Spring 2016
Class: 9th Grade AP Language and Composition
One (1) book is required for Summer Reading 2016: The Pigmanby Paul Zindel. You may order a copy from Books-A-Million, Amazon, et cetera. You must have the book the first day of class, and you will annotate it as part of your summer assignment.
Summer Reading Assignment Outline
• For the novels listed, you must complete a well-written essay. The essay prompt is provided below.
• In addition to the essay, you must annotate your text, using a highlighter and margin notes or sticky notes.
• At the end of the packet you will see literary critique questions. These questions are NOT an assignment. They are, however, a guideline for you to follow as you are reading and annotating the text. These questions will be helpful to know as you participate in the assessments upon your return to school.
On the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL you should have:
1. One (1) handwritten or typed essay, minimum of five well-developed paragraphs
including an introduction, thesis statement, and conclusion.
2. One (1) annotated text (novel)
The English teachers will be available during the summer via email for any questions that might arise. Please be patient when waiting for a reply. We will do our best to check our emails regularly and reply to your questions as quickly as possible. Do not wait until the week before school to begin your assignments. This will not allow you enough time to analyze the text properly.
Cole Heard
Freshman/Sophomore English
Conflict and Theme
Theme, or the relationship between a text and the human experience, is often revealed through a tension or conflict between two forces in a work of fiction:
●Human beings in conflict with nature
●Human beings in conflict with one another
●Human beings in conflict with themselves
●Human beings in conflict with fate
●Two universal forces in conflict (good and evil, passion and reason, vengeance and compassion, etc.)
Often fictional texts involve more than one of these conflicts. Just as in real life, conflict in a work of imaginative literature can teach us truths about what it means to be human. If a reader can determine at least one of the conflicts that a work contains, he or she can often find in it the means to uncover a universal theme.
Below are definitions of terminology commonly used when discussing theme. Many students confuse thematic ideas with thematic statements. Consistency will help students clarify the concepts dealing with theme. The major idea that students need to come to understand is that theme (which is an abstract idea) is created/revealed through the conflict (which is concrete-what do the characters experience in the text?). When we discuss and write about theme, we are examining the ways that every element of the text is linked to the insight about life that the work reveals.
Definition of terms:
●Conflict- the tension or struggle between forces
●Specific thematic idea- an abstract idea (can be expressed in one or two words) the author explores through the plot and characters
●Thematic statement- a complete, declarative statement that reveals what the author is trying to communicate about the human experience through his/her literary work. One way to explain this to students is to ask the question: “What does this piece of literature have to say about ______(the thematic idea).
For your essay you will develop the following thematic statement and write an essay that tells how Paul Zindel uses various conflicts throughout the novel to create his theme.
Begin your essay with the following thematic statement in order to familiarize yourself with the appropriate format:
“In the novel The Pigman, Paul Zindel uses multiple conflicts to reveal the theme (that/of)______.”
Each body paragraph should:
●discuss a conflict in the novel
●provide a quote from the novel with parenthetical documentation (p. 17).
●discuss how that conflict relates to the theme you have decided to write about
The following questions will help you during the reading of your novels. Look at and answer these while you are reading to further assist you. Not all of these questions pertain to every novel, but these are a good representation of the types of questions you will see on further assessments. This is not an assignment and will not be graded.
1. Explain the title. In what ways is it suitable to the story?
2. What is the predominant element in the story- plot, theme, character, setting?
3. Who is the single main character about whom the story centers?
4. What sort of conflict confronts the leading character or characters?
a. external?
b. internal?
5. How is the conflict resolved?
6. How does the author handle characterization?
a. by description?
b. conversation of the characters?
c. actions of the characters?
d. combination of these methods?
7. Who tells the story? What point of view is used?
a. first person?
b. omniscient?
8. Where does the primary action take place?
9. What is the time setting for the action? Period of history? Season? Time of day?
10. How much time does the story cover?
a. a few minutes?
b. a lifetime?
c. how long?
11. How does the story get started? What is the initial incident?
12. Briefly describe the rising action of the story.
13. What is the high point, or climax, of the story?
14. Discuss the falling action or close of the story.
15. Does this story create any special mood?
16. Is this story realistic or true to life? Explain your answers by giving examples.
17. Are the events or incidents of the plot presented in flashback or in chronological order?
18. What is the general theme of the story? What is the underlying theme? Can you name any other stories with a similar theme?
19. Did you identify with any of the characters?
20. Does this story contain any of the following elements?
a. symbolism?
b. incongruity?
c. suspense?
d. surprise ending?
e. irony?
f. satire?
21. Was there a villain in the story? a hero? a dynamic character?
22. Can you find any examples of figurative language?
a. simile?
b. metaphor?
c. personification?
Focused on Success