EnglishIII AdvancedPlacement
SummerReadingAssignments
TheprimarypurposeoftheAPEnglishcoursesis togivestudents afirst-year college readingandwritingcoursewhichprepares themtoencountersophisticatedtexts withconfidence,independence, andcreativity. TheAPexams useclose reading,careful analysis oftext,andpreciseuseofthetexttodevelopawrittenresponse.
Priortothestartofthefall semester,students enrolledin EnglishIIIAPwillbe requiredtoreadanovelandasetofessays. Theywillalsocompletethefollowing assignments. Thenovelmaybepurchasedatlocalbookstores orcheckedoutfromthe publiclibrary. Westronglyrecommendthestudents purchasethebooksotheymay highlightandtakenotes init. Theessays areavailableonline.
Testingonthesummerreadingwillbecompletedwithinthefirstweekofschool
inthefallandwillconstitutealargeportionofthefirstgradingperiod. This summer readingismandatory;failuretomeetthese requirements willresultina recommendation thatthestudentbe reassigned. Projects are dueontheseconddayof class inAugust.
Ifyouhaveanyquestions,pleasefeelfreetocallSusanDay,CalallenHigh
School,242-5626, ext.7425or emailherat .
TheAdventures ofHuckleberryFinn-MarkTwain
Directions: Answerthefollowingcomprehensivequestions onthenovel. Donotwrite essayresponses;insteadfollowtheunderlinedsubtitlesbelowtomakecharts anduse bulletsinnoteform. Youstillneedtomakesurethatyouranswers areclear,detailed, andsupportedwithseveraldirectquotes orveryspecificdetails,notingpage numbers,sowecaneasilyreferenceyouranswersinclassdiscussion. Somequestions requireoutside research;allofthequestions assumeacertainproficiencyinliterary analysis. Youareexpectedtowordprocessyourresponses.Follow MLAformatfor headingandpagenumbers.This summerreadingprojectis duetheseconddayofschool inAugust.
AssignedQuestions:
1. HowareTwain’s ownlifeexperiences reflectedinthenovel?
A. Facts About Twain’s Life
B. ParallelsinHuckFinn
2. Whyis thepointofviewusedinHuckFinnsoeffective?
A. Whatis thepoint ofview
B. Effectiveness ofPointofView
C. ExampleinHuckFinn
3. Twainis considereda regionalwriter. Examinethetechniques Twainuses todepict
“localcolor.”Findexamples ofeach:
A. misspellings/inventedwords
B. dialect,
C. superstitions, D. traditions
E. imagery.
4. Thestructureofthisnovelis symmetrical,bringingHuckfullcirclefromsocietytofreedom andbacktosociety. Identifythethreeinstances whereHuckhas toconsiderwhattodo abouthelping Jimanddiscuss howtheyrelatetotheplotstructureandconflictofthenovel.
A. Instances Regarding Jim
B. Significance
5. HuckFinncanbeappreciatedatvariouslevels ofreading,fromthesimpleadventurestoryto complexsatire. Themoreyouknow,themoreyouseesocietyridiculedinthis novel. Discuss twoofTwain’s satirictargets,elaboratingonhisviews ofspecificinstitutions,attitudes,etc.
A. ExampleofSatire
B. PointofRidicule
6. ThecharacterofTomSawyerservesinmanyways as afoiltoHuck. Analyzethecontrast betweenTomandHuck,providingspecificevidencetosupportyourclaims.
A. CharacterTraits forTom Proof
B. Contrasting Traits forHuck Proof
7. DeterminewhetherthecharacterofHuckFinnis staticordynamic. Tosupportyouranswer, considerthefollowing: Huck’svarious assumedidentities,his relationshipwithJim, andother significantturningpointsinhis development.
A. Answer: Static orDynamic?B. Facts about Huck’s Character C. Evidence
8. Throughouttheyears,HuckFinnhasbeenaverycontroversialbook,partlydueto disagreementoverTwain’s portrayalofJim. ManyseeTwainas racist, usingoffensivelanguageandanegativeportrayaloftheblack slave. Others believeheis deliberatelyplayingwithus, makingus seeJimasafatherfigureandoneofthefewworthyadultsinHuck’slife. Develop yourownopinionregarding Jim’s character.
A. Opinion B.Evidence
Satire–JonathanSwift, BenjaminFranklin,andHenryDavidThoreau
Directions: Satireis oftenacarefulblendofhumor,irony,sarcasm,andvarious rhetoricaldevices. Thepurposeofsatireis toexposethefollyofsomeaspectofhuman life,perhaps withtheaimofbringingaboutsome reformorimprovement. Satirecanrun thegamutfromlightlyhumoroustoscathinglybitter. Thesatiricalwriterruns theriskof beingmisinterpretedbya readerwhofails tograspthatthewrittenworkis satire. When thismisinterpretationoccurs, the readercomes awaybelievingthattheauthorwas supportingtheverythings thathe,infact,was attacking. Readthefollowingessays (all availableontheinternet), andinawell-developedparagraph(one-halftoonepage)for each,discuss theintendedmeaningoftheauthorandtheliterarydevices theauthorused toconveythesatire. Ifunfamiliar withthebasicstrategies ofthesatirist,useasource suchasWikipediatodosome researchaboutsatire. Do notuse referencesources to analyzethepieces ofsatirebelow. PleasetypeyourresponseinMLAessayformatwith correctheadingandpagenumbers.
A. “AModestProposal” byJonathanSwift
B. “PaxQuaeriturBello” byBenjaminFranklin
C. “BruteNeighbors”(sections 12–14only,sometimes called“TheBattleofthe Ants”),fromChapter12ofWalden byHenryDavid Thoreau