AP English Literature and Composition Grade 12
Summer Reading 2012
The teachers of AP English Literature and Composition welcome your enrollment in the course.
We look forward to working with you next year, and in anticipation of that relationship, encourage you to
read broadly, deeply, and pleasurably this summer. Course requirements call for you to read three specific
works and at least one free-choice book in preparation for class in September. In addition to the reading
assignment, you are expected to complete a short set of tasks for the required novels and for one other book
you read. These tasks include preparing to write ONE short essay based on ONE of the required books(see
essay below), and to provide passage analyses on all four works. Questions? Contact Mr. Bartolotta at
bartolottat@fpsct.org or Ms. Gillis at gillisv@fpsct.org.
Required Readings
Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka
Reservation Blues, by Sherman Alexie
Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
Tasks – Typed, double-spaced
1. Passages—due second day of school year. Select a passage from each of the four books you read,
and write a one-page response describing how the author’s style, language, or use of literary devices
creates meaning. Provide a copy of the passage with your response.
2. Essay. You will use one of the required texts to write an essay on one of the questions below
during the first week of school. Prepare for this essay before, during, and after your reading by
reviewing the questions. Have several discussion ideas on each of the required books for the second
day of class. Your ideas should be in the form of typed-up notes. Things you might consider:
theme, literary elements, and styles.
Open-Ended Questions for Essay
1. In literature, parallel or recurring events often prove to be significant. In an essay on ONE of the
assigned works, describe the similarities and differences in a sequence of parallel or recurring events
and discuss the significance of these similarities and differences. Do not merely summarize the plot.
2. Each of the works depicts conflict between a parental or authority figure and a son, daughter, or
person of lower status. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict in ONE of the
works and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.
3. In each of the assigned works, a character’s or characters’ evolving awareness of their place in the
world influences their understanding of what is true. Write an essay in which you analyze how the
perception of reality—what a character or character believes to be true--contributes to the greater
theme of ONE of the works.
4. Use ONE of the assigned readings to respond to the following prompt:
A character’s attempt to recapture or to reject the past is important in many plays and novels.
Choose a literary work in which a character views the past with such feelings as reverence,
bitterness, or longing. Show with clear evidence from the work how the character’s view of the
past is used to develop a theme in the work.