to cite and analyze ample evidence from the text(s) - literary and cinematic - in
both of these papers!
A FEW MORE THINGS:
1. There will be a test on How to Read Literature like a Professor during the first week of
school. You should mark key terms and concepts in your book and know them well;
you’ll want to be able to refer back to this book during the year as well.
2. You will be writing an in-class essay on Life of Pi when you return to school. This will
take place sometime during the first ten days of class, but only after we have had a
chance to discuss the novel in seminar.
3. Optional reading - This year’s AP students wrote down a number of tips for incoming AP
students. One of the most common was: develop your knowledge of Greek mythology
and the Bible (especially Genesis, Exodus, and the Gospels). Much of Western literature
contains biblical and mythological allusions, so if you get a chance to read up on these
you’ll be ahead of the game.
4. Discussion Board – Although you won’t be required to post on the discussion board over
the summer, you are more than welcome to do so. This is a great way to share your
insights, communicate with your peers, and raise questions about the texts. To post on the
discussion board, simply go to my website, click on “AP English,” select the link to the
discussion board and read the instructions for registration (no login/password required –
just beware of bogus “surprise” assignments; my posts will always appear in red).
5. Bring your two 3-4 page response papers and your books to class on the first day of
school. Late assignments will not be accepted for credit unless arrangements have been
made with me well ahead of time (not the night before the due date).
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the assignment or the
course. My web site is located at: http://schools.nsd.org/~nbabienko. I will be adding useful links
and additional information over the summer, including a list of some of the major works we will
be studying so that you can purchase your own copies if you so desire (highly recommended by
this year’s AP English graduates).
I look forward to seeing you at the end of August!
Sincerely,
Nancy Babienko
nbabienko@nsd.org