English III Honors Summer Reading/Journal Assignment:
Book Assignment:
You need to read the following book and be prepared to take a quiz on this book the first day of class:
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
A print copy of this book will be given to you in May in your English class. If you do not receive one, please see Mrs. Leach or Ms. Rosenbaum for a copy. It is also available for download at:
http://highmail.highlands.k12.fl.us/~rosenbac/
www.turnitin.com
You also need to complete a 500-750 word reading journal on this book directly to www.turnitin.com. (You will submit all of your essays, journals, and other assignments directly to www.turnitin.com for this class; it is not necessary to print off a hard copy or the receipt.)
This will be worth 50 points, and your journal should be submitted to www.turnitin.com by 11:59 pm on August 11, 2016. You will not need to print off a copy since this will be available to read on www.turnitin.com. When you submit it to www.turnitin.com, please make sure you upload the assignment, as that will keep it properly formatted. You should also be aware that you are allowed to re-submit this assignment as many times as you wish until the due date.
You can sign up for English III Honors by entering:
· If your teacher is Mrs. Leach- Class id is: 12569330 and Password is: mrsleach
· If your teacher is Ms. Rosenbaum- Class id is: 12491837 and Password is: awesome
· Note: You should wait to submit this assignment until you find out who your teacher is; you will find this out at Open House (which will be the week of August 4) or on the first day of school (which is August 10).
Journal Assignment
You need to write 500-750 words. You need to write on at least two of the questions, but no more than five. On your journal, simply write the number of the question you did, but not the question itself. You should have your name, teacher’s name, class name and class period, and due date in the upper left-hand corner. You should number your pages according to MLA style (with your last name and the page number in the upper right hand corner of each page). You should use Times New Roman 12 point font and double space your entire responses. Please visit the following website to see how to properly format your paper using MLA style:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/
Questions are on the next page!
Although this is a journal and not a formal essay, you still need to remove contractions, slang, and the use of “you” from your writing. The following are your journal questions:
For Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass:
1. Remembering his grandmother, Douglass speaks of “unconscious children.” To what extent are today’s children “unconscious”? Do you think children should be protected, or should they be exposed to uncomfortable realities?
2. There is virtually no dialogue in Douglass’ narrative. Do you agree with Douglass’ decision to limit dialogue? Why or why not?
3. Douglass at one point states, “Slavery soon proved its ability to divest her of these heavenly qualities. Under its influence, the tender heart became stone.” Notice that Douglass does not blame Sophia Auld for her change of heart. He blames slavery. Would you? Why or why not? Why does Douglass refuse to blame Sophia?
4. Try to express Douglass’ mother’s love for her son by writing about her visits in a journal. Imagine that your work day begins at dawn, that you labor ten to twelve hours in a field, eat a meager meal of corn mush, then walk twelve miles to see your son. While you rest, you record your thoughts and feelings in a journal. What does that journal entry say?
5. Imagine how Douglass felt driving that ox cart. Have you ever had a job you could not handle? What did the experience teach you about yourself?
6. Through violence, Douglass ends his punishment and wins self-respect. Is violence ever appropriate? How much can it achieve? What are its limits?
7. Douglass says, “You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” He uses passive voice in this sentence, implying that circumstances rather than his own efforts were responsible for his transformation. Do you agree with his implication? Why or why not?
8. What was your reaction to learning that Douglass escaped successfully to the North?
9. Have you ever visited another country or a strange part of town and been surprised by what you saw? How does your experience compare with Douglass’ reaction to the North?
10. Douglass was a man of his times. He used the language and manner of his times. Imagine Douglass on television today, using quotes from the Bible and hurling contempt at his target. Would he be successful? What would his public relations advisor say? Would Douglass have to change his style for today’s audience?
11. Do you think the appendix is necessary? Why or why not? How does it add to or detract from the text?
12. What would Frederick Douglass think of today’s multicultural society, its achievements, and its problems? Explain your answer.
13. Soon you will leave high school behind and enter the world. How do ties to friends and family hold you back? How do they help you?