HONORS American Literature Parallel Reading #2

Directions: Choose one of the following books to read on your own. The assignment to complete is on the back. It is due Wednesday, March 22 by 3:30.

  1. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles (Lexile 1110): An American classic and great bestseller for over thirty years,A Separate Peaceis timeless in its description of adolescence during a period when the entire country was losing its innocence to World War II.Set at a boys' boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II,A Separate Peaceis a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.
  1. The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd (Lexile 840): Set in South Carolina in 1964,The Secret Life of Beestells the story of Lily Owens, whose life has been shaped around the blurred memory of the afternoon her mother was killed. When Lily's fierce-hearted black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three of the deepest racists in town, Lily decides to spring them both free. They escape to Tiburon, South Carolina--a town that holds the secret to her mother's past. Taken in by an eccentric trio of black beekeeping sisters, Lily is introduced to their mesmerizing world of bees and honey, and the Black Madonna. This is a remarkable novel about divine female power, a story women will share and pass on to their daughters for years to come.
  1. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy (Lexile 870): A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing; just a pistol to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food—and each other.
  1. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger (790): The hero-narrator ofThe Catcher in the Ryeis an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield. Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days. The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it. There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices-but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all. Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure. However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep.J.D. Salinger's classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion was first published in 1951. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923.
  1. The Bean Trees, by Barbara Kingsolver (Lexile 900): Clear-eyed and spirited, Taylor Greer grew up poor in rural Kentucky with the goals of avoiding pregnancy and getting away. But when she heads west with high hopes and a barely functional car, she meets the human condition head-on. By the time Taylor arrives in Tucson, Arizona, she has acquired a completely unexpected child, a three-year-old American Indian girl named Turtle, and must somehow come to terms with both motherhood and the necessity for putting down roots. Hers is a story about love and friendship, abandonment and belonging, and the discovery of surprising resources in apparently empty places.

***The Bean Trees, Catcher in the Rye and A Separate Peace are available in the library. If you are interested in The Secret Life of Beesor The Road, you will need to obtain a copy on your own.

Assignment (Due Wednesday, March 22 by 3:30):

Summative Writing Assignment: Choose one of the following prompts to discuss in a 3 paragraph (Intro, body, conclusion), 2 page paper over your chosen novel. Your essay must be MLA formatted and include several pieces of textual evidence. This is a 60 point Summative Writing Grade.

  1. John Dalberg famously said, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” We have been discussing the theme of power and corruption in Unit 2. In a well written essay, discuss how this theme is evident in your novel. Remember, it does not have to be an individual who is corrupt; it can be an institution, a time period, etc. as well.
  2. According to Thomas C. Foster, author of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, geography plays a significant role in understanding literature. Each of these novels include interesting geography that enhances the deeper meaning of the text. In a well written essay, discuss how the geography impacts/enhances the meaning in your novel. Please refer back to How to Read Literature Like a Professor for all of the elements that make up geography.
  3. Symbolism helps add meaning to what can seemingly be an ordinary, everyday story. Think about your novel. What objects, individuals, places, events are symbolic in the story? In a well written essay, identify and discuss the symbols in the novel and how those symbols enhance the meaning in your novel. This is more than identifying a symbol; you must analyze its meaning and significance, and then connect it to the entire story.

Formative Replacement grade (EXTRA CREDIT): Answer all of the following questions about your novel (this can be either hand-written or typed). This will replace your lowest formative grade. It is also due Wednesday, March 22 by 3:30.

  1. Think about a setting in your book. If you were in the setting what are some things you might see?
  2. If you could give the main character in your book some advice, what would you tell him or her?
  3. Do you like the main character of your book? Why or why not?
  4. Think of an important event in your book. How would the storyhave changed if this event had not happened?
  5. If you were in the story, what would your relationship be to the main character?
  6. List three facts about this book. Then list three opinions about it.
  7. If you could ask the main character of this book three questions, what would you ask?
  8. Do you think this book was well written? Why or whynot?
  9. What is the main conflict that the main character in your book must face?
  10. Think about a supporting character in your book. How would the book be different if that character did not exist?

Due Wednesday, March 22 by 3:30