Advanced Placement Literature and
Composition Summer Reading Assignment
Required Reading:
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Theban Plays by Sophocles (Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone)
All books are available on Amazon.com and most bookstores as well as libraries will
have them. You should be prepared to discuss these works as well as be tested upon them
when you come to class in September.
Below are comprehension/analysis questions designed to assist in your understanding of
the works as well as aid in your making the historical connections that are necessary for a
full appreciation of the works themselves.
A Note Concerning Responses: All written responses must be typed (and printed out on
paper) and no more than two paragraphs apiece. I will make exceptions on those
questions which really interested you – however, do not exceed 3 of these types of
responses.
• The comprehension/analysis questions must be turned in on paper.
• Please DO NOT email this assignment to me.
• Please remember to employ the textual and historical evidence in your responses!
• Please include the prompt before your response – this will make the grading
process a smoother one.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Please be aware of the following themes, or universal ideas, that will be addressed in the
novel:
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Marriage
Love
Family
Reputation
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Appearance/perception vs. reality (prejudgment vs. revised judgment)
Intelligence vs. frivolity and snobbery
Independence
A motif is a recurring pattern or repeated action, element, or idea in literature. As you
read, pay attention to the following motifs:
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Class
Courtship
Fortune/inheritance
Reputation
Manners vs. vulgarity
Balls
Country estates
Letters
A symbol is a concrete object or place that has significance in a literary work because it
communicates an idea. Consider how the author develops the following symbols and
what ideas the symbols could suggest. Locate other symbols on your own.
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Pemberley
Gracechurch Street
Irony is a literary technique that creates surprising contradictions that are dramatic or
humorous.
Verbal irony is created by using words in a way that suggests an opposite meaning;
sarcasm is a type of verbal irony.
Situational irony, sometimes called “a twist of fate,” results when the outcome of a
situation directly contradicts what one would reasonably expect to occur - the greater the
contradiction, the greater the irony.
Comprehension/Analysis Questions: The following are reading comprehension and
analysis questions to consider and answer as you are reading the selections. You are to
choose FOUR of the following questions. Please be sure that these are complete for the
first day of school. You will need to do additional historical research and
documentation in order to fully answer some of the following questions. Whenever
“specific examples” are requested, please employ MLA format. As a result, a Works
Cited page will be necessary.
1. Why might Austen want to write a novel about marriage (Consider the time
period)? What complexities or insights into nineteenth-century society might be
illuminated by this particular focus?
2. Is the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet depicted as a happy one? What
background issues of class and economics inform the nature of their relationship?
3. Compare and contrast the ways that Elizabeth and Charlotte view marriage.
Which of their views reflects the way society of the time viewed marriage? Which
of them do you agree with?
4. Possessing good manners and behaving with decorum are important issues for the
characters in the book. Why? How do these social requirements relate to class?
5. Describe the signifiers of class that you see throughout the novel. Does our
society also have class signifiers? How different are they from the ones you see in
the book?
6. Consider the roles of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, the Gardiners, and Darcy in their
efforts to manage the disastrous affair between Lydia and Wickham. How is each
of their characters revealed through this episode in the novel?
7. In her conversation with Lady Catherine, Elizabeth says, “I am only resolved to
act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness,
without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.” What
does this speech say about her character in relation to the ideals of femininity
during this era?
8. Can Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, in your opinion, be considered good parents? In what
ways do you approve or disapprove of how they raise their daughters?
9. What roles do Lydia, Kitty, and Mary play in the Bennet family? How are they
different from their older sisters, Jane and Elizabeth?
10. What do Pemberley and Gracechurch Street symbolize in the novel? How do they
relate to divisions and conflicts among some of the characters?
11. Who is your favorite character in the novel? Which characters do you like the
least? Explain your feelings about each of them.
A Thousand Splendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini
Please be aware of the following themes, or universal ideas, that will be addressed in the
novel:
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Man’s Inhumanity to Man
Systematic Victimization of women by Patriarchal Institutions
Spousal Abuse
Resistance to Victimization
Power of Education
Education for Women
Corrupting Influence of Absolute Power
Historical and Cultural Understanding:
1. You will benefit from an overview of the geography, history, and rich culture of
Afghanistan. One reliable source, which can serve as an introduction is the CIA
World Factbook: https://www.cia.gov/li- brary/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/af.html This site will provide significant facts about the political
history, geography, government, and people, which will assist in your
comprehension and appreciation of the novel. It will also assist in responding to
your questions.
2. Throughout the novel, readers are reminded of Afghanistan’s ethnic diversity. For
example, when Mariam is forced to marry Rasheed, her father’s wives assure her
that he speaks Farsi, even though he is a Pashtun. Mariam is a Tajik. In order to
fully appreciate the situations in the novel, you should read about the different
people who make up the ethnic diversity of Afghanistan at:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/ asia/afghanistan/map_flash.html
Comprehension/Analysis Questions: The following are reading comprehension and
analysis questions to consider and answer as you are reading the selections. You are to
choose TWO of the following questions. Please be sure that these are complete for the
first day of school. You will need to do additional historical research and
documentation in order to fully answer some of the following questions. Whenever
“specific examples” are requested, please employ MLA format. As a result, a Works
Cited page will be necessary.
1. Compare Mariam and Laila by looking for pertinent passages, which describe
their family background, education, experiences, and character. Discuss with
specific textual and historical/cultural evidence:
a. Do the women change in the novel?
b. How?
c. Who undergoes the most significant changes?
d. How are the women similar?
e. How are they different?
2. While Rasheed is the overwhelming male presence in the novel, there are other
male characters. Return to the novel in order to identify the personality traits of
other men in the novel. Evaluate the characters of Jalil, Babi, Zaman the
orphanage director, and Sayeed owner of a small hotel in Murree who is kind to
Tariq.
a.
b.
c.
d.
What qualities do they have in common?
How do they compare to Rasheed?
How can you explain Rasheed’s behavior?
Employ specific evidence as well as historical/cultural evidence to explain and
support your response.
3. Mariam recalls her mother, Nana, saying of snow, “each snowflake was a sigh
heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world. That all the sighs drifted
up the sky, gathered into clouds, then broke into tiny pieces that fell silently on
the people below. As a reminder of how women like us suffer, she’d said. How
quietly we endure all that falls upon us” (p.91). Discuss the sentiment of this
remark, how it reflects power structures, and how it applied to the women of the
novel. Employ specific textual and historical/cultural evidence to support your
response. 4. The mood of the book lifts slightly when Laila and Tariq return to Afghanistan in
2002. A poem posted by Zaman in the school reads: “Joseph shall return to
Canaan, grieve not, Hovels shall turn to rose gardens, grieve not. If a flood should
arrive, to drown all that’s alive, Noah is your guide in the typhoon’s eye, grieve
not” (p.413). What do you think compels Laila to return? Employ specific textual
and historical/cultural evidence to support your response. 5. The phrase “a thousand splendid suns,” from the poem by Saib-e-Tabrizi, is
quoted twice in the novel – once as Laila’s family prepares to leave Kabul, and
again when she decides to return there from Pakistan. It is also echoed in one of
the final lines: “Miriam is in Laila’s own heart, where she shines with the bursting
radiance of a thousand suns.” Discuss the thematic significance of this phrase.
6. Growing up, Laila feels that her mother’s love is reserved for her two brothers.
“People,” she decides, “shouldn’t be allowed to have new children if they’d
already given away all their love to their old ones.” How does this sentiment
inform Laila’s reaction to becoming pregnant with Rasheed’s child?
a. What lessons from her childhood does Laila apply in raising her own
children?
b. Employ specific textual evidence to support your response.
7. At several points in the story, Mariam and Laila pass themselves off as mother
and daughter.
a. What is the symbolic importance of this subterfuge?
b. In what ways is Mariam’s and Laila’s relationship with each other
informed by their relationships with their own mothers?
c. Employ specific textual evidence in support of your response.
8. One of the Taliban judges at Mariam’s trial tells her, “God has made us different,
you women and us men. Our brains are different. You are not able to think like
we can. Western doctors and their science have proven this.”
a. What is the irony in this statement?
b. How is irony employed throughout the novel?
c. Employ specific textual and historical/cultural evidence as support in your
response.
The Theban Plays by Sophocles
Please be aware of the following themes, or universal ideas, that will be addressed in the
novel:
• Fate / Predestination
• Religion and Culture
• Love and Hate
A motif is a recurring pattern or repeated action, element, or idea in literature. As you
read, pay attention to the following motifs:
•
•
•
•
Sight v. Blindness
Light versus Darkness
Graves / Burial Sites
Suicide
Be aware of the use of Dramatic Irony, Symbolism, Irony, Repetition, and the
Allegory.
Comprehension/Analysis Questions: The following are reading comprehension and
analysis questions to consider and answer as you are reading the selections. You are to
choose FOUR of the following questions. Please be sure that these are complete for the
first day of school. You will need to do additional historical research and
documentation in order to fully answer some of the following questions. Whenever
“specific examples” are requested, please employ MLA format. As a result, a Works
Cited page will be necessary.
1. Discuss the use of Illness and Death in these plays. What do they symbolize, and
how do they relate/enhance the themes of the trilogy?
2. Family plays a significant role throughout this trilogy. Cite specific examples
form all three plays that explain how the idea of family developed over the course
of the plays and its significance to the themes of the play.
3. A classic element of the Greek Tragedy is its use of the Chorus. What is the
purpose of the Chorus, and how is the timing of its arrivals and departures
significant to the audience?
4. How does Fate govern Oedipus’s life? Analyze the theme over the course of the
first two plays. How does Fate drive the development of the plot, and would the
plays have gone in the same direction without Oedipus’ knowledge of his fate?
5. Analyze the relationship between Oedipus and Creon. Cite specific examples to
discuss what type of relationship they have and how it contributes to the
development of the conflict in the plays.
6. Analyze the use of weather in Oedipus at Colonus to that of Shakespeare’s
Macbeth. Cite specific examples to track the symbol / motif across literary
periods.
7. Analyze how Antigone can be read through a feminist lens. Cite specific
moments from the play that can be viewed from the feminist perspective and
provide an analysis supporting your opinion.
8. What is the significance of Tiresias’s presence in both Oedipus Rex and Antigone?
What does he represent thematically, and how does the information he provides
helps to develop the messages of the plays.
9. Who do you believe to be the most tragic hero of the plays? Cite specific
examples to prove your opinion, citing specific lines to further your analysis.