AP SUMMER READING
Dear AP Literature Student:
Summer vacation has officially begun, and I hope that you also find the time this summer to enjoy the love of
reading, whatever it may be. Besides the list of books you look forward to reading, we must also include four more
to prepare for discussions in class when you return in September: Beowulf (in modern translation: Seamus
Heeney’s translation is the newest “definitive” translation), Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe (the same author who
wrote Robinson Crusoe), A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, and How to Read Literature Like a Professor by
Thomas C. Foster.
Once you have read these works you must write a typed essay for each one. Length of the essay depends upon
the topic you choose to elucidate; I expect no less than two full pages typed, double-spaced. The analysis of all
literature begins with the basics: character, setting, conflict (plot), and point of view. To enhance our discussion of
each work, choose one of the literary basics for each novel and write an essay explaining how that aspect of the
novel reinforces the purpose of the work as a whole. For instance, for Beowulf you might choose to discuss how
and why the characters reflect different aspects of the heroic ideal. For Moll Flanders, you might explain how the
setting determines the theme, and so on with each novel. There are a myriad of possibilities and discussion topics.
Please feel free to choose what appeals to your imagination. The only restrictions are that you must confine
yourself to these novels, choose a different literary aspect for each one, and guarantee that the thoughts
presented are yours without the aid of Cliff Notes or Internet sources or other research. I want your words and
thoughts so that I can get a clear picture of the creative literary minds we bring together this coming year.
For me, literature is a mind-opening travel experience through time and souls. When I walk into a library or a
bookstore, I feel awe and excitement at the number of unexplored worlds still waiting for me. I read to learn,
grow, and even at times, escape. All books offer experiences. Some are like roller coasters that create a
wonderful thrill at the moment. The joy of being on the ride remains but the details and the intensity fade to a
pleasant memory. Other books jar the soul and become a part of us, changing how we see the surrounding world.
The books I have chosen to be read this summer are some of the ones that reinforced or jarred society.
Beowulf was orally composed sometime after 500 A.D. Researchers have been able to document that time frame
because the battle of the Finns corresponds with a battle described in other historical documents. This epic poem
was sung for over 200 years before being written down by Christian monks (researchers believe that the epic could
have been written down anywhere between 700 and 1,000 A.D.) Had the monks not transcribed the epic poem,
we would not have it today. As it stands, only one extant copy remains at the British Museum in London, and even
that copy is highly damaged, its ink fading over time. Beowulf is the only English epic poem to survive the Dark
Ages. Besides the historical value of the work, I would like you to note the complexity of the poem. Consider how
it plays with the subplots in relation to the main plots of Beowulf. Consider how the anonymous author plays with
time, description, dialogue, and point of view. Look at the work as a literary masterpiece and wonder why.
The next work Moll Flanders, first published in 1722, created a lot of controversy, which you can determine why
for yourself after reading the novel. But ask yourself, why would Defoe create such a controversial plot and
character? What was his purpose for writing about such a woman in such detail from her perspective? Keep in
mind the form of the novel. How well does the novel “work”? Though Thomas Nashe first created the novel form
in 1594, the novel did not begin to establish itself as a literary form until the early 1700’s by authors such as Defoe,
Swift, and Fielding. Why would the novel begin to take precedence over poetry in the 1700’s? What does the
form of the novel offer that poetry cannot?
The third work appeared when novel sales were ballooning. In 1859, one year before the American Civil War,
Dickens published A Tale of Two Cities about the French Revolution. Though this revolution had ended almost 70
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AP SUMMER READING
years earlier, Dickens’ society was currently going through the Industrial Revolution in England and quickly
becoming a world empire. So why set the novel in both France and England? Think. His novel is complex, intense,
and sewn tightly. Each word seems to reinforce his beliefs. What are they? How is his novel different from
Defoe’s novel? Keep in mind that the form of the novel had 130 years to grow and transform.
The last work is a fun read about literature. For Foster’s text How to Read Literature Like a Professor, you are to
write a two page summary that captures the key points he wishes to make about literary analysis.
So upon returning to school the first day, I will collect four essays from each student. I will use these essays to
evaluate critical literary analysis, thinking and writing skills, grammatical knowledge, willingness to proofread, and
more. The essays will tell me which students may or may not have difficulty with the material. Each essay will be
worth 50 points: 25 points for quality in content and 25 points for grammatical errors (one point off for each
error), for a total of 200 points within the first week. Other works that we will be reading, if you wish to prepare,
include Woolf’s To the Lighthouse, Gardner’s Grendel, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer,
Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, and a novel of your choice to be explicated. We will also analyze long poetic works
such as Pope’s “The Rape of the Locke” or Blake’s “The Mental Traveller” and a large eclectic group of shorter
poems. Vocabulary study will be on a regular basis.
The AP exam fee will be about $90, paid in January for the May exam. All students are to take the AP exam. Come
prepared in September to read nightly, write every other night, and share your thoughts for the next eight months,
and they must be your thoughts. I cannot stress enough the need to rely upon one’s own thinking. Using outside
sources for the summer reading will indicate a preference not to think so hard, to prefer to have someone tell you
what to think. If that is the case, please consider the British Literature Honors class. I lecture in that class. Any
indication of a student not doing his or her own thinking will begin the process of removing the student from the
AP class.
The class will be busy, but if reading is your joy, the work should seem more intriguing and inspiring than drudgery.
I look forward to discussing literature with you next year. Your enthusiasm and integrity as students will create the
inspiring discussions and papers that rejuvenate me and help me to see the world in new ways. The class will be
focused and uplifting. Thank you for choosing to be with this group. Our work together should help us all to grow
in more ways than we may expect. In the meantime, enjoy your summer and your reading.
Sincerely,
Mary Kay Valentine
Advanced Placement Literature teacher
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at mkcvalentine@gmail.com
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