GALENA
Thomas C. Brown, Principal
HIGH SCHOOL
Teresa Burrows, Asst. Principal
WASHOE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
3600 BUTCH CASSIDY WAY
Scott Grange, Asst. Principal
David Murdock, Asst. Principal
RENO, NEVADA 89511
Phone 775-851-5630
Fax 775-851-5607
Advanced Placement English Literature and
Composition
Summer Assignment 2014
Mrs. Otuafi
Dear Students:
Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition! Attached you will find directions
for the summer assignment you are required to complete by the second week of the school year.
You will get much more out of the assignment if you do not procrastinate; don’t wait until the
end of the summer or the beginning of the year to complete it. Please thoroughly read the
instructions for the assignment before beginning. If you have any questions, please email Mrs. Otuafi
at motuafi@washoeschools.net. I look forward to our coming year together and hope you enjoy the
research!
Mrs. Otuafi
AP English Literature and Composition
Galena High School
AP Lit. Summer Assignment
Otuafi
AP English Literature and Composition: Summer Allusion Assignment
Allusion (noun): an implied or indirect reference to another literary work or event in history in literature.
Assignment: This assignment is designed to examine how Biblical histories, parables, events, and figures
have influenced the development of Western and world literature.
Two basic sources from which writers draw allusions and metaphors are the Bible and the ancient
classical writings (primarily Greek and Roman). Knowledge of the characters and stories contained in the
Bible and in the body of myths and legends will add appreciably to the enjoyment, analysis, and
understanding of good literature of all types. From the very beginning of the literary canon, writers have
borrowed characters, plots, and themes from these sources.
Requirements of this assignment include the following:
1. Choose 8 of the thirty-eight allusions from the list (following page). Please select a minimum of three
examples from the Bible and three from mythology. **The remaining two are your choice.
2. For each of your choices, please list the name of the allusion and its origin (i.e. Greek/Roman
mythology or book, chapter, and verse from the Bible).
3. Write a brief explanation/summary of each allusion you selected.
4. Finally, include how it has been used as an allusion in today’s society (this can be through literature,
media, etc.).
5. You must also include a Works Cited page. Please use MLA format.
6. This assignment must be typed: Times New Roman; single spaced; 12 inch font, 1” margins.
Example: (Use this format)
Allusion: Pandora’s Box
Origin: Greek Mythology
Brief explanation/summary:
Pandora’s Box is a Greek Myth used to show the flaws and weaknesses of human behavior. It also
explains the many misfortunes of the human race.
Pandora was the first woman on Earth created by the gods. Pandora was given a special box by the gods
and was told not to open it. Pandora’s curiosity caused her to open the box she was not permitted to open.
This box contained all the illnesses and hardships the gods had hidden in the box from human kind. She
then panicked and shut the box, only to shut “Hope” in the box as well. This was a lesson to all human
kind; Humans were to obey the gods and do as they say.
Where can you see it today?:
A popular idiom used today is “open Pandora’s box.” In today’s society if a person says, “You just
opened Pandora’s Box,” he/she is referring that you are about to start something that causes many new
and unexpected problems.
AP Lit. Summer Assignment
Otuafi
AP Literature
Allusion Assignment List
Directions: Choose eight of the thirty-eight allusions from the list. Please select three
examples from the Bible, three from mythology, and the remaining two are your choice.
1. Book of Ruth (Bible)
2. The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11)
3. Cain and Abel (Genesis 4)
4. Odysseus and the Trojan Horse
5. Noah and the Flood (Genesis 6-9)
6. Pygmalion and Galatea
7. The Garden of Eden (Genesis 1-3)
8. Daphne and the Laurel Wreath
9. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18-19)
10. Echo and Narcissus
11. Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 21-22)
12. Jason and the Golden Fleece
13. Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25)
14. Cupid and Psyche
15. Joseph, His Brothers, and the Coat of Many Colors (Genesis 37)
16. The Birth of Christ (Luke 1-2)
17. The Golden Rule (Luke 6)
18. Rescue of the Child Moses (Exodus 1-2)
19. Lot (Genesis 13)
20. Jonah (1-4)
21. Hercules
22. The Burning Bush (Exodus 3)
23. The Passover (Exodus 12)
24. Passage Through the Red Sea (Exodus 14)
25. Midas and the Golden Touch
26. Arachne and Athena
27. Daedalus and Icarus
28. An Eye for an Eye (Leviticus 24)
29. Orpheus and Eurydice
30. Samson and Philistines (Judges 13-16)
31. Paris and the Golden Apple
32. Pandora’s Box
33. Perseus and Medusa
34. Jesus and Lazarus (John 11)
35. David and Jonathan (Samuel 18-20)
36. The Death of John the Baptist (Mark 6)
37. Pilate and Jesus (Matthew 27)
38. The Agony of Christ (Mark 14)
AP Lit. Summer Assignment
Otuafi