Advanced Placement Literature Composition
Summer Enrichment Assignments 2015-16
Welcome to Advanced Placement Literature and Composition. The purpose of this class is to
prepare you for the AP test in May; however, the greater goal is to develop reading, writing, and
analytical skills that will help you in college and beyond. We will be reading from a variety of eras,
authors, and genres—specifically, novels, novellas, short stories, drama, and poetry. We will learn
how to analyze the methods and devices used in literature and how to write a literary analysis
paper.
Reading complex texts*: It is essential that students focus on the close, sustained analysis
of complex texts. Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient
complexity directly and examining its meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging
students to read and reread deliberately. Directing student attention on the text itself
empowers students to understand the central ideas and key supporting details. It also enables
students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which
sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately
leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole. Close, analytic reading
entails the careful gathering of observations about a text and careful consideration about
what those observations taken together add up to — from the smallest linguistic matters to
larger issues of overall understanding and judgment. (*adapted from the PARCC Framework)
ASSIGNMENT: READ, ANNOTATE, LIST VOCABULARY, LOG
Your responsibility this summer is to read the listed novels, annotating as you go. (See attached handout on
Annotation to guide your method and your focus—annotation is expected throughout the class as it is an
essential college skill to develop.) We have provided some preliminary reading notes to enhance your
understanding of these classic texts.
You are required to read at least 2 novels this summer:
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The Stranger, Albert Camus
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Great Expectations, Charles Dickens (1861) OR Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (1847) OR The Scarlet
Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)
We recommend that you also keep a list of unfamiliar vocabulary and definitions. (There is a fair amount of
vocab on the AP exam—and the words come from literature.) These activities will help you prepare for the
class by looking at some of the characteristics of the literature that you will be reading all year long in AP
Literature. Your goal is to create a written trail of key reminders to help you remember, understand and
analyze what you have read.
You will be writing about these novels once school begins.
Although these novels are challenging—and you may be attempted to take shortcuts—restrain yourself. We
have seen the movies, as well as many online sources. Allow yourself the time needed to do ALL the reading and
annotating—you will benefit when it comes time to be tested. (In other words, DO NOT leave this project
until August. These are key novels, ones you will rely on for responding to AP prompts.
Please contact me if you have questions (mabeshaus@northlandprep.org).
Tentative 2015-16 Reading List
AP English Literature and Composition
Summer Reading
 Great Expectations, Charles Dickens (1861) OR Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte (1847) OR The
Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)
 The Stranger, Albert Camus
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Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
A Doll’s House, Henrik Ibsen (in Perrine) Read aloud
Beowulf, Seamus Heaney, Trans. Read aloud (class set)
Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck
To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
Catcher in the Rye, J. D. Salinger
Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare (or alternative Shakespearean drama) Read aloud
Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
The Hours, Michael Cunningham
Othello, William Shakespeare (in Perrine) Read aloud
Ceremony, Leslie Marmon Silko
The Glass Castle, Jeanette Walls
Assorted informational texts, short stories and poetry
Although some works are available online, I highly recommend acquiring a copy of these texts
(except those “in Perrine”), as it is difficult to curl up with a “good” book (and annotate) when your
computer is involved (unless, of course, you are the proud owner of an iPad or Kindle). A very limited
number of these novels are also available from my lending library. First come, first serve.
NOTES ON THE NOVELS
The Stranger, Albert Camus
Albert Camus has associated his work with absurdism, a relative of existentialism. According to
Henderson and Brown, absurdism is
A philosophical attitude pervading much of modern drama and fiction, which
underlines the isolation and alienation that human beings experience, having been
thrown into what absurdists see as a godless universe devoid of any religious,
spiritual, or metaphysical meaning. Conspicuous in its lack of logic, consistency,
coherence, intelligibility, and realism, the literature of the absurd depicts the
anguish, forlornness, and despair inherent in the human condition. Counter to the
rationalist assumptions of traditional humanism, absurdism denies the existence of
universal truth or value. (Henderson and Brown)
Camus used his writing to reveal this philosophy of the absurd. As Alan Gullette explains:
In his novel The Stranger, Albert Camus gives expression to his philosophy of the
absurd. The novel is a first-person account of the life of M. Meursault from the
time of his mother's death up to a time evidently just before his execution for the
murder of an Arab. The central theme is that the significance of human life is
understood only in light of mortality, or the fact of death; and in showing
Meursault's consciousness change through the course of events, Camus shows how
facing the possibility of death does have an effect on one's perception of life.
THEMATIC FOCUS: Given this brief introduction to absurdism, look for evidence of this philosophy
in every chapter of the novel.
Works Cited
Gullette, Alan. “Death and Absurdism in Camus’s The Stranger.” University of Tennessee-Knoxville, March
1979. Web. May 2011.
Henderson, Greig E. and Christopher Brown, “Absurdism.” Glossary of Literary Theory. University of Toronto,
1997. Web. May 2011.
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
Some insights into the novel:
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Length. Great Expectations is one of the longest works we read (thus, the summer
assignment). In fact, Dickens was essentially paid by the word: his novels were serialized,
meaning they were published a chapter at a time with the hopes that readers would be
sufficiently intrigued to buy the next chapter.
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Language. This novel is also one of the oldest works we read, which means that sometimes
the language may appear unfamiliar and archaic. Don’t be lazy—use the appropriate
reference source to find out what the strange words mean, and add these words to your
vocab list. (Weird vocabulary is an AP Lit exam specialty.)
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Social Critique/Humor. Dickens used his novels as a means of critiquing the society in which
he lived—often in humorous ways. Be sensitive to these humorous moments: detecting the
subtle humor will greatly increase your enjoyment of and appreciation for these novels.
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Bildungsroman.
A Bildungsroman is, most generally, the story of a single individual's growth and
development within the context of a defined social order. The growth process, at its
roots a quest story, has been described as both "an apprenticeship to life" and a
"search for meaningful existence within society." To spur the hero or heroine on to
their journey, some form of loss or discontent must jar them at an early stage away
from the home or family setting. The process of maturity is long, arduous, and
gradual, consisting of repeated clashes between the protagonist's needs and desires
and the views and judgments enforced by an unbending social order. Eventually, the
spirit and values of the social order become manifest in the protagonist, who is then
accommodated into society. The novel ends with an assessment by the protagonist
of himself and his new place in that society. (Hader)
THEMATIC FOCUS: For each chapter, be on the lookout for evidence of Pip’s growth and
development.
Work Cited
Hader, Susan. “The Bildungsroman Genre: Great Expectations, Aurora Leigh, and Waterland.”
The Victorian Web. 2005. Web. May 2011.
The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)
(see Great Expectations notes above)
“Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a wonderful text to couple with the teaching of Transcendentalism. The
protagonist, Hester Prynne, displays many acts of civil disobedience throughout the course of the novel, and
Hawthorne often criticizes the Puritan society that punishes her so harshly. The lessons from this novel relate
very closely to the ideas espoused by the great transcendental thinkers—civil disobedience, self-reliance, and
nature as a reflection of God. In addition to using Transcendentalism as a historical context and lens for the
novel,” “mine” this novel for symbols. In other words, be on the look out for symbols; there are many. (Clayton)
Finally, consider the following essential questions:
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How do varying levels of religious influence on governments dictate moral and ethical law?
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How does a society’s definition of “sin” influence/affect the individual?
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How do hypocrisy, conformity, vengeance, and forgiveness affect the characters?
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How do these same forces affect others?
Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë (1847)
(see Great Expectations notes above)
Select Notes from Edsitement: Introducing Jane Eyre: An Unlikely Victorian Heroine
Introduction
When Charlotte Brontë set out to write the novel Jane Eyre, she was determined to create a main character
who challenged the notion of the ideal Victorian woman, or as Brontë was once quoted: "a heroine as plain and
as small as myself" (Gaskell, Chapter XV). Brontë's determination to portray a plain yet passionate young
woman who defied the stereotype of the docile and domestic Victorian feminine ideal most likely developed
from her own dissatisfaction with domestic duties and a Victorian culture that discouraged women from having
literary aspirations. . . . Contemplating Brontë's position and desire for literary achievement in that context,
students will consider why she felt compelled to write Jane Eyre and then to publish it under the male
pseudonym Currer Bell.
Background
During an era when etiquette guides circulated freely, empire waists gave way to tiny-waisted corsets, and tea
parties grew in popularity, it might seem incongruous that realistic novels would set the Victorian literary
trend. Perhaps the socially conscious novel may have been a result of the belief of the rising middle class of
Victorian England in the possibility for change, since they had witnessed such economic changes in their
lifetimes. Works such as Charles Dickens' Hard Times, George Eliot's Middlemarch and Charlotte's Brontë's
own sister Emily's Wuthering Heights featured female characters that represented trapped and repressed
Victorian women marrying for the wrong reasons, disillusioned with family life, and relying on their physical
beauty as a means to gain attention and advancement.
And then, along came the character Jane Eyre: physically uninteresting yet passionate and intense in her
desire to express her emotions and thoughts. It is no wonder that Currer Bell's (Charlotte Brontë's
pseudonym) novel was considered groundbreaking and bold. Jane is a heroine battling the same societal
limitations as her literary counterparts, but her raw narrative voice never fails to expose her Romantic
sensibilities, psychological depth, and her adamant desire to stay true to herself.
ANNOTATING TEXTS
What to Annotate
Literary Elements
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Character
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Setting
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Point of View
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Plot
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Theme
Literary Devices (apply to novels, short stories, drama, poetry)
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Connotation/Denotation
(Diction)
Metaphor/Simile
Personification
Apostrophe
Metonomy/Synecdoche
Symbol
Allegory
Paradox
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Overstatement/
Hyperbole
Understatement
Irony
Allusion
Imagery
Anaphora
Polysyndeton/Asyndeton
Parallelism
Analogy
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Repetition
Apposition/Variation
Rhetorical question
Oxymoron
Alliteration
Assonance/Consonance
Onomatopoeia
Cacaphony/Euphony
Phonetic intensives
Common Literary Themes
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Man versus self (alienation, arrogance, growth and initiation)
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Man versus man (human relations)
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Man versus Nature
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Man versus the gods
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Man versus society
How to Annotate
Read actively. Take advantage of the cues provided by the text: title, author, publication date, cover notes,
and table of contents.
Read with a pen or pencil in hand to underline important and/or interesting passages and to make notes in the
margins. You may also choose to annotate passages on sticky notes marking important notable pages.
The goal is active, involved reading:
Reading and constructing meaning from a text is a complex and active process; one way to
help students slow down and develop their critical analysis skills is to teach them to annotate
the text as they read. What students annotate can be limited by a list provided by the
teacher or it can be left up to the student’s discretion. Suggestions for annotating text can
include labeling and interpreting literary devices (metaphor, simile, imagery, personification,
symbol, alliteration, metonymy, synecdoche, etc.); labeling and explaining the writer’s
rhetorical devices and elements of style (tone, diction, syntax, narrative pace, use of
figurative language, etc.); or labeling the main ideas, supportive details and/or evidence that
leads the reader to a conclusion about the text. Of course, annotations can also include
questions that the reader poses and connections to other texts that reader makes while
reading. (Greece Central School District, www.greece.k12.ny.us/ instruction/ ELA/6-12/
Reading/Reading%20Strategies/annotating%20a%20text.htm)
Watch for main ideas and for the way the ideas are organized. Also, underline any new vocabulary, adding
definitions as needed. You will be graded on your marginalia.
Remember there is no one right way to annotate: create a system that works for you, complete with your own
symbols and shortcuts (but keep track of your own code).
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Highlighting or Underlining (a passive activity)
o Must be selective to be effective: mark only those words, phrases or sentences worthy of further
consideration; pertinent to your position or area of study
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Interesting passages—writing that catches your attention
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Key words of the discipline or topic
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Sentences
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Quotable, making significant points in well-worded phrasing
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Establish or shift an argument
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Evidence or proof
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Convincing (or questionable) conclusions
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Examples that help analyze or might be worth referring to
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Challengeable comments—questionable positions or unsupported arguments
o To ensure effectiveness, add a comment in margin explaining reasoning behind highlighting; that
is, what it is about the section that caught your eye
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Marginal Notes (Annotation): making use of text margins or sticky notes (a more activity, thoughtprovoking activity encouraging you to get more involved in the text)
o Define words
o Ask critical questions
o Clarify complex sentences by restating or rephrasing
o Interpret unclear words, sentences, ideas
o Evaluate: respond with reasoned commentary
o Trace a particular motif
o Note areas of confusion (?)
o Be aware of patterns (repeated themes or patterns)
o Make notes about your ideas (MINE). For example, something you read makes you angry—or
otherwise passionate—record your response so you remember how the text made you feel—and
why
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Circling or Dog-Earring important pages (or using a sticky note)
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Brackets to block our several lines (or even a paragraph) of key writing
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Asterisks: use one or more * to point to important passages/points. Using arrows  provides a similar
indicator
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Summary Notes
o List page numbers inside covers or in notebook
o Particularly useful for tracing a certain theme, character, symbol, particular rhetorical strategy,
etc. (especially if you are reading with a specific assignment in mind)