Honors Sophomore English Summer 2011
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"Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe http://www.online-literature.com/poe/36
"The Ghost of Christmas Past" from A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens http://www.stormfax.com/dickens.htm
Stave 2 of the story. You will be studying the whole novella later in the year, so purchasing it now would be a good investment.
(read Steinbeck here)
"Walk on By- A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space" by Brent
Staples http://www.scribd.com/doc/37177242/Just-Walk-on-by-Brent-Staples
"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan http://www.scribd.com/doc/13297165/Mother-
Tongue-By-Amy-Tan-I-Am-Not-A
"India's Untouchables" by Hillary Mayell http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/06/0602_030602_untouchables.html
You may check out a copy of The Pearl from Mrs. Schumacher (A-5) or Mrs. Duncan (A-33) during finals week, but it is highly recommended that you purchase your own so that you can mark it up. If you mention it is for a Wa-Hi class, you can generally get a discount at Earthlight
Books. You will need to show you have dissected the novel in preparation for additional assignments during the first weeks of class. We expect that students will have carefully read the book and have discovered much about society and character that is worthy of discussion . You should be able to find and print to annotate each of the smaller works at the websites indicated on the list of readings. Be resourceful.
Once you have obtained your book, you will need to read carefully and annotate your text, focusing mostly on the purposes addressed above, but also noting thought-provoking quotations, thematic ideas, and representative bits of the author’s stylistic choice of:
 imagery
 elements of character development
 choice of telling details
As you read, we expect you to annotate the text. In general, look for ideas that you like or that puzzle you, disturb you, or resonate with you. Mark them. Ask questions in the margins; underline bits of whatever interests you. AH-HAAAH! moments are wonderful, too. If you have checked out your book from the school, you can write your ideas on sticky notes posted at those pages instead.
mschumacher@wwps.org ---sporadically, not dependably---kduncan@wwps.org

Honors Sophomore English Summer 2011
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Annotation for close reading --- try to mark passages with these codes.
= critical point of information
YES = I agree with this because . . .
CON = Conflict --identify the two forces in opposition
NO = I disagree because . . .
Q = question—I wonder . . .
? = confusion---I don’t understand
I = Imagery contributing to meaning
D = Diction—note connotations,
I/P = Inference/Prediction interesting use of dialogue, and
!!! = Startling revelation
CD = Character Development
repetitions
S = Setting—How do details help
--what trait is revealed? develop conflict or theme?
John Steinbeck’s
The Pearl is rich with symbolism. "The Masque of the Red Death" by
Edgar Allen Poe and A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens are also known for the same. The attached handout at the end of this document is designed to help you chart and analyze the symbolism for each of these pieces. You should complete matching charts for the Dickens excerpt and the novella. The short story handout has five significant examples of symbolism, with the first one started for you. For the excerpt and the novella we are expecting at least five significant examples, each, but these should be analyzed carefully, and in great detail.
A unifying symbol throughout all three is the use of light and dark. Focus primarily on that, though not exclusively. We recommend that you start with the short story and the excerpt, then read the novella. The following website is a resource for how to uncover symbolism, should you need it.
http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/lit-poem.html
. We also recommend utilizing Sparknotes.com if you need help with identifying the symbolism (as a resource, not an alternative to the book!). Each of the pieces should also be annotated to indicate where the symbolism is found.
A good reader should be able to read a piece for a variety of purposes. As you read The
Pearl , we will be expecting you to focus on the story as a work of social commentary, not only as a significant example of symbolism in literature. The essays listed above, "Walk on By,"
"Mother Tongue," and "India's Untouchables" should be read as comparisons to the social commentary aspect of The Pearl . We recommend that you read these after the novella. As you read these essays, create a graphic organizer that clearly demonstrates your understanding of the connections between the pieces, including quotes to support your analysis. We will give you a hint: They all have to do with the marginalization of minorities.
mschumacher@wwps.org ---sporadically, not dependably---kduncan@wwps.org

Honors Sophomore English Summer 2011
Mortimer Adler gives these additional clues in his essay, “How to Mark a Book Like a
Professor.”
 Underlining (or highlighting) : of major points, of important or forceful statements
 Vertical lines at the margin : to emphasize a statement already underlined
 Star, asterisk, or other doo-dad at the margin : to be used sparingly, to emphasize the ten or twenty most important statements in the book. (You may want to fold the bottom corner of each page on which you use such marks. . . . you will be able take the book off the shelf at any time and, by opening it at the folded-corner page, refresh your recollection of the book.)
 Numbers in the margin : to indicate the sequence of points the author makes in
 developing a single argument
Numbers of other pages in the margin : to indicate where else in the book the author made points relevant to the point marked; to tie up the ideas in a book, which, though they may be separated by many pages, belong together
 Circling or highlighting of key words or phrases .
 Writing in the margin, or at the top or bottom of the page, for the sake of : recording questions (and perhaps answers) which a passage raised in your mind; reducing a complicated discussion to a simple statement; recording the sequence of major points right through the books. I use the end-papers at the back of the book to make a personal index of the author's points in the order of their appearance.
On the first day of school, Tuesday, August 23, you must have the following completed and in class:
____ all works (attached essays on reading and annotation, The Pearl , Masque of the Red Death, excerpt from A Christmas Carol and the collection of essays) read and annotated
____ three symbolism charts completed, with examples from the text to support your analysis
( The Pearl, Masque and Christmas Carol )
____ a graphic organizer showing the relationship between The Pearl and the three essays/articles, with quotes and paraphrases from all pieces supporting your analysis
If for some bizarre reason you don’t have a serious portfolio, you will have set yourself up to fail the whole semester. It is the base on which we build all of our work. If you choose not to do this assignment, you should remove Honors from your class schedule before school starts.
mschumacher@wwps.org ---sporadically, not dependably---kduncan@wwps.org

Honors Sophomore English Summer 2011
Name_____________________
Mrs. Duncan / Mrs. Schumacher
(Replicate the format of this handout for The Pearl and A Christmas Carol, Stave 2.
DO NOT assume the size of these boxes is indicative of even close to all elements.)
Physical Story Element
Prince Prospero light and dark: the series of seven rooms the ebony clock in the black room (include light and dark)
What do I know about it?
What does the story tell me?
Possible Symbolic Meaning(s)
"Prospero" sounds like
"prosperity" Prospero is arrogant, he thinks he can escape death, throws a party when his villagers are dying, tries to lock out death
The false security that wealth brings
The Masked Stranger
mschumacher@wwps.org ---sporadically, not dependably---kduncan@wwps.org