AP English Literature and Composition 2010-2011[1]

Summer Assignment
Mrs. Bull, ; E-mail:

Welcome to AP English Literature and Composition! Your summer reading assignment has three parts:

  1. Read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. You will need to have read the entire book by the first day of class in the fall (Aug. 16). During the first days of school, we will have both an objective test that tests your knowledge of the book and an in-class essay that also demonstrates the level of your writing capabilities.
  2. Visit my website andcomplete the Major Works Data Sheet[2] (MWDS) on the novel Please type your sheet. Do your own work so that you will understand the text and will have interesting ideas to add to our conversation. This assignment will also be useful for our spring review of major works in preparation for the AP test about a year from now.  The MWDS is due the first day of class.
  3. Visit my website and complete the assignment under the link for “Summer Reading Assignment for 2010-11.” You will respond to the poems which are alluded to in The Poisonwood Bible, makingconnections with the novel. Responses will be due the first day of class.

Suggestions:

  • Read with your pen. That is, I recommend you annotate a personal copy of the book, or that you use sticky notes to make annotations on a school copy.
  • Rely on your own reading and note-taking to help you understand this book. Outside sources, while sometimes helpful in comprehension, cannot replace the reading.
  • Do not wait until the last minute to read this book. It is not a quick read. Give yourself a few weeks to finish it.
  • If you read the book early in the summer, refresh your reading before school starts. We will spend several weeks on the text and refer to it throughout the year. Your familiarity with the novel is essential.

Major points to consider as you read The Poisonwood Bible:

The novel chronicles one family’s experience in the Congo during the time that Belgian rule ends and the nation tries to become a democracy. Because multiple narrators tell the story, the reader must piece together the composite picture. Likewise, the reader must make inferences about the father’s character, for he never tells the story, and what he is can be seen only through the eyes of his wife and daughters. Pay attention not only to the characters’ version of events and their differing attitudes about their experiences but also to their use of language. Each character’s voice is distinctive and reveals much about her personality.

Nathan Price, his wife, and their daughters are fictional characters the author uses to explore difficult questions in the novel. Nathan is not meant to represent all religious leaders and missionaries, nor is Kingsolver necessarily criticizing allmissionary endeavors. Her primary use of the religious aspect of the story is to get an American family into African culture and to show contrasts in thinking and living, and about ways of sharing cultural and religious views with people who have not grown up with one’s own traditions. After reading and annotating, you should be able to draw conclusions about those contrasts, about the personalities of each of the main characters, about life in this part of Africa, and about international intervention in the affairs of nations.

Have a great summer! Enjoy the book! E-mail me if you have any questions, and I’ll see you in your senior year!

[1] This course is recommended for those students who have an A or B in AP English Language and Composition or a strong A in American Studies or in American Lit and in Composition. In addition, it is recommended that you take this course only if you truly enjoy reading, writing, and analyzing literature. If you have not taken AP Lang. & Comp, be prepared to work a little harder to build your skills. We primarily study fictional literature, including poetry. If you are still not sure if this course is for you, please visit with your current English teacher and/or your counselor as soon as possible. You can also see me in A136 with questions about the course.

[2] This overview of the summer assignment, the Major Works Data Sheet, the poetry portion of this assignment, along with other coursework and AP related items, are on my website.