AP ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND COMPOSITION
SUMMER READING ASSIGNMENT
MS. BENNETT
Advanced Placement Language and Composition is an intensive study of rhetoric and how language works. Through close reading of fiction and
non-fiction prose, students develop their ability to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate language and text with a greater awareness of purpose and
strategy, while strengthening their own composition abilities. Course readings feature American literature and an extensive variety of non-fiction
texts. The course is intended for motivated students who wish to increase their abilities in analytical reading and writing, especially of the argument.
Purpose for Reading
What is your purpose for reading a classic novel as well as a nonfiction work for AP Language and Composition? As AP students studying language
and composition your purpose is not to study the novel as a work of fiction or the nonfiction work as a source of information, but as masterpieces of
language.
The novels we will be reading are considered classics because their authors are artists whose medium is language. Your purpose for reading is to
discover which elements of language these authors use and to what effect. You are ultimately studying STYLE and the components that comprise it.
Style involves the author’s choice and arrangement of words in sentences (diction and syntax), the use of sensory and/or figurative language, the
tone, and the mood. Look for such things as the length and complexity of the sentences; the use of words that are unusual or sophisticated or
colloquial; and the use of elements such as allusion and irony. As you read think of adjectives that you could use to describe the author’s style.
1.
Over the summer, you will be responsible for reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. Prior to reading the
novel, closely read and study the following that are attached:
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2.
It is important to understand the background information of the author in order to appreciate the purpose of the novel. READ
AND STUDY the attached background information on Mark Twain.
READ AND STUDY the information on “The Picaresque Novel and Huckleberry Finn” handout. This list includes new elements
of literature that are important for our progressive study of literature.
Read and study the information given on “MARK TWAIN: America’s Humorist” Introduction to The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn in Context with Realism”
Read and study the information on the “Satire” handout. Language is very important in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
We will discuss and analyze the rhetorical strategies and satirical devices that Twain incorporates in the text to convey tone.
In addition to reading the novel, you are to find a piece a literary criticism for the work of literature. When you return to school be
sure to bring your criticism and your book. The best place to find literary criticism is in a library. There are entire volumes of books
devoted to criticisms such as Twentieth- Century Literary Criticism and Contemporary Literary Criticism (CLC). Check out the reference
section at your local. Only published criticism can be used from the internet. Do not use Cliff’s Notes, Spark Notes or any other plot
summary! These are not reliable sources. Be prepared to discuss your criticisms when you return. You should be able to discuss points that
you agree or disagree with.
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What is a literary criticism?
A literary criticism is based on a judgment a writer is making regarding an aspect of the book. The writer offers an opinion about
the worth of the literary work, and the opinion is supported by an argument that offers supporting evidence. The writer should not
merely make an assertion but must develop an argument based on evidence (specific examples). Some forms of criticism aim to
judge works as either good or bad; others aim to demonstrate how a text works or how it is representative of society at that time.
Criticisms reflect the beliefs and values of different cultural groups and different historical periods.
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Rationale: It my our hope that by reading professional literary criticism you will gain an understanding of the difference between
summary and opinion and begin the process of both analyzing argumentation and writing your own argument
3.
Be prepared for an exam on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn during the first week of school.
4.
Be prepared for an In-Class 40 minute timed essay on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn during the second week of school.
Please remember, good readers interact with a text in order to increase comprehension and to awaken critical insight. While reading I
encourage you to annotate (underline, highlight, write notes in marginalia, draw connections) significant elements within the text. For a
review on annotating, go to the following link http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/197454.html and read “How
and Why to Annotate a Book.”
Helpful Hints:
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The novel is available at our library. If you prefer to have your own copy so that you can annotate as you wish, you may purchase the
novel at any bookstore. I recommend the Norton Anthology version. If you own a Nook or another form of e-book, the books may be
available as free downloads.
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The language of Huck Finn will be difficult to understand at times; this problem is normal and is not cause for alarm. Reading the passage
out loud makes a big difference.
Ms. Bennett
Summer Reading: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
AP English Language and Composition
Ms. Bennett
Summer Reading: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
AP English Language and Composition
Ms. Bennett
Summer Reading: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
AP English Language and Composition
The Beginning of the Picaresque Narrative and Huckleberry Finn
1.
Novel – is now applied to a great variety of writings that have in common only the attribute of being extended works of
fiction written in prose. Novels permit a greater variety of characters, a greater complication of plot (or plots), and ampler
development of milieu (setting), and more sustained exploration of character and motives.
2.
Picaresque narrative – actually came before the “novel.” It emerged in sixteenth-century Spain. “Picaro” is Spanish for
“rogue,” and a typical story concerns the escapades of an insouciant rascal who lives by his wits and shows little if any
alteration of character through the long succession of his adventures.
3.
Picaresque fiction is realistic in manner, episodic in structure and often satiric in aim.
4.
Episodic means composed of a sequence of events held together largely because they happened to one person.
5.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huck Finn by Mark Twain are picaresque-type novels.
6.
Novels may have any kind of plot form-tragic, comic, satiric, or romantic. There are two basic types of prose fiction: the
realistic novel (which is the novel proper) and the romance.
7.
The Realistic Novel - Mark Twain wrote in the Realist tradition. Realist authors attempt to portray life accurately.
Furthermore, Twain reflects Regionalism in his writing [see regionalism below]. As a Realist, Twain criticizes the
Romantics. The Romantics based their literature on the conviction that imagination and emotion were superior to reason.
You will recall that in Chapters 12 & 13, Twain names the wrecked steamboat The Walter Scott after a Romantic author,
metaphorically relating it to the demise of Romanticism. Obviously, Twain was not a fan of Romantic fiction.
8.
Romantic Novel – the author usually is said to present life as we would like to have it. Romantic novels are typically more
adventurous or heroic than usual. The protagonist undergoes mysterious or extraordinary adventures.
9.
There are other subclasses of the novel. Two of these subclasses are Bildungsroman and Erziehungsroman are German
terms signifying “novel of formation” or “novel of education.”
10.
The subject of Bildungsroman and Erziehungsroman is the development of the protagonist’s mind and character, in the
passage from childhood through varied experiences—and often through a spiritual crisis—into maturity. This usually
involves the recognition of one’s identity and role in the world. Twain’s novel The Adventures of Huck Finn is
considered to be of the Bildungsroman subclass.
11.
Colloquial Language – (aka colloquialism) An expression used in informal conversation but not accepted universally in
formal speech or writing (slang).
12.
Regionalism – literary focus on a specific geographic section. Regionalists depict particular geographical areas in their
literature through settings, character attitudes and behavior as well as dialogue.
13.
Local Color Writer – An author’s writing which exploits the speech, dress, mannerisms, habits of thought, and topography
pertaining to a certain region. The main focus of local color writers – people and lifestyles of a geographic setting.
14.
Irony – (general terminology) recognition of a reality that is different from its appearance.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
15.
Ms. Bennett
Verbal Irony – expression through words which carry an opposite meaning (not to be confused with sarcasm,
which is a much harsher type of humor and “cuts at the knees”).
Dramatic Irony – is so called because it is often used on stage. In this kind of irony, a character in the play or story
thinks one thing is true, but the audience or reader knows better.
Situational Irony – takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen, or what would be
appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.
Cosmic Irony - Cosmic irony of fate or destiny. The situation is out of the character(s) control. Tragedy of fate
Note: Irony is much more “tongue in cheek”. It is a lighter form of humor.
Comic Relief – A humorous scene, incident, or speech usually introduced to provide “relief” from emotional intensity.
(Shakespeare frequently employed comic relief throughout his plays.)
Summer Reading: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
AP English Language and Composition
MARK TWAIN: America’s Humorist
Introduction to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in Context with Realism
General Notes
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often considered Twain's greatest masterpiece. Combining his raw humor and startlingly
mature material, Twain developed a novel that directly attacked many of the traditions the South held dear at the time of its
publication. Huckleberry Finn is the main character, and through his eyes, the reader sees and judges the South, its faults, and its
redeeming qualities. Huck’s companion Jim, a runaway slave, provides friendship and protection while the two journey along the
Mississippi on their raft.
Believe it or not, Huck Finn was banned in several libraries after its publication. Among libraries that issued a ban on the novel were
Denver and Concord, Massachusetts (home of the transcendentalists). While many Americans saw Huck Finn as a great comic novel,
it was full of satire that represented Twain’s criticism of current social values and norms with which he disagreed. While presenting a
realistic snapshot of 19th century southern life, Twain included brutality and terror in his story of Huck and Jim’s adventures on their
beloved Mississippi River. Considering the juxtaposition of romantic humor and biting satire, Huck Finn can be seen as both a
comedy and a tragedy.
Huck Finn is more or less a tall tale. The protagonist, Huckleberry Finn, a social outcast whose realistic, practical sense is brought
into focus by his foil, Tom Sawyer, a romantic guided by books he doesn’t quite understand. One important element of realistic
writing is that characters typically struggle with some type of moral dilemma. Moral dilemmas typically occur when someone must
make a decision that does not always benefit themselves, but is the right thing to do. Huck Finn must deal with several moral
dilemmas throughout his adventures.
Historical Context
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1835-1845
1863
1865
1885
End of 19th Century
setting of Huck Finn
Emancipation Proclamation issued
Civil War ends
Huck Finn published (American edition)
Industrial Revolution
o People left rural homes for opportunities In urban cities
o U.S. economy more focused on factory production (not farming and agriculture)
Literary Context
I. Period of Upheaval (literary civil war)
o
Writers used character and plot development to state personal philosophies about how much control mankind has over his
own destiny
o Emerson celebrated the ability of the human will to triumph over adversity (individual as a god)
o Twain claimed humanity’s freedom of choice was limited by the power of outside forces (individual as a person)
II. Concentration of Writing
o Realists concentrated on writing of select groups
o factory workers
o stories of black life
o views of marriage and women’s roles
o Writing became regional
o people feared loss of local folkways and traditions
o realists set stories in specific regions (to capture the “local color”)
 showed the breakdown of traditional values
 plight of the urban poor
 included regional dialects/extensive dialogue
 plot built around ordinary lives
 readers were attracted because they saw their lives in print
 writing communicated the complexity of the human experience
Ms. Bennett
Summer Reading: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
AP English Language and Composition
“All modern literature comes from Huck Finn” (Ernest Hemingway)
I.
Twain as a Humorist
o satire (the use of irony or sarcasm in exposing foolishness)
o irony
II.
Twain as Social Critic
o antebellum South
o slavery
o critical of current social values
o critical of current government
Twain as Realist
o Elements of domestic comedy and melodrama
o Clever rogues and adventures
o Mississippi River lowlife characters depicted with magical romance
o realistic language (dialect)
III.
Character Types (Twain’s comparison of Romanticism & Realism)
o
o
o
Tom (Romantic)
o embodies what society values
o accepts values; lets cultural norms override common sense
o looks “silly” (Twain’s criticism of current societal values)
Huck (Realist)
o thinks for himself
o questions everything
o very “realistic” character
Jim
o used as a tool to demonstrate Huck’s internal battle
SATIRE
1. Definition: A written poem or prose work which ridicules a person, tradition, social institution, or human nature with the intention of raising
awareness or effecting change. It is a literary manner that blends critical attitude with humor and wit. True satirists are conscious of the frailty of
human institutions and attempt, through laughter, to inspire remodeling these institutions (not tear them down).
A. Satire is ridiculing human foolishness or wrong-doings—and it ultimately holds a moral.
B. The sting of satire is meant to cure the human race of its pretensions and blindness. A satirist wants to reform the world. The satirist’s premise
is that when an unacceptable situation is exposed to ridicule and laughter, it cannot last very long.
C. Satire usually has a definite target, which may be a person or group of people, an idea or attitude, an institution or a social practice.
2. Approaches: Depending on the nature of the vice or evil under attack and on the writer's feelings about it, the satirist may develop one of
two kinds of tone:
A. Bemusement: The satirist may be the detached bemused critic with no deep desire to effect change since the vices or
follies are not destructive: i.e., the vices result from the obtuseness or stupidity of people, the superficiality and
meaninglessness of their lives, and the barrenness and lack of substance in their values. Usually, there is fun and some hurt
in this kind of satire, but no one is seriously affected. Mark Twain, Geoffrey Chaucer and Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice)
represent this category.
B. Anger: When the vices and follies or people who exhibit them are intolerable and enraging, the satirist may lash out with
bitterness and fury. George Orwell (1984 and Animal Farm) and Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels) fall into this category.
Ms. Bennett
Summer Reading: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
AP English Language and Composition
2.
Tools of Satire: A satirist may use any or all of the following literary devices:
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Exaggeration-To enlarge, increase, or represent something beyond normal bounds so that it becomes ridiculous and its faults can be seen.
Incongruity-To present things that are out of place or are absurd in relation to their surroundings.
Reversal -To present the opposite of the normal order (e.g., the order of events hierarchical order).
Parody-To imitate the techniques and/or style of some person, place or thing.
Wit- denotes a kind of verbal expression which is brief, deft, and intentionally contrived to produce shock of comic surprise
Humor- may be ascribed to either a comic utterance or to a comic appearance or mode of behavior. [This differs from wit in that wit is intended by
the speaker to be serious whereas humor is intended by the speakers to be serious. For example, the Nurse’s chatter in Romeo and Juliet is
verbose, and humorous to the audience but not to the speaker.)
Irony (dramatic, situational, verbal, or cosmic) [Definitions below]
Sarcasm-is a form of irony, but is more crude and taunting in its apparent praise for dispraise. “Oh, you’re God’s great gift to women, you
are!” The difference between irony and sarcasm is that sarcasm is more biting and has an exaggerated inflection in the speaker’s voice.
Mockery –ridicule; scorn; disdain; humorous or satirical mimicry
Mock-heroic - of or pertaining to a form of satire in which trivial subjects, characters, and events are
o treated in the ceremonious manner and with the elevated language and elaborate devices
o characteristic of the heroic style.
Caricature- exaggerates or distorts, for comic effect, a person’s distinctive physical features or personality traits. This may be in verbal
description or graphic art.
Stereotype- to categorize individuals or groups according to an oversimplified standardized image or idea; label; typecast
absurdity - a ludicrous folly; completely devoid of wisdom or good sense
overstatement- making to seem more important than it really is
understatement – a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said; a statement below the truth
pathos – a style that has the power to evoke feelings; arouses emotions (especially pity or sorrow)
derision (bitter satire) – the act of treating with disrespect; scornful or contemptuous treatment which holds one up to ridicule
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Significant Questions for Analysis of Satire:
 What is the author’s purpose?
 What is the author’s tone? Is the tone mild, sympathetic, unemotional? Is the writer scientific, detached?
 Is the tone one of intense anger, hatred, and bitterness? Is the writer emotional in his response?
 Is the writer optimistic? Pessimistic?
 What is the dominant satirical device used?
 Is it effective?
Ms. Bennett
Summer Reading: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
AP English Language and Composition