AP English III Fiction Independent Reading Project
Type your responses to these questions and answer completely. Use complete sentences except for numbers 1 and 2. Most answers for numbers 3-10 need to be answered in one fully developed paragraph. Number 1 can just be a list with bullets.
1) List the main (2-4) characters here. For each one, describe him or her:
a) physically
b) their relationships with the other characters – how does he or she fit into the story?
(For ex: Jimmy is the main character. Suzy is his mother, and the bad guy, or force that works against him…..add detailed analysis.)
2)For your book as a whole:
a) Who is the protagonist? How does he/she fit this role?
b) Who is the antagonist? How does he/she fit this role?
3)Which conflict best fits your book: man vs. man, man vs. society, man vs. himself, man vs. nature? Explain why.
4) What is the setting of your book (time and place)? Describe briefly. How is the setting significant to the plot/theme/symbolism/meaning of the story?
5) Organize the plot of your novel into 5 steps and label them (i.e. exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement or resolution).
6) List, b) give an example, and c) briefly explain at least 5 literary elements you can find in your book (such as, but not limited to: symbolism, theme, motif, mood, tone, irony, style, point of view, flashback, foreshadowing, allusions, etc.)
7) Copy 3 important quotes from your book and briefly explain who says it, what it means, and why you feel it is significant to the story.
8)Are there any archetypes in your story? What/who are they? Briefly describe. What elements of this story fit into the “hero cycle” (ordinary world, crossing the threshold, the world of the adventure-quest-journey, mentors-allies-enemies, return home, etc.)? List and briefly describe each element that applies.
9)Did you like this book? Why or why not? Would you recommend it to a friend? Do you think it should be taught in school? Why or why not?
10) Put the title, publisher, date, and author, etc. of your novel into correct MLA format.
Students may choose a title from the approved list or choose their own selection of American literature with a Lexile level of 1000 or higher, but the book MUST be approved by the teacher if the student is reading a book not on the approved list. Only full-length works are acceptable for this project; short works of fiction, such as collections of short stories, are not acceptable.
Although it is not required, students are encouraged to purchase the book they have chosen and annotate as they read. An alternative method, of course, is to take notes in a notebook or on sticky notes.
Fiction Reading List—Possible Selections
Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya
My Antonia, Willa Cather
The Last of the Menu Girls, Denise Chavez
The Awakening, Kate Chopin
A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, Michael Dorris
Invisible Man, Ralph Ellison
Absalom, Absalom, William Faulkner
As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner
The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner
Light in August, William Faulkner
A Lesson before Dying, Earnest J. Gaines
Catch-22, Joseph Heller
On the Road, Jack Kerouac
No Country for Old Men, Cormac McCarthy
All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
Terms of Endearment, Larry McMurtry
The Last Picture Show, Larry McMurtry
Beloved, Toni Morrison
The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison
The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath
Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
Ceremony, Leslie Silko
The Adventures of Huck Finn, Mark Twain
Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut
Slaughterhouse Five, Kurt Vonnegut
The Color Purple, Alice Walker
Hard copy and turnitin.com submission (for Solomon) and Google Classroom and turnitin.com submission (for Dyer) by ______