A.P. Literature and Composition Summer Assignment, June 2013
Welcome to A.P. Literature and Composition! This course focuses on the critical reading
of literature. The course is intended as a college-level study of literature and composition and
all students are expected to take the AP Literature and Composition Examination next year.
Your enrollment in this class implies that you are academically motivated and intellectually
curious, that you plan on attending college, and that you want to read and discuss great works
of literature.
Nothing you can do academically better prepares you for your future studies than
reading books—lots of them—and then writing about what you have read. As such, one of your
prerequisites for AP Literature is to complete a summer reading assignment. Summer reading
gives you an opportunity to develop and maintain your critical reading and thinking skills and
will give you the chance to continue building a strong foundation of literature for the AP Exam in
May.
You are required to read TWO major works this summer and write a response to each.
The novel list contains a variety of works recommended by the College Board or that appear on
various lists of recommended reading for college-bound students and range in genres and by
authors. Some books may contain language or situations that may make you feel
uncomfortable. If so, select another title. Do not select a work you have already read. Many of
the books are available on amazon.com, in libraries, or bookstores.
The summer reading is an opportunity for you to sustain, revive, or develop a daily reading
habit. This is a habit that will serve you well both through the class and through life. Your
essays will be due in early September.
The novels included on the list encompass some of the most influential novels ever
written and cross through time periods and genres. Find two that jump out at you as interesting
(you may want to do some research first). This is an opportunity to expand your knowledge and
base of literature. Rather than taking it as a task to complete, take it is an opportunity to further
your education.
Feel free to contact me over the summer if you have questions or concerns. Enjoy your
summer, and looking forward to our discussions and work together next fall!
Ms. Matthusen
amatthusen@ewsis.org
ALL ESSAYS WILL BE CHECKED WITH TURNITIN.COM FOR PLAGIARISM OF ONLINE SOURCES,
AND SIMILARITIES WITH OTHER STUDENTS’ ESSAYS. ANY ISSUES OF ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
MAY RESULT IN YOUR REMOVAL FROM THE COURSE.
Dracula, Stoker
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich,
Solzhenitsyn
Catch-22, Heller
All is Quiet on the Western Front, Remarque
The Awakening, Chopin
Ethan Frome, Wharton
East of Eden, Steinbeck
The Count of Monte Crisco, Dumas
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson
Frankenstein, Shelley
For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway
A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man,
Joyce
Invisible Man, Ellison
Journey to the Center of the Earth, Wells
Justine, Sade
The Last of the Mohicans, Cooper
Lolita, Nabokov
Middlemarch, Eliot
Mrs. Dalloway, Woolf
1984, Orwell
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde
Phineas Finn, Trollope
The Turn of the Screw, James
The Power and Glory, Greene
My Antonia, Cather
Rabbit, Run, Updike
Rebecca, Maurier
Robinson Crusoe, Defoe
Sister Carrie, Dreiser
The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood
The Road, McCarthy
A Prayer for Owen Meany, Irving
The World According to Garp, Irving
Atonement, McEwan
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Safran
Foer
Like Water for Chocolate, Esquivel
The Shipping News, Proulx
White Teeth, Z. Smith
House of Leaves, Danielewski
Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay,
Chabon
Watchmen, Moore
Slaughterhouse Five, Vonnegut
The God of Small Things, Roy
Interview with a Vampire, Rice
A Clockwork Orange, Burgess
The Alchemist, Coelho
The Remains of the Day, Ishiguro
The Help, Stockett
Fight Club, Palahniuk
Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated
Culture, Coupland
The Stone Diaries, Shields
The Cloud Atlas, Mitchell
The Maltese Falcon, Hammett
Infinite Jest, Wallace
Sula, Morrison
A Lesson Before Dying, Gaines
Love Medicine, Erdrich
Bless Me, Ultima, Anaya
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,
Pirsig
Wild Swans, Chang
On the Road, Kerouac
I, Claudius, Graves
High Fidelity, Hornby
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,
Eggers
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Thompson
The Bonfire of the Vanities, Wolfe
Blood and Guts in High School, Acker
Casino Royale, Fleming
Fear of Flying, Jong
The Last Dickens, Pearl
The Goalie’s Anxiety at the Penalty Kick,
Handke
Essay Prompts
Select a prompt for each novel that you read and complete a thorough analysis of that novel
(one essay per novel: two essays total). Do NOT use the same prompt for both texts.
1. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit
that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized
essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid
plot summary.
2 Some works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological
sequence of events may be altered, or time may be accelerated or suspended. Choose a novel of
recognized literary merit and how the author’s manipulation of time contributes to the
effectiveness of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.
3. Choose a distinguished novel in which some of the most significant events are mental or
psychological; for example awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In an organized
essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement,
suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.
4. Choose a novel that depicts a conflict between a parent (or parental figure) and a son or a
daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the source of the conflict and explain how the
conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.
5. Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are
alienated from that culture or society because of gender, class, creed, or race. Choose a novel in
which such a character plays a significant role and show how that character’s alienation reveals
the surrounding society’s assumptions and moral values. Avoid plot summary.
Guidelines for AP Essay Writing
In your essay…
· …introduce the full name of the author and title of the work (always underline the title)
· …use the author’s last name for the remainder of the paper
· …make an assertion or state a claim as a controlling idea for the paper (a thesis)
· …use some of the language of the prompt in your opening paragraph (do not simply restate the
prompt)
· …use specific details and examples from the book in your supporting paragraphs
· …create strong transitions between sentences and paragraphs
· …do not include plot summary
· …eliminate personal tone (“I think…” or “In my opinion,” for example)
· …form a conclusion to demonstrate that you have proven your thesis