Dear Sophomore Honors Student and Parent:
Greetings! Summer reading is a requirement for the honors English program. The LHS English department
recommends purchasing the following titles; however, there will be copies available in the main office during the
summer for all students to checkout. In addition, please feel free to checkout copies from your local library. The
titles are as follows:
1.
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
2.
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

A journal constitutes the following:

Three quotes that summarize the major themes. To receive full credit you must clearly label the theme, state
the quote and then discuss and analyze. In your discussion of each quote, explain the situation in which the
quote appears and then analyze (make sure to elaborate and justify) the quote in relationship to the theme and
that situation.

Apply and discuss the hero cycle and its stages to each novel. See the back of this sheet for further
explanation. (Siddhartha has small hero cycles within each chapter and a hero cycle for the entire novel.)
There will be a total of 11 hero cycles (one per chapter) as well as an overall hero cycle for the entire book (one
more for the book) which totals 12 hero cycles for the Siddhartha novel.
Summer reading journals for Siddhartha is due on Monday, August 27th, 2011. This will allow for
teacher/student conversations and or questions to be answered before there will be any penalties awarded.
Summer reading journals for The Catcher in the Rye is due on Tuesday, September 4th, 2011. This will allow for
teacher/student conversations and or questions to be answered before there will be any penalties awarded.

Read On Self-Respect by Joan Didion and The Necessary Enemy by Katherine Anne Porter. Answer the
questions following each essay. ETHOS deals with the credibility of the author. PATHOS evokes a feeling to
the audience. And LOGOS is the argument. Analyze and discuss each of these three as they relate to each
essay.
The essay by Didion will be due on Thursday, August 23rd, and the essay by Porter is due on Friday, August 24th,
2010. This also will allow for teacher/student conversations and or questions to be answered on the first
day of school before there will be any penalties awarded.
Failure to complete the summer reading and journal by the due date will affect assignments and grades
pertaining to these novels during the first weeks of school. The Larkin High School English Department wants
students and parents alike to be aware of these policies. We take summer reading seriously and hope you will, too.
Please feel free to e-mail either Miss Rees at terrirees@u-46.org or Megan Banwart at meganbanwart@u-46.org if
you have any questions over the summer.
Enjoy your summer and the novels!
Mrs. Banwart (ext. 8336) and Miss Rees (ext. 4584)