Senior AP Literature and Composition 2015-2016
Summer Reading List
To prepare for the AP literature test, we will cover a number of works. Over the summer you will be required
to read the following two books:
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster
All work for these assignments must be typed with the correct MLA heading and format.
Using the summer reading bookmark as a guide, read and annotate Pride and Prejudice. Because annotations
are required and we cannot effectively assess them, do not use a Kindle, iPad or other eReader.
Choose ONE of the following essay topics and write a 250-word essay using support and analysis:
1.
Compare and contrast the treatment of women in each piece, identifying the author’s tone and the
manner in which it contributes to the author’s purpose.
2.
Explain the impact appearance has on two characters in each piece. Discuss them as static or
dynamic. If there is a change, what seems to be the pivotal event or fact that propels the change? If
there is no change, why does nothing make an impact on the character?
3.
Discuss the author’s position on social class, making sure to note how irony and sarcasm are used.
Be sure to include the effect irony and sarcasm have on the characters.
For How to Read Literature Like a Professor, choose 3 of the 27 chapters and connect a book (one NOT used as
an example in the book) to the topic of the chapter and explain in 2-3 sentences why each fits. All assignments
are due the first day of class.
The following books will be read and taught in class. Since we will annotate, you may want to purchase them.
Reading them in advance may be helpful. Half.com, Alibris.com, and Amazon.com are excellent sites for
discount books.
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
No Exit by Jean-Paul Sartre
The Stranger by Albert Camus
For the Shakespeare plays, use Shakespeare Made Easy series published by Barron’s
King Lear by William Shakespeare
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare
The following novels or plays are recommended reading for the AP test, but may not be taught in class:
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Charlotte Bronte
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde