English III Honors Summer Reading
Hello! My name is Mrs. McLaughlin, and I am so excited to be your English III Honors teacher next year! I
know we are going to have a great year. Below is your summer reading assignment. Read it over soon. Start it
soon. This will allow you plenty of time to clear up any questions you may have. As I am new to the district,
my school email is not yet established. Please email me at mrs.sa.mclaughlin@gmail.com if you have any
questions. Have a fabulous summer Happy reading!
Assignment 1: The Scarlet Letter
For your assignment, you should read The Scarlet Letter. This will be a dense read—perhaps the most difficult
of your high school career thus far, but it is a beautifully written novel that is an important part of gaining a
“complete” education. You DO NOT need to read “The Custom House” (the introductory chapter to the novel),
but you should read summaries and be familiar with its content.
As you read, find a passage from the novel for each motif (listed on the information page). Either copy the
passage straight from the novel, or type up a fresh copy. The length of your chosen passages will vary, but a
good approximation is one to three pages from the novel. Annotate these passages (if you have trouble, check
out the annotation guide), think about their importance to the novel as a whole and their relation to any
themes you notice Hawthorne advancing (hint, hint--always think about themes). Be ready to potentially write
about one of these passages the first week of school. Also, be ready to take a test over the novel the first week
of school.
Assignment 2: Self Select Novel
I want you to choose a novel that YOU want to read. Here’s the catch: it must be an ADULT novel, and it must
be FICTION. Young Adult Literature, e.g., The Fault In Our Stars or anything Nicholas Sparks, will not work for
this assignment. If you are having trouble choosing a book, consider the novels that you have read in school so
far—which was your favorite? Perhaps you would like to read a different book by the same author. Think
about the kinds of movies you like to watch. Try to choose a book from the same genre. Research the
synopsis of any book before you purchase or read it if you’re worried about being offended by the subject
matter. If you find you are still having trouble choosing, or if you are not certain if your choice will meet the
requirements, you may email me; I would love to help you.
Once you have chosen your novel, ANNOTATE IT. I will be checking your annotations the first week of school.
Be prepared to be working with this book for a while; you will have an extensive assignment over it the first
nine weeks of school.
Additional Information
An Introduction to Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1964)
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4th, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. His family descended from
the earliest settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Hawthorne is related to a John Hawthorne, one of
the judges at the 1692 witch trials, the subject of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, which you will also be
reading this summer. He is also related to another Hawthorne known for his persecution of the
Quakers. Hawthorne was both disturbed and fascinated by his kinship with these forebears. He was
haunted bythe intolerance and cruelty of these ancestors. His character and his focus as a writer were
shaped by a sense of inherited guilt. HE believed that evil was a dominant force in the world, and his
fiction expressed a gloomy vision of human affairs.
Hawthorne befriended Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau—two writers of the
Transcendentalist movement. He was appointed surveyor at the Salem custom house, which happens
to be the location from where the surveyor, a nameless narrator, finds a number of documents, among
them a manuscript bundled with a scarlet, gold-embroidered patch of cloth in the shape of an “A.” The
manuscript is specifically found in the custom house’s attic and is a work of a past surveyor that gives
details of events that occurred some two hundred years before the narrator’s time. This is what “The
Custom House” describes.
The Puritan Influence
The majority of Hawthorne’s work exemplifies America’s Puritan past. The Scarlet Letter is the epitome
of this literary influence. The Puritans were a group of religious reformers who arrived in Massachusetts
in the 1630s under the leadership of John Winthrop (whose death is recounted in the novel). They came
to America in search of religious freedom, but were characterized by a strict moral code and strong work
ethic. They wanted to “purify” the Church of England ruled by King James. For this, they were
persecuted and forced to seek a place where they could build “a city upon a hill,” where they were free
to practice their beliefs in peace. However, their religious sect was known for its intolerance of
dissenting ideas and lifestyles. Settled in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, they lived stern, simple lives
and emphasized hard work and religious devotion. Puritans believed that only certain people were
predestined by God to go to heaven. People who behaved unusually were often believed to be
controlled by evil forces.
The Setting
The Scarlet Letter was written in 1850, but is set in the 1640s in the Puritan village of Boston,
Massachusetts. Nearby is a forest, home of the Black Man (the devil)—a place of darkness, but also a
place of freedom.
Major Motifs
Civilization vs. the Wilderness
In The Scarlet Letter, the town and the surrounding forest represent opposing behavioral systems.
Hawthorne investigates the role of nature in human life—both positive and negative aspects.
Night vs. Day
Hawthorne emphasizes the dichotomy between sunlight and darkness. What might these symbolize in
the novel?
Evocative names
The names in this novel often seem to beg to be interpreted symbolically. Think about what each name
makes you think of and what it may represent.
Close Reading and Annotating of Texts
Annotate words, phrases, and passages that strike you. Perhaps you like an idea, a phrase, a
character, or an image, or perhaps you are struck by a section of dialogue, or maybe you are puzzled
or mystified by a passage. Underline, bracket, circle, or highlight any such item.
Also, in the margins, make notations for:
Questions that a passage raises for you
Analytical comments – what you think about a passage?
Summaries of what a passage is saying
Connections that a passage suggests with anything else you have read, thought about, or
experienced.
"I never know what's important. How do I do this?"
1. Finish reading a "chunk" (paragraph/page/chapter) before you mark
2. Be selective
Marking everything does not help
Too much on a page is hard to review and ascertain the important facts.
1. Use your own words--don't try to be fancy. Remember, this is for you.
2. Be systematic. Just marking without a system is the same as just highlighting an entire book. Circle
new words, underline repetitive ideas, use post-it notes, or try a sentence or two at the beginning of
the chapter to sum up the main ideas.
3. This is also where paying attention to certain motifs should help you. Keep the motifs at the
forefront of your mind as you read. Mark when you see something that relates to one of these!
Other ideas for annotating include:
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Underline a word or phrase which puzzles you.
Circle a word or phrase you like. Perhaps you like the language, style, diction or image it evokes.
Mark visual images, grammatical patterns, or repetitions of words or images.
Once you discover themes, track them throughout the text.
Note figurative language throughout the text. Mark similes, metaphors, personification, and other
examples of figurative language.
Keep a list of questions you encounter while reading; you may want to bring them up during class
discussion.
Follow the passage of characters throughout the novel. You may want to choose a color for each
character and mark passages/events significant to the development of that character.
Note things you like and dislike, what seems confusing or unusual, or what predictions or reactions
you may make.
Make connections: I noticed that . . . Why does . . . This scene reminds me of . . . I now realize or think
that . . . The setting is important because . . .
RECAP:
On the first day of school, you should:
-Have an annotated passage from The Scarlet Letter for each motif
-Be ready to take a test over The Scarlet Letter
-Have a copy (or electronic version) of your self select novel with annotations