Summer Reading 2012
Junior College English
Gerum
Choose a book by an American author which was written during the Modern Age (1915-1946),
or during the Contemporary period (1946-present). You should be able to use our library or
Beardsley or the college library, or you can order from Amazon.
However, you can not use a book you studied in class sophomore year, such as Steinbeck’s Of
Mice and Men. If you do not do this assignment, you will receive an F for the first quarter.
Suggested authors: (but not limited to…)
Ernest Hemingway
F. Scott Fitzgerald (but not The Great Gatsby)
John Steinbeck (not Of Mice and Men)
William Faulkner
Willa Cather
Edith Wharton
Arthur Miller (not The Crucible)
Robert Cormier
Mitch Albom (Tuesdays With Morrie is excellent!)
Maya Angelou (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is excellent!)
Carson McCullers (The Heart is a Lonely Hunter is excellent!)
Joyce Carol Oats
Truman Capote
Assignment: Write a two to three page paper, MLA Format, on the following elements of
literature as they relate to the theme of your chosen novel:
Setting
Characterization
Symbols
Your goal is to focus on these elements of literature and use the plot only to develop your ideas
on these elements as they help to support the theme (main idea/point about life, people, or the
culture/ world in which we live.