Future AP English Literature Students:
Before the 2015-2016 school year begins, you must read:
● Brave New World​
by Aldous Huxley
● Their Eyes Were Watching God​
by Zora Neale Hurston
● Herland​
by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
You’ll need to own these texts because we’ll be using them all year. Format doesn’t matter. I like to buy used
books and then mark them up, but for those unwilling to part with $0.59, you can probably find PDFs online
for free.
You’ll be writing an essay which may synthesize the texts the first week of class. Sparknotes-level scholarship
will not be sufficient. You should take copious notes regarding the usual English stuff (plot, character,
symbolism, theme, motif, etc.). Additionally, complete the following:
● Situate the text within its historical period (what was happening with culture, technology, politics,
artistic movements, etc?). So what?
● Connect the ideas raised by the text to texts you’ve already read. What concepts link them?
● Consider the similarities and differences between ​
TEWWG​
and ​
BNW​
--they were written in the
same decade.
● Select an area of interest/question/argument you’d be willing to explore further (unusual shifts in
narration in ​
Their Eyes Were Watching God​
, for example).
● In each book, will you track one allusion back to its source? For example, if a character in BNW
alludes to a poem or an author, would you Wikipedia yourself a little knowledge on the work
being alluded to? This will come in handy for ROTTWEILER III: THE FORBIDDEN PROJECT,
happening to you in December, 2015.
These types of questions and inquiry represent entry-level AP Lit (and by extension, college) scholarship..
Consider your own learning style and schedule when planning your reading. Read one book a month? All
three in August? Some of you may benefit by reading in June and then revisiting it in August. Some may
want to keep it fresh before the start of the school year. Do whatever increases your chances for a positive
experience. I’m not a hand-holder for how you structure your time.
If you are confused as to why you are being asked to read over the summer, please refer to the Course
Handbook and read the description for this course. And, if you have a friend who is also taking the course,
but may not have received this e-mail, would you be so kind as to pass on the message?
Finally, if you are the type of person who is already scheming ways to avoid reading these texts, I would urge
you to select a different course, as you will find your lack of ambition and enthusiasm will lead only to a
less-than-optimal outcome. To be more concrete, if you don’t read these books, I can personally guarantee
that by the end of the first week, you will be failing the course. If you take this as a challenge to see how far
you can get by not reading, you are also the type of person who may find more success elsewhere.
I look forward to meeting you in September.
Mr. Freeburg