AP Literature and Composition: Summer Reading 2017-2018

AP Literature and Composition: Summer Reading 2017-2018

Due the first day of class, printed out

Choose one of the books below. Read it and write a 3-5 page MLA formatted paper (not including the Works Cited) answering the prompt below. The blurbs have been provided by the publisher.

Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston

One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.

Emma, Jane Austen

Beautiful, clever, rich—and single—Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.

The Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams

It is a very short list of 20th-century American plays that continue to have the same power and impact as when they first appeared―57 years after its Broadway premiere, Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire is one of those plays. The story famously recounts how the faded and promiscuous Blanche DuBois is pushed over the edge by her sexy and brutal brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family. Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women—brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul—this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction.

Crime and Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky

One of the most influential novels of the nineteenth century, Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment tells the tragic story of Raskolnikov—a talented former student whose warped philosophical outlook drives him to commit murder. Surprised by his sense of guilt and terrified of the consequences of his actions, Raskolnikov wanders through the slums of pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg trying to escape the ever-suspicious Porfiry, the official investigating the crime.

Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe

Told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a wealthy and fearless Igbo warrior of Umuofia in the late 1800s, Things Fall Apart explores one man's futile resistance to the devaluing of his Igbo traditions by British political and religious forces and his despair as his community capitulates to the powerful new order. With more than 20 million copies sold and translated into fifty-seven languages, Things Fall Apart provides one of the most illuminating and permanent monuments to African experience. Achebe does not only capture life in a pre-colonial African village, he conveys the tragedy of the loss of that world while broadening our understanding of our contemporary realities.

Prompt:

Select a character in your novel that changed over the course of the book. How does that character help the author reveal a major theme in the book?

This essay should follow the expected organizational structure for an academic essay, including an introduction, thesis, body, and conclusion. Be sure that your thesis addresses both the character and the theme you’ve identified to discuss and support, support, support! See the rubric for grading parameters.

Follow Up:

*Shortly after returning to school, you will take AR tests on your novels.

* Bring your copy of the text to school with you on the first day of class.

* ALERT: The movie version of these novels do not exactly reflect the story told in the novel! Viewing the movie version of the novel is okay after actually reading the text; however, just relying on the movie version of the text will not prove beneficial to you.

AP English: Literature and Composition Rubric:

Based off of the 2008 AP Scoring Guide

9–8 These essays offer a well-focused and persuasive analysis of the topic. Using apt and specific textual support, these essays fully explore the topic and demonstrate what it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Although not without flaws, these essays make a strong case for their interpretation and discuss the literary work with significant insight and understanding. Generally, essays scored a 9 reveal more sophisticated analysis and more effective control of language than do those scored an 8.

7–6 These essays offer a reasonable analysis of the topic. They explore the topic and demonstrate what it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. These essays show insight and understanding, but the analysis is less thorough, less perceptive, and/or less specific in supporting detail than that of those in the 9–8 range. Generally, essays scored a 7 present better-developed analysis and more consistent command of the elements of effective composition than do those scored a 6.

5 These essays respond to the assigned task with a plausible reading, but they tend to be superficial or underdeveloped in analysis. They often rely on plot summary that contains some analysis, implicit or explicit. Although the essays attempt to discuss the topic and how it contributes to the work as a whole, they may demonstrate a rather simplistic understanding of the work. Typically, these responses reveal unsophisticated thinking and/or immature writing. They demonstrate adequate control of language, but they may lack effective organization and may be marred by surface errors.

4–3 These lower-half essays offer a less than thorough understanding of the task or a less than adequate treatment of it. They reflect an incomplete or oversimplified understanding of the work. They may not address or develop a response to how that relationship contributes to the work as a whole, or they may rely on plot summary alone. Their assertions may be unsupported or even irrelevant. Often wordy, elliptical, or repetitious, these essays may lack control over the elements of college-level composition. Essays scored a 3 may contain significant misreading and demonstrate inept writing.

2–1 Although these essays make some attempt to respond to the prompt, they compound the weaknesses of those in the 4–3 range. Often, they are unacceptably brief or are incoherent in presenting their ideas. They may be poorly written on several counts and contain distracting errors in grammar and mechanics. The ideas are presented with little clarity, organization, or supporting evidence. Particularly inept, vacuous, and/or incoherent essays must be scored a 1.

0 These essays do no more than make a reference to the task.

— These essays either are left blank or are completely off topic.

Grade Equivalents: